A question to which you are unlikely to find any reasonably clear information if you start googling. Before writing this article, I did just that and confirmed that most of the information online is only loosely related to reality. Among the common recommendations from top search result articles:
I believe that people asking the question how to find out where a person is are not referring to a situation where you need to ask for their permission. In this article, I will list the TOP 5 methods that detectives and other qualified entities might use to determine your location if you become of interest to them.
The very first thing to note is that the choice of how to find someone’s location directly depends on the situation and can vary significantly each time.
In one case, the target might be a minor child being hidden by a parent despite a court order; in another, a professional fraudster hiding abroad. The approach to solving each of these problems will differ greatly.
Secondly, the chosen method depends on whether the person knows they are being searched for or is unaware. The first case makes it significantly easier to apply various methods involving interaction with the target or their circle.
Next, I’ll explain how someone would search for you if they had sufficient resources (money) to hire professionals.
Strangely enough, I put social engineering in first place because of its high effectiveness (in skilled hands). In our experience, even hardened criminals eventually let their guard down and fall for a convincing story. This method is so effective because, besides the location, it often reveals additional information about the person (plans, life situation, etc.).
Moreover, unlike other methods we’ll discuss later, social engineering (when executed successfully) doesn’t just provide a location—it often reveals when the person is at that location, whether it’s home or work, and more valuable insights about them. This information can be highly useful.
Implementing social engineering is a creative process from start to finish—there are no templates. However, the starting point is always researching the target—their interests, needs, social media activity, and more.
Modern mobile devices contain a GPS transmitter, and depending on phone settings, certain apps may access the device’s precise location. In this context, we’re interested in the mobile browser.
A geologger is software that contacts the device’s browser and “asks” it to share the current location. If it’s a mobile phone, the margin of error is minimal. In some cases, it even reveals the object’s altitude.
Geologgers are highly effective when combined with social engineering.
To find out someone’s location using a geologger, you simply send them a link (usually via messenger) and convince them to click it. The challenge is the second part, which requires studying the target’s personality, biography, life events, connections, etc.
There are countless ways to combine social engineering with geologgers, limited only by the executor’s creativity and the specific situation.
This one is fairly straightforward. Mobile operators—and through them, law enforcement—see, record, and store your location data. There are two main ways to determine a user’s location:
On the black market, prices for these services vary greatly depending on the operator, time period, and other details.
What is OSINT? You can read about it in another article. In short, it’s the collection and analysis of information from open sources—social networks, media mentions, published photos, and more.
When applying OSINT to location tracking, the key directions are:
Working with open sources is our agency’s primary activity, so here are a couple of real examples where OSINT outperformed “traditional” search methods used by private detectives and others.
The client couldn’t determine the person’s address using “traditional methods” or get them to agree to a meeting. We solved the problem in just over an hour—we identified the person’s social networks and messengers, found Telegram groups they were in, and analyzed messages to determine their building and unit number. The clue was their post about searching for a storage unit in a residential complex in Moscow.
Right after that, we messaged them with a rental offer. The information was passed to the client for further action.
In another case, the client wanted to compile a dossier on a fraudster who stole company funds and fled after sending a farewell letter. We found a Telegram group where the target chatted with childhood friends. From a posted photo, we identified the hotel near which they were staying. The data was immediately passed to the client.
This is a very exotic method, but still worth mentioning to demonstrate modern location detection capabilities.
ADINT stands for advertising intelligence. In short, known digital identifiers (primarily phone number and email) are uploaded to a target audience in an advertising system (VK, Yandex, etc.).
Two identical audiences are created, differing only by the presence of the target person. A geo-targeted ad campaign is launched for both. If there’s a discrepancy in performance, it points to the presence of our subject.
By gradually narrowing the geo-range, you can identify locations where the person appears.
Regarding messenger capabilities, we’re mainly referring to Telegram’s “People Nearby” feature. Spoofing device location shows local users. Some ready-made tools automate this.
Telegram shows all accounts within 500 m. So, repeating the process several times with different spoofed locations and mapping the intersecting radii (500, 1000, 2000 m) can pinpoint the person—assuming they’re stationary.
I tested this method on myself—the error margin was minimal.
Most important: this Telegram feature only works if it’s enabled in settings (it’s off by default).
Update from 29.11.2024: This method with Telegram no longer works due to changes in the app’s policy.
In conclusion, our agency legally conducts searches for people (Article 3 of the Law on Private Detective and Security Activities in the Russian Federation) and offers a full range of related services. Read more on our search services page.
Sincerely, the head of the agency
private detective, Alexey Sedykh
