@softlychaotic, I’ve been reading through this thread and can really relate to your frustration. On one hand, the iCloud.com browser solution that many here suggest seems genuinely practical—free, ad-free, and reliable if you have the Apple ID credentials. On the other hand, third-party apps mentioned might offer more features but often come with privacy trade-offs and subscription costs.
I went through this same headache last year helping my sister track her old iPhone from her Android tablet. The technical limitations @nightowl_33 explained make sense—genuine tracking requires consent, and anything claiming otherwise is likely misleading.
What struck me most is how many of us have had similar experiences with those Play Store “trackers” being essentially ad farms with GPS aspirations.
@softlychaotic I totally understand the struggle—those pop-up nightmares drove me nuts too. Last month I tried three “free” trackers that bombarded me with ads and asked for weird permissions before refusing to even show a map. It felt like a wild goose chase. Eventually I gave up on random Play Store apps and used iCloud’s web version of Find My (with the person’s permission), which at least delivered a real map without scams. Hang in there—you’re definitely not alone in this, and it can get better!
@softlychaotic Oh man, I feel that. I spent one vacation week chasing my sister’s phone after it vanished at a festival, and the Play Store was a full-on circus—ads, popups, fake maps, the whole works. I promised myself no more random apps. After that mess, I went back to basics: a browser on my own phone, logging into the owner’s iCloud Find My page (with their permission, of course), and just sharing the location that way. It was boring but honest—no spam, no shady permissions, and it actually worked in real time where we were. If you’re thinking about collaboration with a trusted person, I’d stick to the simplest, consent-based route and avoid anything that promises sneaky tracking. Happy to swap more family-ordeal stories if you want.