# Why put a GPS tracker in a car?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 13, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592 "2024-12-13T05:38:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/21 "2024-12-13T14:07:37Z")
I was licensed by my state to provide Technical Surveillance Countermeasures services about 30 years ago. This is basically anti-wiretapping and anti-bugging. I have not held the license since 2003, but I STILL get calls asking how to locate and/or identify tracking devices on cars. The vast majority of the inquiries are related to domestic (marital) cases.
Most people would not believe what some spouses are capable of when there are marital issues. Tracking a car is probably one of the least of the possible problems.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/22 "2024-12-13T14:20:15Z")
> [@enipla](#):
>
> If you can’t trust your kids or your spouse, there are much, much deeper issues.
I agree on spouses. You’re both adults and are supposed to be equal partners. One of you should not be spying on the other.
But I’m a lot more ambivalent on tracking your children. Maybe it’s because I remember some of the things I did when I was a teen. Knowing where your teenager is driving the family car doesn’t seem like an outrageous idea to me.
That said, I’ve never been a spouse or a parent so this is a non-issue for me.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/23 "2024-12-13T15:12:03Z")
> [@doreen](#):
>
> At least now I can see that he’s an hour away and the car is moving.
I’d like to get my husband to have a tracker on his phone for this reason. He doesn’t always remember to tell me he’s running late or he’s on his way. I hate to call him because I feel it comes across as nagging. But it’s nice to know if I should start dinner yet or if he’s passed the pharmacy when there’s meds to be picked up. I don’t care if he tracks me either. When my daughter was in college and did a cross-country drive with a friend, I’d have loved to know where she was without calling - a mother worries! What if she’d driven off the edge of the Grand Canyon???
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/24 "2024-12-13T15:12:28Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> I’ve read that thieves will go through parking lots and put trackers on desirable cars so that they can steal them later when they are in a more isolated area.
That sounds mostly like scaremongering. Any crime that can be imagined is breathlessly reported as coming to a town near you. Any Day Now! Whether the intent is to sell countermeasures or to create a fearful and hence right-leaning populace.
Randos stealing cars for fun aren’t forethinking enough to set up the perfect crime to be executed sometime in the future when the target happens to park in a secluded spot. And folks stealing cars in bulk for profit simple pull up with their flatbed wrecker and take it. Or use their Dark Web-sourced app to unlock and start it then drive it away. Gone in 60 seconds!
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/25 "2024-12-13T16:17:44Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> AirTags aren’t good for secret tracking since the driver will eventually get a notification on their phone that an unknown AirTag is traveling with them.
May not will, especially w/ an Android phone.
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> > [@enipla](#):
> >
> > If you can’t trust your kids or your spouse, there are much, much deeper issues.
>
> I agree on spouses. You’re both adults and are supposed to be equal partners. One of you should not be spying on the other.
…& one partner shouldn’t be having an affair but there are many who do.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/26 "2024-12-13T16:23:20Z")
> [@Spiderman](#):
>
> May not will, especially w/ an Android phone.
That was the case at one point, but now Androids also have the capability to notify you of unattached tracking tags, like AirTags, traveling with you.
> **[Newest Android Feature Alerts Users About Unwanted AirTag Tracking](https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/newest-android-feature-alerts-users-about-unwanted-airtag-tracking/)**
>
> Android has rolled out a new "unknown tracker alerts" setting so that you can detect any rogue AirTags following you around.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/27 "2024-12-13T16:29:50Z")
> [@filmore](#):
>
> now Androids also have the capability to notify you of unattached tracking tags, like AirTags, traveling with you.
which you both need to enable that function & need to have Location Services enabled for it to work
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### Author:  [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/28 "2024-12-13T16:30:50Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#):
>
> I was licensed by my state to provide Technical Surveillance Countermeasures services about 30 years ago. This is basically anti-wiretapping and anti-bugging. I have not held the license since 2003, but I STILL get calls asking how to locate and/or identify tracking devices on cars.
That’s the real question – how can I check whether there is such a device hidden on my car or elsewhere? as @filmore 's post notes, you can find AirTags, but what about other brands?
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/29 "2024-12-13T17:24:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> True. There are legit reasons people might want to knowingly share their location with others. I personally haven’t had the need since such capability became commonplace, but I lead a rather simple life. But I could imagine myself wanting to participate in co-tracking with a spouse / SO for example.
My husband and I can track each others’ phones, with mutual consent to this, for reasons similar to what Doreen said.
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> But there are rather fewer legit reasons to track someone without their knowledge. And if someone was doing such covert tracking it’s rather likely that the trackee would not be happy once they found out about it.
>
> It’s the sneaky part that’s the problem. Whether the trackee is untrustworthy, or the tracker is untrusting/overcontrolling, something is rotten in their Denmark.
QFT. There is something very wrong with tracking an adult without their consent, assuming the trackee is capable of taking care of themselves. I can see some application for an adult with dementia or other cognitive/intellectual challenges who could easily roam into something they can’t handle due to their medical condition.
Kids are a whole separate issue.
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### Author:  [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/30 "2024-12-13T17:26:30Z")
It’s a good question…and I get it fairly frequently. Unfortunately, while there are quite a few techniques to assist in finding a wide variety of tracking devices, there’s no simple way to be able to say, "This car is clean. " (Cue _Poltergeist_ music.)
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/31 "2024-12-13T17:26:41Z")
My wife could put a tracker on my car. I couldn’t care less. Visa versa too. It would be very, very boring information.
The only good I can see is if we go off the road somewhere. It can take days or weeks to find someone.
