How To Track A Phone Call Location In Three Ways

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There are numerous ways to learn how to trace the location of a phone call. One method is to use a reverse lookup site such as Whitepages. There you can find out the owner of the phone number as well as their location if that information is public record.

Have you ever wondered how to track phone numbers you don’t know? I have, but not for nefarious reasons. I, like many people, have gotten spam calls before or seen missed calls from random numbers and wondered who they may be. 

When that happens, I usually employ a few tactics to track the location of the call and the caller. Read on to learn how you can do it too with these simple strategies. 

How To Trace A Phone Call

Let me start by saying that the methods you see police and possibly government use on TV shows are not what I’ll be outlining in this article. These methods are simple, free ways to narrow down the location of a phone call and find out who is possibly making the call, as well. 

Check The Caller ID For Info 

Turn on the toggle show my caller ID

One of the first steps to tracking a phone call is checking the phone’s caller ID. Android and iOS devices have caller ID built in. 

However, it’s important to note that someone can opt to not share their caller ID. These are private numbers. If you want to reveal a private number, you can use Call Return by dialing *69. It’ll redial and reveal the number to you. 

If you’re receiving obscene phone calls, you can use *57 to activate the Call Trace feature to track phone number locations. Your phone company will trace the call but only give this information to the relevant authorities, not to you.

With the caller ID available, you can use the area code (the three digits in parentheses) from phone numbers to find out which city they were registered in. 

Area code section in any phone number

You can find out the city an area code represents by researching it on a search engine such as Google. For example, the 213 in the phone number above is 213, which shows that the phone number is registered in Los Angeles

Search area code on the Google

Here’s a video showing you how to Google an area code:

YouTube player

Look Them Up On Social Media

Another way to track phone numbers is to look them up on social media. Most social media networks now require people to attach a mobile phone number to their accounts. This number is used for two-factor authentication as well as another way for people to find the account instead of searching with a username.

However, while you can find someone’s social media account using their phone number the phone number isn’t made public and you can only find the account if the user has made it discoverable with the phone number

Facebook settings page

In addition to this, most social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat allow people to tag their location. This is one way you can use social media to find someone’s location

It will take you about 2 minutes

  1. To find someone’s social media account using their number, simply log onto a social media website or app such as Facebook and type the phone number into the search bar. For this demonstration, I used Facebook.

    Facebook search bar

  2. If the number is attached to an account and discoverable then you’ll see it displayed, if not then the search results display will be empty.

    The facebook search returns no results

Here’s a video showing you how to find Facebook accounts with a phone number:

YouTube player

Use A Reverse Phone Lookup Service

A reverse phone lookup service, such as Whitepages, is another great way to track phone numbers. You can access the Whitepages website on your computer or download the app on your smartphone. There’s a Whitepages app available for both iOS and Android devices. 

The Whitepages can only provide information that’s public record, but you can use it to find information on a phone number, a person, or even an address. 

Here’s how to use the Whitepages app for phone tracking:

  1. Download and install the Whitepages app on your smartphone. I’m using an iPhone so I downloaded it from the App Store. However, if you’re using an Android, you can download it from the Google Play Store
Open the whitepages app after download and installation
  1. When you open the app, you’ll see three options: Person, Phone, and Address. Tap Phone to enter the phone number you want to track.
Tap on phone tab
  1.  Next, enter the phone number in the search bar and tap Search.
Enter phone number in the search bar
  1. You’ll see the listed owner(s) available. In my case, the number I looked up belonged to Chipotle. Tap the option to view all the information associated with the phone number.
Tap on the option below your search result to view more information
  1. There, you’ll see all the publicly available information associated with the phone number, such as the name, whether it’s a landline or cell phone number, the address, and so on. 
Results for the specific phone number you added

Here’s a video showing you how you can use Whitepages to get information:

YouTube player

FAQs

Can you track phone location from a call?

You can track phone location from a call, but it’s not like how law enforcement would do it. Authorities use more sophisticated software, but you can use more easily accessible methods, such as searching for the number via public records or social media.

Tracking Phone Numbers – Wrapping Up

What’d you think of this article?

Tracking a phone number is a great way to find out who is calling you and from where. The methods I outlined above are a great way to find a caller’s location, even if it’s not the exact location. 

You can use the phone number’s caller ID and area code to find out where the number was registered. Using social media and the Whitepages will help you find out the caller’s identity or help you find it out.

If you don’t want to find the location of a phone call, but rather your own lost phone, then I recommend you use a spy app such as mSpy or uMobix. They help you with tracking mobile phones, whether they’re your own or your children’s. 

And if you need to track someone on Google Maps, here’s an easy way to do i1!

Leave any questions you have in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends, family, and followers!

About The Author

  • Rahul Sharma

    Computer science student and technology enthusiast. I love plants also, so much that I talk to them. Currently figuring out how to make an iguana as a pet without getting arrested. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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Rahul Sharma

Computer science student and technology enthusiast. I love plants also, so much that I talk to them. Currently figuring out how to make an iguana as a pet without getting arrested. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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