Find My Friend’s Location by Phone Number: Our Tips and Tricks

Cindy Ellis - March 17, 2023

Finding your friend’s location by phone number may be necessary for certain situations. However, you may not be sure how to start finding your friend’s location and wondering about which method is the best to safely find your friend.

Our article discusses why you may be looking for your friend’s location, whether or not a phone number is enough to find your friend, and other safe methods to easily track down your friend’s location. Read on for all of the information you need to know.

Reasons to Find Your Friend’s Location

Finding your friend’s location may be necessary for many different circumstances. Below, we list common reasons why individuals search for their friend’s locations.

• You want to figure out where your friend is if they’ve disappeared or gotten lost while you are out together.
• You are keeping track of your friend at their request for safety reasons.
• Your friend is lost, and you are trying to guide them back to your location or a safe spot.
• You want to make sure your friend reached their destination safely.
• You are retracing your friend’s steps to find an item they may have lost.

It’s important to note that this list isn’t comprehensive, and you may have other reasons for searching for your friend’s location. As long you aren’t searching for your friend’s location so you can harass them or engage in otherwise illegal activities, any reason for finding your friend’s location is generally acceptable.

Is Tracking a Friend’s Location Legal?

Tracking a friend’s location, especially if they know about it and have requested that you keep an eye on their activities, is legal as long as you aren’t using their location information to stalk or harass them or otherwise commit illegal activities. If you think your friend will be bothered by you tracking their location, make sure to have a conversation with them beforehand about this activity and what to do in the event of an emergency to ensure they feel their privacy is respected.

Can You Find a Friend’s Location Using Their Phone Number?

If all you have of your friend is their phone number, you may be able to track their location. However, this depends on them having access to their phone and sharing things with you, such as a link to their location via GPS or location access via iPhone and Android location-sharing apps.

It’s important to note that many online websites and smartphone apps that offer to track someone using nothing but a phone number are likely scams and may result in viruses or malware being installed on your computer. Many of these tracking tools also violate expectations of privacy and may require secret installation on your friend’s device to work properly, which is likely considered an illegal activity in your state.

You should stick to discussing with your friend about tracking their location if you wish to keep this information for safety or convenience, and never give your information or your friend’s information to online websites or smartphone apps that offer tracking services that are too good to be true.

Best Methods to Find My Friend’s Location by Phone Number or Device

When trying to figure out how to find your friend’s phone number, the following methods can help you safely and easily find a friend’s location without dealing with potentially hazardous websites or apps. You will need to have your friend’s phone number for most of these methods to work.

iPhone Location Sharing

iPhone location sharing is one of Apple’s most popular services for iPhone users. Here’s how to use it:

1. For this method to work, your friend must share their location with you by accessing the “Find My” app.
2. Once this app is opened, they will need to tap on the “people” tab and select your name.
3. From there, they tap on the name and then select the “share location” option.
4. Alternatively, you can share your location with your friend and have them accept the location-sharing request, sharing their own location with you. This method only works if both of you have iPhones and the “Find My” app enabled.

The “Find My” app on iPhone is also a great way to find a missing device that is logged onto an Apple account. More information about utilizing the “Find My” app is found on Apple’s website.

Android Location Sharing

Similar to iPhones, Samsung phones and phones that use the android system also have a location-sharing app. Here’s a step-by-step guide detailing how to share locations on Android devices:

1. On Samsung phones, the app you will need to use is called SmartThings Find; on other phones or devices that use the android system, you can use the Google Maps app.
2. Simply log in or create an account, register your devices, and have your friend do the same (you will both need to have Samsung or android phones for this location sharing and tracking method to work).
3. Once your devices are both registered, you can send your location-sharing request to your friend’s phone number, or they can send one to you. You will both need to accept the location-sharing request and once this is done, you will be able to track each other’s location as long as the location-sharing services are enabled.

Google Maps Links

In the case that both you and your friend have differing phone types and aren’t able to location share through designated Samsung, Android, or Apple apps, you may be able to keep track of each other’s location using links sent via Google Maps. Follow the steps below to learn how:

1. For this method to work, you will both need to have the Google Maps app installed on your device, and you will need to have your friend’s phone number so they can text you a link to their location.
2. Have your friend open Google Maps and make sure they are logged into their Google account. In the top right corner of the app, they will need to tap on their account and then navigate to the option that says “location sharing.”
3. From there, your friend will need to follow the options to send a link to your phone number or email with their location contained in it; you can tap or click on this link to find your friend’s location.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps to send your location to your friend’s phone number and have them find you.

GPS History

The GPS history of your friend’s phone or another device that they often take with them is a good place to start if you can’t get in contact with your friend and are trying to find their location. For this location tracking method, you will need to have access to your friend’s online accounts, such as their Google account. This will allow you to access their location history by going to the maps app or website they commonly use, such as Google Maps.

Once you are logged into Google maps using your friend’s account, you will be able to see their recent searches, places they frequently visit, and access their location-sharing history. This may give you an idea of their current location. Make sure you only use this method in an emergency or with your friend’s knowledge, as accessing someone’s online accounts can often be seen as invasive.

You may need your friend’s phone number and access to their phone to complete this search method, as online accounts are often protected with two-factor authentication for privacy and security reasons.

Dedicated Location Apps

If you or your friend don’t want to share their online account logins and you both have different phone or device types, you may be able to keep track of each other’s location with a reliable, legitimate locating sharing app.

Applications like Life360 offer basic location-sharing features for free, and the app can be installed on virtually any location – enabled device. With the help of Life360, you can keep track of your friend’s location, locate missing devices, and take advantage of crash detection, SOS buttons, and location notifications that tell you when your friend has entered or left a designated location.

You will need to speak with your friend about both of you adding Life360 to your phones in order to keep track of each other’s location for safety and convenience reasons. Make sure both of you are comfortable with the location-sharing services that an app like Life360 will enable on both of your devices.

You should also remember that location-sharing apps are pervasive in both the Apple and Google app stores. Make sure that you research the application you wish to use before both of you install it on your devices to ensure that it is legitimate and not a source of accidental malware or viruses for your device.

Staying Informed of Your Friend’s Whereabouts

When it comes to keeping yourself and your friends safe, it’s essential to stay informed of the important things, such as your friend’s location (and ultimately, their safety) when the two of you are out and about, or your friends are living their daily lives.

Tracking your friend’s location with just their phone number may not be possible. However, utilizing their phone number to send links to their location on a map or connecting with your friend via location-sharing services on their phone are all great, easy, and safe ways to ensure you keep track of your friend’s location.

As long as you check with your friend to make sure they are ok with you keeping track of their location and you don’t use your friend’s location information for any type of illegal activity, the two of you can safely keep tabs on each other whenever the need arises.