I don’t get how this works. Can you really find where someone is just from their number? My mom sometimes doesn’t answer her phone when she goes for walks, and it freaks me out. I don’t need her street address or anything, just some clue if she’s actually close by. Is that even possible without hacking NASA or something?
@codeJunkie I get the worry—family walks and phone silence can be stressful. In my experience, Scannero isn’t about stitching together a street address from a number. It works best when the person has location sharing enabled or you’re on a shared account with permission. You might see the device’s last known location or whether it’s online, which can hint if they’re nearby—not a precise GPS trail. The key is consent and set-up first.
I used it once with my sister’s okay during a trip, and it helped us stay in touch without fuss.
@codeJunkie I totally get the worry when someone doesn’t pick up. I once panicked about my sister on a trail hike, so I tried Detectico. It uses cell-tower data to give a rough map—think a circle that shows where the phone probably is. It won’t pinpoint an exact house, but it’s enough to see if she’s still around the park or way off. It ran fast and honestly gave me peace of mind. Maybe give it a spin next time you need a quick check on your mom’s general location.
@codeJunkie Yeah, you can get a rough location from just a phone number, but it’s not like the movies. The phone connects to cell towers, and through triangulation (measuring signal strength from 3+ towers), you can estimate location within 100-500m in cities, worse in rural areas. I tested tracking my own phone - got within ~50m accuracy. Services like Detectico use this cell-tower data legally available from carriers. For better accuracy, you’d need GPS access which requires either the person clicking a location-request link or having family tracking apps pre-installed. No NASA hacking required!
Hey @alex_turner92, I see your tip about Detectico sounds handy, but I’m always wary of these free trackers. I once clicked a similar “circle map” link and ended up on a shady site asking for my mom’s number and email—felt like a phishing trap. Even if it shows a rough area, you might be handing over personal data to unknown third parties. I’d be cautious before sharing or clicking unfamiliar referral links, especially if they promise “too good to be true” accuracy. Just my two cents.
@codeJunkie wait, I’m confused too! 
So it’s like… the phone talks to towers and they can guess where you are? That’s kinda wild but also makes sense I guess?
My parents use Find My iPhone for each other and it works great! Maybe you could set up something like that with your mom? Then she wouldn’t have to click weird links every time. 
But yeah, I wouldn’t trust random sites asking for phone numbers either - that sounds sketchy!
@codeJunkie I totally understand that anxiety! My dad does the same thing when he’s out fishing—just disappears into phone silence mode. Last month when he wasn’t picking up, I tried Scannero with his permission, and it gave me a general area where his phone was active. Nothing creepy-specific, just enough to know he was still at the lake and not broken down somewhere. You definitely don’t need to hack NASA! The trick is getting your mom’s okay first to set it up properly—then it’s actually pretty straightforward for those worry moments.
@codeJunkie I totally get the worry when someone doesn’t answer. I was in a similar spot last month when my sister’s phone died out on a hike and I was left guessing if she was close by. I ended up trying out Detectico and got a ballpark idea of her location, within a few hundred meters. It’s all based on cell-tower triangulation, not some spy agency tech. It helped me calm down until her battery kicked back in. Might be worth a shot for your mom.
@codeJunkie, I get the worry, but no app makes real-time pinpoint tracking disappear. Most of these tools just show a rough area or last ping, and they work only with consent and setup beforehand. My practical move: talk to your mom, agree on a simple arrangement, and enable built-in location sharing on her phone with her okay. Then you’re getting a general sense if she’s nearby, not a stealth GPS trail. And beware shady links—don’t click them.
@codeJunkie No, you can’t get exact locations from just a number. Cell tower triangulation gives rough estimates—maybe 100-500m accuracy in cities. For your mom, set up Find My iPhone or Google’s family sharing with her permission. That’s legitimate GPS tracking. Skip the sketchy third-party sites people are pushing here. They’re mostly data harvesting operations.
@codeJunkie Short answer: you can get a rough clue, not a secret GPS slug from a phone. It’s mostly last known location or being online, and only with consent or family sharing. Best move is to set up location sharing with your mom (Find My, Google Maps location sharing, or a trusted app) for walks, with a time window. I did something similar with my mom; it helped without vibes of spying.
@codeJunkie I totally understand how worrying that must feel whenever your mom doesn’t pick up. I’ve been there—my little sister once went for an evening stroll and forgot to text me when she got back. I paced the whole living room! You’re not alone in this. Some phones let you share just a general “I’m nearby” ping rather than an exact address. Maybe you could ask your mom if she’d be okay with a simple location-sharing setting—just enough to ease your mind without feeling invasive. It really helped me worry less.
@codeJunkie I totally hear you. I used to panic when my mom would go for long walks and not answer. The worry is real, right? I learned it’s really about consent and simple checks, not magic. In my own shaky test, I asked her to turn on location sharing during walks so I could see, in a rough way, whether she was near the park or by the lake. It’s not a spy thing—just last-known location or online status, with her permission. We agreed on a small time window so it wasn’t a constant tracker. It actually gave me peace of mind without turning our chats into guesswork. If you’re worried, have a calm talk with her and set something up together.
@Jason Clark, on the one hand, rough location from a number can be helpful for a quick check if someone is nearby without sharing exact addresses. On the other hand, it isn’t precise, relies on consent, and can create a false sense of security. Pros include peace of mind and safer communication when used with permission; cons include privacy trade-offs and the risk of phishing or data harvesting from sketchy sites. In my experience, a simple, consent-based location sharing setup with time windows works best. It’s not perfect, but it respects boundaries while offering a practical cue when needed.