How to Track a Verizon Phone Without Them Knowing: Verizon Family Locator Alternatives

Verizon is a large telecommunications company based in the United States, providing a wide range of services including wireless communication, internet access, and phone services. Verizon has a powerful tool for family location tracking, but everyone on the web is constantly asking: can you use Verizon Family Locator without them knowing? And unfortunately, the answer is straightforward: no, you can’t.

In this article, we will delve into the details of the functioning of Verizon’s location services and review the best alternative Verizon phone trackers that really allow tracking without them knowing.

“Verizon phones are generally compatible with standard location tracking apps available on the market. Still, some Verizon phones may have additional features or security measures that could affect the functioning of location tracking apps.

For instance, certain phone models may offer enhanced privacy settings that allow users to limit app access to location information. In such cases, users may need to adjust the device settings to ensure that location tracking apps have the necessary permissions to function properly“

Content Marketing Department

Table of the Best Verizon Phone Trackers

Services Reviewed – 26

Services Selected – 9

We took some resources from the top reviews of the best, and almost all of them were awful. So trust only verified sources of information or blogs of specialized services related to telecommunications. For example, like our HeyLocate blog.

Verizon Family Locator: How Does it Work?

The Verizon Family Locator is a location service by Verizon. The Verizon Smart Family premium has since replaced it. However, the service is not attracting extra chargers if you already have the Verizon Family Locator.

With Verizon Family Locator, you can access the location of your child’s phone and other family members through a mobile or computer device. This service works on any smartphone or tablet as long as it has internet. It lets you monitor a device’s location on a dashboard showing the tracked device’s location on a map.

You’ll also see the location history, which can alert you when your family enters or leaves designated areas. Verizon Family Locator has several features. Let’s dive into this real quick.

Location Tracking

Verizon Smart Family Premium can show you the location of your child’s phone in real-time. You can monitor their location on a mobile device. This allows you to know their whereabouts via an aerial photo or map. Besides, you can set up zones like school, work, grocery store, aunt’s place, etc., and be alerted when your family enters or leaves these places.

The map is a nice touch since you can familiarize yourself with unknown locations. Apart from real-time location tracking, Verizon Family Locator can give you the location history of your family’s devices for the last seven days.

Other location tracking features include:

• check-in: a child can send their location by tapping the feature from the Smart Family companion app;
• pick me up: your child can also request to be picked up using the Verizon Smart Family app. A notification with the child’s location will be sent to the parent’s app. The parent can accept or decline the request.

Driving Insights & Crash Detection

The driving insights feature lets you see your family members’ driving behavior. On the Verizon Smart Family companion app, you can tap on trips, which will show trips for the last seven days. You can view stats for a single trip. If the app detects a crash, it will notify the parent’s device with the child’s location.

Parental Controls

Verizon Smart Family Premium comes with parental control features. You can set up content filters by blocking and unblocking websites. It also has time restrictions. This feature allows you to block Wi-Fi and limit data usage. The smartphone cannot receive or make calls.

If your child agrees to browser tracking, you can also see their browser history, including incognito searches. For those asking, “can Verizon Smart Family see incognito mode, and can Verizon smart family see internet history” now you know.

The app has settings for creating school, night, or custom hours for when a child can use their phone. Furthermore, Verizon Smart Family can block certain apps until kids are old enough to have access.

Phone Activity

The Verizon Smart Family premium plan has phone activity viewing. The target device’s screen time and web & app activity can be seen. It can view contacts on the phone, and you can block contacts or put them on a trusted list. The Verizon Smart Family app can also set time restrictions on texts, calls, and purchase limits.

Price

Verizon Smart Family services are at different price plans. The Verizon Family Locator without a premium plan will cost $4.99 per month per device. However, location services will be turned off. You’ll need the Verizon Smart Family premium plan, which costs $9.99/mo per device.

How to Use Verizon Smart Family App

Tracking Verizon phone using the Verizon Smart Family app works as a two-part system. You will need to have a My Verizon account and the Verizon Smart Family app. You will also need to download the app on the smartphones or tablets of family members with a line on your Verizon mobile account.

If you have the standard account, you will need to upgrade to the premium plan to access all Verizon Smart Family features. The Verizon Family Locator needs the app for precise location tracking. In addition, it cannot track a Verizon phone without them knowing. The service sends notifications and text messages to remind the person that their device is being tracked.

Try Verizon Smart Family

Track Verizon Phone Without Them Knowing

So, how can I track a phone on my Verizon account without them knowing? You will need sophisticated apps and tools if you’re looking for a discreet way to track a Verizon phone. Here are some of the best options for how to track a Verizon phone without them knowing.

mSpy

mSpy is a search app that offers location tracking and other features without notifying the owner of the tracked device.

mSpy has a 4-star rating from 4,135 reviews on Trustpilot. It’s one of the most sought-after and dependable apps, like the Verizon Family Locator, without them knowing.

