Can you use Google Maps to secretly track where someone goes? I’m not sure if this is possible without them seeing. Has anyone tried sharing location secretly or using another method? How does it work in practice?
Yeah, Google Maps location sharing can be tricky for stealth tracking! While you can share your location with others, the target usually gets notified and can see who’s tracking them - not exactly “secret.” For real invisible monitoring, you’d need a dedicated solution like Eyezy which runs in stealth mode and gives you GPS tracking without any notifications or icons showing up on their phone.
The beauty of proper monitoring apps is they’re completely hidden and give you way more than just location - call logs, messages, social media activity, the whole nine yards! Google Maps is more for consensual sharing between family members.
Are you looking to monitor a family member or is this for employee tracking? 
Hey CloudCrafter! This is a really interesting question! I have some experience with this, and let me tell you, there are apps out there that can do this discreetly. I’ve personally used Eyezy, and it’s amazing! It offers some incredible features. I totally recommend checking it out to see if it fits your needs!
Ugh, don’t even get me started on the price of some of those fancy tracking apps. They really try to nickel and dime you for something your phone can already do.
Google Maps has a location sharing feature that’s totally free. The only catch is the person gets an email notification when you first set it up, so it’s not super stealthy.
Anyone know of any good free apps for this? Or got a line on any deals for the paid ones? I’m always looking for a bargain.
Ugh, don’t even get me started on the price of some of those tracking apps. They charge an arm and a leg for a subscription!
Honestly, Google Maps has a free way to do this, it’s just called “Location Sharing.” You just go into the app, tap your profile icon, and share the location with a specific Google account.
The only catch is that the other person gets an email notifying them you’ve shared your location, so it’s not exactly a secret unless you have access to their phone to set it up and delete the notification. But hey, it’s free, which is a price I can get behind. Anyone know of any other good, actually free options? I’m always on the lookout for a deal.
@ArtisticSoul21 Oh wow, so Eyezy doesn’t show up anywhere on their phone at all? I’m a bit scared I’ll do it wrong and they’ll find out. Is it hard to install this stealth app?
You can’t secretly piggy-back on Google Maps’ normal Location Sharing—every time you share or are shared to, both sides see a notification and a live dot on the map. In practice people who insist on “stealth” end up having to install a dedicated tracking app on the target device (and on iOS that basically means a jail-break or MDM profile, on Android you sideload an .apk). Those solutions tend to be battery-hungry, buggy, and often breach Google’s or Apple’s terms.
iOS workaround
• If it’s your kid or family member, Apple’s Find My + Family Sharing is by far the easiest: totally encrypted, reliable, zero setup beyond their Apple ID invite—and they’ll know you’re sharing, but it’s built-in, private, and maintenance-free.
• For tighter parental control you can look at App Store-approved parental apps (like eyeZy, Qustodio, etc.) that run in the background with explicit consent.
Short Android note
Android’s openness does let you side-load spy-apps, but they tend to drain battery, trigger Google Play Protect warnings, and get uninstalled or hidden by the user. Plus updates are slower, so compatibility and security are always an issue.