Also, I always remind her to take bear spray and her phone when she walks the dogs. We live in bear and moose country. Sometimes she is gone longer than I’m comfortable with.
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### Author:  [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/32 "2024-12-13T17:32:51Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#):
>
> what about other brands
Any of the tracking tags that use bluetooth are going to be detectable in similar ways. This covers AirTags, Tiles, whatever Google calls theirs, &c. Tracker detector apps will find them. They all work pretty much the same.
Other types of trackers, for example something that is a standalone GPS receiver and has it’s own connection to the mobile network, are going to be more difficult to find. They don’t rely on talking to a nearby phone to detect and transmit the location, so an app that detects trackers won’t find them, because they don’t use that technology.
Our car has tracking builtin, and my wife and I both use it frequently for the convenient reasons mentioned up thread. We can also track each other by our phones, but that is less convenient to use, and it is rarely necessary. Much more frequently used to find the phone than the person.
My kid is aware that we can track them through their phone. This is convenient, but we do want to be open about it.
Our dog wears a tracker (AirTag), and she doesn’t seem to care.
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### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/33 "2024-12-13T18:30:48Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> Oh, my dog has a tracking device on his collar. And an implant. I still lose him at least once a day.
I have seen TV shows where each hunting dog has a tracker and the hunter watches his pack roam over the terrain on a hand held, 3-D map screen. Really cool.
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### Author:  [@LouMa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouMa)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/34 "2024-12-13T19:30:44Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> What if she’d driven off the edge of the Grand Canyon???
Of what use would be a tracker in this situation?
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/35 "2024-12-13T19:35:22Z")
> [@LouMa](#):
>
> Of what use would be a tracker in this situation?
I’d know where to send the tow truck - DUH!!! 🤣
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### Author:  [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/36 "2024-12-13T20:01:07Z")
Thieves stealing high-end or particularly in-demand cars know this is likely to be a feature in them, so they park it up somewhere quiet for a few days, and see if anybody comes for it. If they don’t then it’s clean.
A more sophisticated approach is to bring a jammer with them to jam the signal while they are driving it to the building where they want it (which has a jammer installed in it). If it’s a chop shop, they will find it eventually.
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/37 "2024-12-13T20:43:49Z")
My wife and I recently started using Life 360 to track each other. You basically just have to install the app and it does continuous tracking. It only updates every few minutes, so it doesn’t give you meter-accurate real-time positioning, but it’s fine to get a fairly good idea of where the other person is driving.
BTW to save your parking location in Google Maps, you tap on your location dot, which should open a “Your Location” popup, then tap “Save parking”.
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### Author:  [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/38 "2024-12-13T21:02:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Maybe it’s because I remember some of the things I did when I was a teen.
When I was a junior in high school and my best friend was a senior, we were out in my friend’s parents car somewhere with another friend, and instead of going straight home afterwards my friend wanted to stop somewhere not in the direction of home, for a booty call with his girlfriend (while we waited in the car). After we left there, about a block away, my friend’s car was involved in a small fender-bender. The fact that it was not his fault did not save him from his parents finding out where he had been and what he had been doing. If such a tracker had been available, I’m sure they would have gotten one after that incident. As it was, his movements were pretty closely monitored for a while.
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### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/39 "2024-12-13T21:16:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> I just saw an online ad for a little GPS chip you can hide in a car (presumably yours). The chip lets you track the car’s location via an app.
>
> What’s the purpose of this?
>
> My first thought is that it’s an anti-theft device. If your car is stolen, you can tell the police where it is.
After my old car was stolen and trashed, I installed one of these gizmos in my new car for anti-theft purposes. A more deluxe version would allow you to start the car remotely, presumably to heat it up before you entered. I could also track its location when I parked on the street or in a mall parking lot (not being aware of @LSLGuy’s tip).
The device drained my battery. Or rather, the device plus another one that the dealer had installed without my knowledge drained my battery. I had both removed, not wanting to experiment further. But yeah, these devices are used tracking errant spouses and stalking to some extent.
Vehicle tracking is also used by firms that own a fleet of company cars. LoJack provided such services in pre-GPS days.
Here’s [Drone Mobile says at their website](https://www.dronemobile.com/how-it-works/gps-tracking):
> . Check on the safety of your vehicles, family members, and employees with a glance at your smartphone or watch.
> Open the “Track” page in the DroneMobile App to see your vehicle’s exact location at any time. DroneMobile GPS Tracking is the perfect solution for enhancing the security and comfort of your business fleet or family vehicles!
> Great for staying connected with your family’s young drivers!
> **Family Sharing**
> Share vehicle control and GPS tracking with your family members from the DroneMobile App. [Learn More \>](https://dronemobile.com/how-it-works/family-sharing)
> **Speeding Alerts**
> Set a max speed for your vehicle to get alerts when your car exceeds the limit.
> **Curfew Monitoring**
> Set a window of time for authorized use of your vehicle. Get notified if it is driven outside of that window.
> **Geofences** – Set boundaries around key locations for alerts when your vehicle enters/exits an area.
Drone Mobile recommends that you have a conversation with your teen driver about this device.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-put-a-gps-tracker-in-a-car/1011592/40 "2024-12-13T21:52:14Z")
> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> My wife and I recently started using Life 360 to track each other.
We use an app called Glympse. It uses push tracking, so I enable you to track me for a period of minutes or hours & it expires after that, unless I extend it. The best feature is that it both has speed & shows a tail of your last couple minutes of movement as well as my location so if I’m meeting you at say a stadium that has multiple entrances, I can tell if you’re walking towards me or around the building in the same direction as me .
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