How to know if someone is tracking your location
A direct, step-by-step checklist covering both app-based sharing and physical trackers.
Check three things: active location shares in apps you already use (Find My, Google Maps, Life360), your phone's location permission list for unfamiliar apps, and unknown-tracker alerts for AirTags or similar Bluetooth devices - both iPhone and Android now detect these automatically.
“Tracking” usually means one of two very different things: someone you know has an active, app-based location share with you, or an unknown physical tracker is nearby. Both are checkable.
Check active app-based shares
Open Find My (People tab), Google Maps (profile → Location Sharing), and Life360 (Circle members) if you use them, and review exactly who has access. This covers the vast majority of real cases - an old share nobody remembered to end.
Review location permissions
On iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services lists every app with access and how often it’s used. On Android: Settings → Location → App location permissions. Revoke anything unfamiliar or unused.
Check for unknown trackers
Apple and Google built a joint cross-platform standard for this: if an AirTag, Find My accessory, or similar Bluetooth tracker is separated from its owner and moving with you, both iPhone and Android alert you automatically - no separate app needed on iPhone; Android 6.0+ has it built in, and Apple also offers a free Tracker Detect app for Android as a manual scan option.
If you rely on location sharing yourself, access notifications can help: when enabled, glancy alerts you to recorded accesses. Repeat views within the cooldown are grouped together.