Recently, only certain categories of the population, for example, the armed forces or special services, had the ability to determine the location of an object.

Later, more portable devices for these purposes appeared - navigators, which became available to a wide range of buyers. They quickly gained popularity among motorists, hunters, fishermen and travelers. A real breakthrough in science and technology was the installation of geolocation modules in most modern smartphones.

What is geolocation and location?

Geolocation is the determination of the location of an object on the surface of the earth. In the Android operating system, many applications are tied to it, with which you can search for the required establishments, organizations and attractions on the city map, as well as determine your location.

This search is realized through communication with navigation satellites. The smartphone automatically finds and selects satellites for data exchange, whose signal is stronger. All satellite navigation systems are available for modern phones, regardless of their belonging to a particular country. At present, both , and , and (the latter in China) are successfully used.

Why do you need geolocation?

One of the main features of geolocation (geoposition) is building a route to the desired object. To do this, Google in the Android operating system has provided a special application called Google Maps (Google Maps). The required address or coordinates are entered into the search bar, and the program determines their location on the ground. Based on this, a detailed direction for movement is proposed. The only inconvenience is the possible lack of internet in some areas.

For such situations, the best way out is to use any other application that downloads a geographic map during the installation stage. Despite the fact that in this case the memory of the smartphone is used, the stability of the work will be ensured in any area. For example, many auto travelers use maps.me offline maps.

In addition to Google Maps, there are many applications that build using location, build routes and show you the nearest stores:

• Yandex.Navigator and any navigators;
• 2GIS and other directories;
• Google Photos (remembers where the photo was taken).

Geolocation in Android allows you to:

• make marks on photographs, signing them with the city, street, house number;
• find friends nearby using the Google + social network;
• find the phone in case of loss;
• monitor the movement of people (of course, with their consent).

privacy

When setting up the geolocation feature, there is an option to enable or disable location history. Google reports that saving visits allows you to offer the user a lot of amenities, goods and services along the path of his regular trips. He, in turn, can share information about the geolocation with friends. As part of the privacy issue, Google assures that only the owner of the smartphone has access to this data.

We will not touch on the issues of universal surveillance or a worldwide conspiracy, but it is obvious that everyone makes their own decision on what to choose: enjoy the full convenience of Google services or turn off geodata and sleep peacefully. It is also important to note here that always-on location detection can consume battery power noticeably.

How to enable geolocation on Android?

To enable location detection on an Android smartphone, just go to the settings and find the “Location” item (the name may differ depending on the Android version and firmware).

In the "Mode" section, you can specify which sources will determine the location: only by GPS, by network coordinates (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile Internet) and by all sources. The last method is the most efficient and fastest.

How to disable geolocation on android?

Turning off location on your phone is very easy. - again go to "Settings" - "Location" and deactivate the option. On many smartphones, you can enable and disable the transfer of geodata in the quick settings menu (swipe down from the status bar)

All mobile phones have one unpleasant property - to get lost. In addition, they are sometimes stolen. And, unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it. Until recently, “sowing” an Android device outside the home meant parting with it forever without the hope of a return, because, unlike iOS, there were no search functions on Android. Today they are, which means that the chances of returning the loss are no longer zero. And it's time for us to get to know them.

Let's talk about how to find a lost Android phone through Google and using third-party apps and services.

In case of loss of a mobile gadget, the functions of modern versions of Android allow not only to determine its location by cell towers and satellites, but also to block it remotely. And if there is no hope for a return (stolen) - erase the personal data of the owner.

For this, the following conditions must be met:

• The device must be turned on (it is not necessary that your SIM card be in it).
• It must be linked to your Google account.
• The "Remote control" function should work on it.
• It must have geodata transfer enabled and Internet access enabled.
• The phone must be detected in Google Play.

If you have turned off the location setting (location sharing) feature to save battery power, you will not have a chance to find your lost or stolen phone. Search via satellite does consume a lot of energy, but in the city it is not necessary to use it. Turn on cell tower location of the device - this option is more economical.

How to enable location sharing on Android:

• Launch the Settings app (Settings).
• In the "Personal" menu, tap the "Location Services" line.
• Check the box for the search method "By network coordinates".

How to see which devices are connected to your Google account:

• Open any browser (it doesn't matter on a PC or mobile device), go to Google.com and log in with your account.
• Open the Recently Used Devices page. This list should contain the phone you are looking for.

