Guides
Calm, practical advice for real families.
How-tos and honest explainers about location sharing, family safety and privacy — written by the team behind AI Family Locator.
All location-sharing guides
- Explainer
How to track a phone’s location — and can you do it by number?
Honest answer: no website can locate a phone from its number alone. Here is what a number reveals, the legal ways to see a location, and the scams to avoid.
- How-to
How to share your location with family
Step-by-step ways to share your location with family: Find My, Messages, Google Maps and family locator apps — and which one fits your family best.
- Parents
How to see your child’s location — and keep their trust
A practical guide for parents: how to see your child’s phone location, set up school arrival alerts, and agree on rules that build trust instead of breaking it.
- Comparison
The best family locator apps, compared honestly
Find My, Google Maps, Life360, Glympse, GeoZilla and AI Family Locator compared: features, platforms, pricing models and who each one is best for.
- iPhone
How to see someone’s location on iPhone
Every way to see a friend or family member’s location on iPhone: Find My, Messages, Family Sharing and family locator apps — plus what to do if it isn’t showing.
- Troubleshooting
Why is my family member’s location not updating on iPhone?
Check location permissions, connectivity, sharing consent and the last update time before treating a stale family-map pin as a current location.
- How-to
Lost your iPhone? Here’s how to find it
What to do in the first minutes after losing an iPhone: locate it with Find My or iCloud.com, play a sound, turn on Lost Mode, and protect your data.
- Product guide
How does a location request by phone number work?
A phone number starts an invitation, not a GPS search. Learn what the recipient must accept, what happens before consent and how family sharing can stop.
- Feature guide
Family arrival alerts: setup and troubleshooting
Understand family arrival alerts, choose places together, test notifications and troubleshoot late or missing alerts without assuming every map pin is current.
- Parents
Location sharing with teens: rules that build trust
How to talk to your teenager about location sharing, what rules actually work at 13, 15 and 17, and how to avoid turning safety into surveillance.
- Family care
Help an elderly parent stay safe and connected
How location sharing, SOS and battery alerts can help you look after an older parent who lives alone — with their dignity and consent intact.
- Driving
Teen driving safety: a calm, practical guide
How to help a new driver build safe habits: agreements that work, the risks that matter most, and how trip summaries and speed insights can support the conversation.
- Parents
Your child’s first phone: a safety checklist
Giving your child their first phone? A practical checklist of settings, family rules and conversations that keep them safe without breaking trust.
- Privacy
Is location sharing safe? Your privacy questions, answered
Who can see your location, how family locator apps protect data, what to check in a privacy policy, and how to share safely with family.
- Explainer
How to track a phone with its IMEI number
Can you track a phone with its IMEI number? Who can, how to find your IMEI, how to block a stolen phone, and the IMEI tracker scams to avoid.
- How-to
How to find your phone using your Gmail account
Step-by-step: find your lost Android phone with your Gmail account via Find My Device, what to do if it’s an iPhone, and how to ring, lock or erase it.
- Explainer
Can you find a phone that’s turned off?
Can you locate a phone that’s switched off or dead? What iPhone and Android can still do, how to see the last known location, and myths about satellite tracking.
- How-to
How to track an iPhone from an Android phone
Track an iPhone from an Android phone: iCloud.com/find for your own iPhone, Google Maps location sharing for family, and what works best for mixed families.
- How-to
How to see a phone’s location history
Where to find location history on iPhone (Significant Locations) and Android (Google Timeline), how long it’s kept, and how families share a daily timeline.
- Pricing guide
Family locator without a subscription: what your options really are
Looking for a family locator with no monthly fee? Compare free tools, subscription apps and AI Family Locator's one-time $4.99 or $19.99 lifetime web pass.
- How-to guide
How to see your family’s location from a computer or browser
How to see your family's location on a laptop or desktop browser: AI Family Locator's web map, how invitations and consent work, and what to expect.
- Cross-platform guide
How to share location between iPhone and Android in one family
How to share location across iPhone and Android in one family: built-in options, a cross-platform map, invitations and consent, and what each platform needs.
- Budget guide
A cheap Life360 alternative: what to consider before you switch
Looking for a cheap Life360 alternative? Compare free tools and AI Family Locator's one-time $4.99 or $19.99 web pass honestly, including what you give up.
- Explainer
Locate a phone by number: what is actually possible, with consent
Can you locate a phone by its number? Not secretly. Here's how consent-based invitation by phone number works, and why a number alone never reveals a location.
- FAQ
Family map web app FAQ: the questions people ask most
Straight answers: is there a family locator with a one-time payment, can I see my kid's location on a laptop, and how invitations and consent work.