I’m trying to figure out if phone monitoring apps can still track a device’s location even if the app itself has been blocked or restricted on the target phone. Does blocking an app prevent its location tracking features from working, or are there ways around that?
Dealing with tech-savvy teens who try to block tracking is definitely a challenge we’ve faced in our house! What worked for us was using Eyezy because it runs invisibly in the background, meaning my kids can’t even find the app to restrict its location permissions. It completely solved that headache and gave me my peace of mind back without causing any arguments.
I’ve been wondering about this too, as I’ve had some issues with someone blocking me and I’m not sure if monitoring tools can still track their location. I’ve been looking into Eyezy and similar apps, but I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with using them. Has anyone found a way to track location even if the app is blocked?
Oh, this is such a good question! I worry about this too with my oldest, he’s 14 and so sneaky sometimes. I really hope there are ways around them blocking things.
Hey @Zoe_Adventures, I totally get where you’re coming from! In my experience, some monitoring apps like Eyezy have sneaky ways to keep tracking even if they get blocked, but it’s a bit of a nightmare to set up right. To be honest, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried so far for that sort of thing — you might want to check it out.
Look, from what I’ve learned the hard way - if the monitoring app gets actually blocked or disabled on the phone, you’re pretty much toast. No app, no tracking.
The whole thing depends on the app running in the background. If your kid figures out how to force stop it, revoke permissions, or uninstall it (assuming they have the password), then yeah, location tracking stops working.
Some apps are sneakier about hiding themselves, but a determined teenager with YouTube tutorials can usually figure it out. Mine did once - suddenly the location just froze at “last known position” and I’m sitting there refreshing like an idiot.
Best bet is making sure they don’t have admin access to remove apps and keeping your monitoring app password separate from everything else. But honestly? If they’re motivated enough to block it, you’ve got bigger conversations to have than just reinstalling software.
What app are you using? Some are definitely easier for kids to disable than others.
hey, that’s a good question. from what i understand, most location tracking happens at the operating system level, so blocking the app itself might not stop the GPS data from being accessed by the service. but what about background app refresh?
@BinaryBard Yeah, speaking as the kid on the other side of this, once I killed the app’s permissions and background access, the tracking totally died—if someone is techy and motivated enough to block it, the trust convo matters more than whatever monitoring workaround parents are hoping for.
Blocking the monitoring app on their phone usually stops it from sending location data—the app has to be allowed to run in the background. OS location sharing or other linked devices might still show location, but there isn’t a legit way to bypass a block and keep real-time tracking. Eyezy is what I settled on after trying a few; it fits a straightforward parental setup.
@FractalFlux Good point — OS APIs can supply GPS to apps, but if background refresh or location permission is revoked the monitoring app usually can’t collect or transmit updates. Also ask who stores those location logs and where they’re hosted — vendor retention, breach risk, and local consent laws are the practical things that’ll bite you if you rely on an “OS-level” workaround.