How to enable remote device control on Android:

• Launch "Options" (Settings).
• Tap "Protection" (Security) in the "Personal" menu.
• In the right pane, select Device Administrators.

• Check the box next to "Android Remote Control" and open it.

• In the box "Activate device administrator?" click Enable.

How to find your phone on Google Play:

• Go to the Google Play website through any browser, open the "Settings" section (the button with the gear icon).
• Look at the My Devices list. All Android phones, tablets, watches, etc. linked to your account must be on this list.

How to Locate a Lost Android Gadget

The steps below are performed through a computer or other mobile device connected to the Internet.

• Open a browser and log in with your Google account.
• Go to the main page of your account and in the "Search for a phone" section, click "Proceed".

• Select your lost device from the list and re-enter your password to log into your account. Once in the search section, click on the "Search" button.

The location of your device will be displayed on the map.

Other available features:

• Phone call. When activated, the device will ring for 5 minutes (even at zero volume), attracting the attention of people. However, this helps more if you don't remember where you put it, but if the dialer is lost or stolen, it can worsen the situation. Also, not all devices support it.
• Blocking. Return to the previous page and open the "Lock your phone" section. Modify the default message if desired. Click Block.

• Call the phone using the Google Hangouts messenger. To jump, click on the highlighted word.

• Sign out of your account on the device. To exit, press the corresponding button.

• Delete user data from the gadget's internal memory (excluding the memory card). Select this option if you are sure that the phone has fallen into the wrong hands and an attacker can use the information on it to harm someone. For example, it will start sending malware to your contacts or gain access to electronic wallets. If you agree to the deletion, click the "Yes, delete" button, but the search on the map, blocking and dialing after that will not be available.

Services like Google's Phone Finder are also being developed by mobile device manufacturers. The principle of operation and the set of capabilities they have is the same or slightly larger. For example, Samsung offers the following to its smartphone users:

• Location determination on the map.
• Remote blocking.
• Erasing confidential data.
• Ringing (loud playback of a call melody for 1 minute to attract the attention of others).
• Access to the call log.
• Notification about the removal of the owner's SIM card.
• Remote transfer of the device to "emergency mode" - reducing the brightness of the screen with disabling most functions and applications to save battery power. To keep the lost phone in sight as long as possible.

Find my device by Google is a mobile application for finding lost devices

To simplify the search for lost or stolen Android gadgets, you can also use the mobile application available for free download from Google Play. It has the same set of functions as Google's Find My Phone service. Namely:

• Allows you to locate the gadget on the map.
• Rings it (makes it ring at maximum volume for 5 minutes).
• Blocks usage.
• Allows the owner to log out of an Android account and remotely wipe user data.

Find my device is intended to be installed on the device that will be used for searching, not the one you want to protect from loss.

The conditions for the availability of application functions are the same as for Find My Phone through the Google browser service.

Phone search services by mobile subscriber number and IMEI

PLNET (Phone-Location.org)

The Russian-language PLNET web service allows you to locate a lost gadget both by phone number and by IMEI (an international mobile device identification code that is assigned to each device at the factory). The search is performed on satellites and cell towers and works in the following networks of Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh mobile operators:

• Beeline.
• Megaphone.
• Kyivstar.
• Kcell.
• Vodafone.
• Altel.
• TELE2.
• Velcom.

The main functions of the service are paid. Free, unlike Google, it allows you to find out only the country, region and city in which the device you are looking for is located. More accurate coordinates - for 500 rubles and after registration. In addition, real-time tracking of the device, the history of its movements and search by IMEI are available for a paid subscription. In the latter case, along with IMEI, you should also indicate the number of the SIM card that the owner used before the phone was lost. If you did not have time to write it down while you had the phone, look at the stickers on the box.

The service has similar functions for locating devices, with the exception of searching by IMEI. For paid subscribers, printouts of the movement history are also available. The service of a one-time determination of the exact coordinates by phone number costs 900 rubles.

The service works in the networks of the following mobile operators:

• Beeline.
• Megaphone.
• Kyivstar.
• Kcell.
• TELE2.
• Velcom.

And PLNET, and OM-TEL, and other similar resources are still more suitable for spying on loved ones (children, spouse, etc.). In the search for stolen smartphones, they are of little use, because the attacker, if he is not devoid of reason, will immediately replace the owner's SIM card with his own. In this case, the service will show the place of the last registration of your SIM card in the operator's network. Or show nothing.

