How to track the location of a phone number? Apps that help to find location work very differently on Apple phones (iOS) and Google phones (Android), because this happens because each company has its own main goal: Apple cares first about privacy and saving battery, but Google tries to give developers more freedom and better accuracy.
Feature | Apple iOS | Google Android |
Main Goal | The highest priority is privacy and saving battery power | The priority is accuracy and power efficiency using a special tool (FLP) |
Background Tracking | It is slowed down very actively, which is called throttling, so it works poorly if special modes are not used | It needs a constant notification on the screen to work all the time, which is called the "Foreground Service" |
Battery Saving | The system manages this: iOS itself joins and delays requests from different apps | FLP manages this: The tool decides when to use and when to use Wi−Fi |
"Always" Permission | It is gotten in one step, but the system reminds the user regularly that they are being tracked | It is a two-step difficult process: The permission must be confirmed manually in the Settings |
Developer Tool | Core Location Framework | Google Fused Location Provider (FLP) |
How Systems Limit Access to Location
The biggest problem for people who build locator apps is what happens when you close the app, and this is called the background mode.
Background Tracking in iOS (Apple): Stop and Freeze
iOS stops all apps that work in the background very actively, and this is done so your battery can last longer and so nobody can track you all the time without you knowing it.
Slowing Down (Throttling): As soon as you leave the locator app, iOS starts to slow it down a lot, so instead of knowing where you are every minute, the app can only get data maybe once every 10 or 15 minutes, and this is like "freezing" the app's work.
Special Permissions: To stop this slowing down, developers can only use special modes that are strictly controlled: SLC means the app wakes up and gets location only when you have traveled a long distance, for example, changed neighborhoods, which is good for saving battery but does not give real-time location.
Working Services means that if constant tracking is needed, for example, for navigation, the app must say that it belongs to this group, but even then, iOS can lower the accuracy or the speed at any time if it thinks you are wasting the battery.
Visible Control: If the locator uses GPS for a long time in the background, iOS shows a clear blue or green bar at the top of the screen, and this is a direct warning to the user which always reminds them that the app is working and lets them quickly turn it off.
Background Tracking in Android (Google): Notification is Needed
Android was very free before, but now it also controls background work strictly, although it gives developers more tools.
"Foreground Service": If the locator needs continuous and very accurate location, it must start a Foreground Service, and this means that a constant, non-removable notification must appear in the notification bar, so if there is no notification, there is no constant tracking.
Saving Modes: Android has built-in modes like Doze and App Standby that can completely put to sleep apps that you have not opened for a long time, so developers must learn how to correctly "wake up" their apps to send data.
Manufacturer Problems: The main difficulty with Android is that every phone company (Samsung, Xiaomi) can add its own very aggressive saving mode that kills background apps without warning, and because of this, a locator can work great on one phone but keep turning off on another phone brand.
Saving Battery Power: How to Make GPS Less Hungry
Saving Methods in iOS: The Smart Operating System
Apple prefers that the developer does not interfere with the process and relies only on the operating system itself.
Joining Requests (Coalescing): iOS is very smart, so if three different apps ask for location at the same time, iOS turns on the GPS only once, gets the data, and then "gives" it to all three apps, which saves a lot of energy because the GPS chip turns on less often.
Delayed Requests (Deferred Updates): A developer can ask iOS: "Do not give me the data right now, but collect it for 10 minutes and then send everything at once," and this allows the system to choose the best moment to turn on the GPS when it is already on for other reasons.
Using Other Networks: Most often, iOS first tries to find the location using less power-hungry Wi-Fi spots and cell towers, and only if very high accuracy is needed, it turns on the expensive GPS chip.
Saving Methods in Android: The Smart FLP Tool
Fused Location Provider (FLP): This is the main Google tool, and it does not just use GPS, but it "mixes" (fuses) data from GPS, Wi−Fi, Bluetooth, cell towers, and other sensors, so FLP decides on its own what to use now to get the right accuracy while using the least power.
Simple Example: If you are in the subway, GPS does not work, but FLP knows this and uses data from nearby Wi−Fi networks to find your location, which means it does not use battery power for useless GPS.
Importance Levels: The developer simply tells FLP what is more important, like "I need the best accuracy" or "I need average accuracy, but saving power is key," and FLP automatically changes how the sensors work.
User Permissions: How They Get Agreement for Tracking
Permissions in iOS: Speaking Clearly and Reminding
Apple needs everything to be very clear to the user.
Simple Choices: You always have three clear options:
While Using the App: The locator works until you close it.
Allow Once: The permission is only for the current moment, and the app will ask again next time.
Always: This is the only way for constant background tracking.
Constant Reminders: Even if you give "Always" permission, iOS regularly, for example, once a month shows a warning on the screen saying that app "X" is using your location in the background, and this warning has a button to change the permission, which makes sure you do not forget who you trust.
Reason Needed: The app must show a short and simple explanation of why it asks for "Always" access, for example, "This is needed to send alerts when arriving at school," and without this explanation, Apple will not approve the app in the App Store.
Permissions in Android: A Long Way to "Always"
Android tries to make the process of getting "Always" permission difficult, so the user does not give it by mistake.
"Always" Is Two Steps: Since Android 10, the developer cannot just show one pop-up window asking for "Always" permission, because the user must first give "While Using" permission, and then the app must send the user to the system Settings, where the user must manually find and choose the "Always" permission.
Less Checking: Unlike iOS, Android does not remind the user as often about which app is tracking them all the time, even though the notification about the working service is always visible.
Many Requests: For some features, such as using Bluetooth to find lost items, which is also about location, Android needs a separate permission, which makes things harder for developers but makes the system safer.
What Locators Are Built On
Core Location Framework (Apple iOS)
Core Location is the standard set of tools that is part of iOS.
Key Feature: It is very strictly connected to the operating system and the hardware, so the developer cannot directly touch the GPS chip; they just ask for the data, and the OS decides when and how accurately to give it, based on the saving rules.
Good Points: High reliability and things work as expected because Apple controls everything both the software and the hardware.
Bad Points: Because of the strong battery saving, it is very hard to get fast location updates in the background.
Google Fused Location Provider (FLP - Android)
Key Feature: It is an intelligent "data mixer," because it mixes data from all the sensors to find the most effective and accurate way to find the location.
Good Points: It saves battery very well and gives very high accuracy even in difficult places, such as inside buildings. The developer can easily set the priorities (accuracy vs battery).
Bad Points: It depends on Google Play Services, so on phones that do not have Google services, this tool may not work, which makes developers look for other, more complicated solutions.
Conclusion
On iOS, you get maximum control as a user, but the developer has to fight against the app constantly slowing down, but on Android, the developer has a strong tool (FLP) for saving power and high accuracy, but they must always remember the special saving modes that different phone companies add.
In general, both systems protect your privacy very well, but they do it in different ways.