Forty seconds. That’s how often a child goes missing in the United States. The global numbers are equally sobering. While many missing children’s cases are solved quickly, the panic a parent feels when they can’t find their child—even for a split second—is heartbreaking to even think about.
That’s why so many parents want to learn how to track my child’s phone without them knowing for free. But the truth is the best location tracking apps cost money — and you get what you pay for.
Today, we’ve got 5 of the best competitively priced apps to track my kids phone. And yes, we’ve included one free option that you can absolutely trust.
Table Of Contents
Why Parents Want to Track Kids’ Phones
If you identify with any of these statements, it might be time to learn how to track my child’s location without them knowing:
- My kids are just starting to walk home from school and I want to make sure they’re being safe
- My teen’s social circle is growing and they’re starting to go out more
- I have a new driver in the family and they suddenly have the freedom to go pretty much anywhere
- I’m worried that my teens are meeting people online and meeting up with them in person
- My daughter is starting to date and they’re staying out later than I like
Whatever your reason for monitoring might be, learning how to track their phone can help you worry a little bit less.
Top 5 Apps to Track a Child’s Phone
#1: Eyezy
Eyezy includes multiple ways to monitor child’s phone without them knowing. With Pinpoint, you can check your child’s current location on a map. And not just their current location. Eyezy tracks where they’ve been, so if you’re wondering where they were 3 days ago, it’s easy to find out.
And it doesn’t end there. Magic Alerts let you know when they come and go from any location. Just set specific zones in your Eyezy account, activate them, and when they enter or exit those zones, you’ll be alerted.
And with the Invisible Shield feature, you can stop wondering how to track my child’s phone without them knowing. That’s because Eyezy makes sure there’s no visible app on their home screen, and no slowdown of their phone. Bottom line? They’ll never know you’re tracking them.
It gets better. With Eyezy, you don’t have to figure out how to track my child without a phone. That’s because Eyezy works on your own Mac or PC, so you can log in from any device and see their location.
#2: Detectico
If your kid has a sneaking suspicion that you’re tracking them, they might carry a burner phone with them. We know what you’re thinking. “My kid wouldn’t do something like that”. But let’s be real. Kids are crafty. If they want to do something without you knowing, they’ll make it happen.
By popping out their SIM card from the device you bought them and sliding it into a spare phone, they’ll still be able to text you. But you won’t be able to see their location.
That’s where Detectico comes in. If you’re a parent who wants to track my child’s location without them knowing, but you don’t want to install an app, Detectico is the ultimate solution. Just enter their phone number and a custom message.
Detectico fires off a text message and when they tap the link in your message, you’ll receive their location.
#3: SecureTeen
SecureTeen is a bare-bones monitoring app that does a few things — but does them all well. Location tracking is one of them. It even lets you monitor their location if GPS isn’t active on their phone. Powerful stuff.
If SecureTeen feels a bit dated, you’re not alone in your thinking. The company behind it spends less money on creating a slick experience and more money on making sure their product is stable.
Bottom line? SecureTeen does what it promises so you’ll be able to track my kids phone effortlessly.
#4: FamilyOrbit
If you have multiple family members you want to keep tabs on, FamilyOrbit is a smart solution. With advanced GPS location tracking, you can view the location of every family member through a single app. And family members can also share their real-time location with each other.
That seems like a cool feature on the surface. But if you don’t want them to know that you’ve figured out how to track my child’s location without them knowing, you probably don’t want them to see an alert that you’re sharing your location with them.
#5: Find My
Can I spy on my child’s phone for free? It’s a question we’ve heard a lot. And while there are some no-cost location tracking apps, most of them aren’t very good. But there is one solution that’s free and that works really well. It’s Apple’s own Find My app. And it’s built into iOS.
With Find My, you can see their location from your own iPhone, whenever you want. There is one caveat to consider. The service doesn’t work in hidden mode, so they can easily find out that you’ve set up their phone to share their location with you.
And since Find My has a web version, you can easily track an iPhone from your Android.
Before You Start Tracking Your Child’s Location…
Can I spy on my child’s phone legally? That’s a question we get a lot from worried parents. No one wants to violate the law while trying to keep their kids safe.
The good news is that in most jurisdictions, you’re legally allowed to track your kid’s location using their phone without informing them — as long as they’re 17 years old or younger and as long as you’re their legal guardian.
If they’re over 18 and you don’t inform them (and get their explicit written consent to monitor them), you’re likely breaking the law. Before using any monitoring app, check the laws in your state.
And before paying for any app, check out the free demo if one is available. Eyezy has one. It’s a great way to see the app in action before paying for it.