— a service for checking the serial numbers and IMEI of various mobile devices to see if they are in the database of lost and stolen. Supports all models and brands of phones.

The SNDeepInfo user can add the IMEI or the serial number of the lost or found device to the service database, leaving his email for communication. Optionally, here you can specify the amount of remuneration for the return. Registration or payment is not required for this.

The service works similarly to the previous one, but only IMEI database is maintained. With it, you can, for example, find out if a hand-bought phone was stolen from the previous owner. And also add the code of your device to the database.

The author also considers phone search services by IMEI to be of little use, because with their help it is impossible to find out either the location of the device or who is currently using it. They are designed for honest people who, in the event of finding a device lost by someone, will themselves begin to search for its owner. Law enforcement agencies do not use such databases either - they have the opportunity to obtain the necessary information directly from mobile operators.

Applications to counter the theft of smartphones

CM Security: protection and antivirus

In addition to antivirus, firewall and system optimization tools, the anti-theft module is included. It includes:

Cerberus is an anti-theft software with an extended set of features. Among them:

• Remote monitoring of the movement of the phone through the application site.
• Remote blocking.
• Calling.
• Sending messages to a lost phone.
• Removed screenshots.
• Taking photos and videos of the intruder's face. Recording sound through a microphone.
• Erase user data from internal memory and SD card.
• Remote control of the device through the console interface using commands.
• Automatically enable geodata transfer if it is disabled.
• Power off lock to prevent a thief from turning off the machine and thereby interfering with its search.
• Creating your own user rules, etc.

The bulk of Cerberus functions only work in the paid version. Even more of them are available by obtaining root rights.

You probably remember that when you did the initial setup of your new Android tablet, smartphone, smartwatch and other devices, you were asked to enable the ability to determine your location and send geodata to Google servers.

The ability to determine your location is a very useful feature that is responsible for the operation of navigation programs, the functions of displaying your coordinates on a map, more accurate Google search results, the full operation of the Google Now assistant, and other necessary things. However, in some cases this feature can pose a serious threat to your security.

For example, many users are completely unaware that when they take photos with their smartphone or tablet, these photos can contain very accurate (with an accuracy of several meters) information about the coordinates of the shooting location. Thus, it becomes clear that you should not post photos on social networks with a diamond necklace depicted on them and the caption “Look what an amazing thing my husband bought me!!!” if it was made at your home.

Luckily, in the Camera app settings, you can turn off the ability to add location coordinates to photos.

However, this does not mean that Google will not be able to access your location information and will not be able to collect location information.

To do this, you can completely disable the ability to determine the location on your device. For this you

To do this, you need to go to the general settings menu of your tablet or smartphone, to the " Personal data» -> « Location»

Location mode settings

In the next item "Mode" you will see a menu consisting of three items:

According to all sources: If you enable this mode, your smartphone or tablet will be able to determine its location using the built-in GPS receiver, the coordinates of the nearest mobile towers, and even the coordinates of the WiFi network to which it is connected. This is the fastest way to determine your location

By network coordinates: A less accurate method that allows you to determine the location only by the coordinates of WiFi networks and the coordinates of the mobile towers closest to you (the latter is not available on tablets without built-in support for accessing mobile networks).

By GPS satellites: The most reliable method that allows you to determine the coordinates of your location with great accuracy.

In the next paragraph of the section " Location» -> « Sending geodata» You can disable the ability to send your location information to Google's servers.

You can find instructions on how to view and delete your browsing history from Google servers in this material.

By turning on location on your phone, you can view information based on your location, such as transit timetables, nearby restaurants, and local search results.

When an app uses GPS location, the Location icon appears at the top of the screen.

What geolocation settings are on the device

Important! If you disable geolocation, apps and services will not be able to access your phone's location information. In this case, search results and advertising will be selected based on the IP address.

Google has several services that use user location data, including:

How to enable or disable geolocation on your phone

How to make your phone's location more accurate

How to enable or disable the location feature

Let your phone search for networks and devices nearby

To help your phone determine your location more accurately, you can allow it to search nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and Bluetooth devices.

1. Open device settings.
2. Select Location.
   • If this item is not there, follow the instructions for earlier versions of Android.
3. Select Search for Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices.
4. Enable or disable options Finding Wi‑Fi networks and Search for Bluetooth devices.

How to report your location in an emergency

To find you faster, dial the emergency number, for example:

• 911 - in the USA;
• 112 - in Europe and the Russian Federation.

If Emergency Location Services (ELS) is available in your country and mobile network and you have not turned it off, your phone will automatically transmit your location.

How to enable or disable the emergency location feature

You can disable this feature at any time.

How the emergency location function works

The phone only starts the ELS feature when you dial an emergency number or send a message to it.

During an emergency call, this feature may use Google geolocation and other data to determine the device's location as accurately as possible.

Your phone sends your location to authorized emergency services solely to help them find you. Geodata is transmitted directly to these services, bypassing Google servers.

After you end an emergency call or send a message, your phone will share statistics and other feature usage information with Google. This information is needed to analyze the operation of the function. It cannot be used to identify the user.

What to do if you are using an older version of Android

How to change geolocation settings (Android 9.0)

To change location settings:

Then do one of the following:

Select location mode (Android 4.4-8.1)

Several modes are available in the settings. They differ in location accuracy and speed, as well as battery consumption.

Set up location sharing (Android 4.1-4.3)

To choose which location data your phone can use:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. In the "Personal Information" section, select My location.
3. Turn the setting on or off Access to my geodata at the top of the screen.
   • After enabling location access, set one or both of the following options:
     • By GPS satellites. The location is determined only by the GPS signal from the satellites.
     • by network coordinates. The location is determined much faster thanks to Google geolocation. The function will work even if you have not turned on the GPS.
   • If you disable access
     Your phone will not be able to determine your exact location and share it with apps.

Advice. If several people use the tablet, each of them can choose their own settings for accessing geodata.

Content

Data that reports the exact location of an object in real time is called geolocation. The practical application of determining the location of an object is wide, because thanks to wireless communication services, this process has become available to all segments of the population.

General information about geolocation

The term "geolocation" is formed from two words: the Greek "geo" (surface of the earth) and the English "location" (position, location).

Previously, finding an object via satellite was used only by representatives of certain professions: pilots, sailors, and the military.

Today, the use of geolocation is very wide. With it, people can:

• finding yourself in an unfamiliar area, determine your location;
• lay a convenient route;
• find lost electronic devices;
• quickly find parks, museums, organizations, institutions in an unfamiliar city;
• monitor the movement of goods, parcels;
• track the location of photos to mark the places where the pictures were taken.

The main conditions for the operation of geolocation are the presence of special software in the electronic device and its connection to the Internet. The location of a person is determined by the radio signal coming from the device. The more tracking stations fix the signal, the more accurately the position of the object is determined on the map of the area during geolocation.

IP Location Technology

With the use of modern technologies, it will not be difficult to find out the location of an object by IP address (Internet Protocol). Having obtained this data, it is easy to find out what the geolocation of a phone or computer is. When a user of an electronic device enters the network, it analyzes his address to take further actions. It helps to save site settings to prompt previous requests.

There are two versions of the protocol: IPv 4 with a number consisting of 4 groups of numbers, and IPv 6, which has 8 groups of numbers and a letter. All IP addresses are unique and do not repeat. You can find out the geolocation of a person using the Internet protocol using third-party applications or services on the Internet. The main disadvantage of determining location by IP is that the detail is limited to a country or city, and it will not work to find a specific street and house.

Geolocation by GPS

For gadget users, this is the most popular feature, as GPS technology gives an idea of ​​geolocation in a smartphone and other mobile devices. The exact data provided by the navigation satellites is determined. As a rule, a smartphone finds beacons to receive a signal and, receiving information from them, transmits a signal about its location. The GPS operation is signaled by the geolocation icon, which is located on the main screen of the phone.

The main advantage of GPS positioning is the high accuracy of the result. Installed geolocation on Android has some disadvantages:

• frequent interruption of communication with the satellite in the subway, elevator and other premises;
• low data processing speed;
• sometimes you need to install additional applications.

Geolocation by Wi-Fi

This method is possible only in a city where Wi-Fi is available. Wi-Fi geolocation uses radio channels to transmit information. Wi-Fi assumes the presence of an access point (router) that provides stable Internet with a radius of up to 45 meters indoors and about 90 meters in open space.