Features:

• location tracking;
• texts and iMessage tracking;
• social media monitoring;
• built-in keylogger;
• media files access;
• online activity monitoring with blocking.

Compatibility:

• Android 4+;
• iOS 11 – 14.8.1 (with jailbreak), All iOS devices without jailbreak.

Price:

• $48.99/mo;
• $28.00/mo – 3-month plan;
• $11.67/mo – 12-month plan;

User Experience:

mSpy requires physical access to the target Android device to install it. I also needed an account to help with remote monitoring of the smartphone. After installing mSpy, it changed its name and is not detectable, except for a small screencast on the screen’s top-right corner.

This means that I could track a Verizon phone without them knowing. Besides, it does not notify people like the Verizon family tracker. I liked that I could track live GPS locations, view 30-day location history, and create geofences using the location tracking feature. It allowed me to see when family members arrive or leave a particular area.

mSpy had many other features that I liked, all happening without detection. These include text message monitoring, including those recently deleted. I could monitor phone calls, browser history, and dozens of social media apps. mSpy could read all emails, see calendar activities, and block Wi-Fi, apps, and websites.

mSpy is well-rounded. It’s useful for parents and employers. The keylogger, keyword tracking, and screen recording features keep you in the loop of what’s happening on the monitored device. The yearly plan is also quite affordable, considering all the features that mSpy encompasses.

Try mSpy

Scannero

Scannero delivers its key feature, location tracking, with excellence. This service finds a phone’s location without physically accessing the device. You don’t need to use Verizon Family Locator. All you need is the target’s phone number.

Features:

• location tracking;
• reverse phone number lookup;
• voice message recording;
• data leak checker;
• sends messages to the target phone.

Compatibility:

• all Android;
• all iOS.

Price:

• $0.89 – 24 hours;
• $49.80/mo.

User Experience:

I did not install any app or software on the target device. After creating my account, I used the one-day paid trial to access the Scannero tracking feature. The best thing about Scannero is that its locator, without them knowing, only requires the target’s phone number.

The service gave me the choice to send a unique text message containing the tracking link. Once the person clicked on the link, Scannero initiated geolocation tracking. The process took only a few minutes and returned results with the tracked location on a map.

Besides location tracking, Scannero also allowed me to check data leaks for Verizon lines. I also sent voice messages to my kids, like locations for pick-ups, when I was leaving work, get the chicken out of the freezer, etc. It saved me time when I needed to send a long list of instructions using a simple voice message.

Scannero is a comprehensive phone locator service without them knowing. It does not need to install apps making the best for parents and spouses.

Try Scannero.io

Eyezy

Eyezy is a comprehensive parental control app with advanced features for accessing your child’s digital world. The app operates in stealth mode, allowing you to see undetected everything on the target Verizon phone.

Features:

• real-time location tracking;
• instant alerts;
• media files tracking;
• keystroke capturing;
• web tracking;
• sites and apps blocker.

Compatibility:

• Android 4+;
• iOS 7- 13+.

Price:

• $47.99/mo;
• $27.99 – 3-month plan;
• $9.99/mo – yearly plan.

User Experience:

I installed Eyezy on the target’s Verizon device to track its features. Eyezy does not have remote installation for Android devices, but you can access an iPhone’s features using their iCloud credentials.

Eeyzy remained undetectable for the period of my testing. I accessed the phone’s features remotely on the Eyezy dashboard. This app uses advanced location tracking using GPS and Wi-Fi. Thus, it records the phone’s location accurately and keeps you updated.

Eyezy found all the files saved on the device, including pics and videos. It could block Wi-Fi, apps, and websites. It could also take screenshots, see who they call, and text on the phone’s messenger and social media apps. The browser history showed all websites visited and the saved bookmarks.

Eyezy is faster and easier to use than other phone tracking apps. Besides being able to track Verizon cell phone location, I could easily access all the other features on my family member’s phone.

Try EyeZy

Life360

Life360 has over 40M members who depend on its location-sharing app. Like the Verizon Family Locator, you cannot track family members without them knowing. Hence, it’s only suitable for tracking family members who want to be monitored and are willing to share their location with you.

Features:

• location sharing;
• location history;
• place alerts;
• navigate to a family member;
• help alert;
• family driving insights.

Compatibility:

• Android 8+;
• iOS 13+.

Price:

• free;
• $14.99/mo – Gold plan;
• $24.99/mo – Platinum plan.

User Experience:

After creating my account, I also needed to set up the Life360 app on each device I wanted to track. You can only track location with Life360 by creating a circle and inviting family members to your circle. This feature is great since no one can join your circle and get insights about your family without your knowledge.

Since I created a circle, everyone knew we were sharing our locations. Thus, the app is detectable. Moreover, if anyone would rather not share their location, they had to decline the invite to the circle.

Life360 tracked everyone’s live location. The free plan only showed two days of location history but paid plans stored 30 days of location history. In addition, I could set unlimited locations for alerts. I did not get to test the app’s identity theft protection, since I did not get alerts that any of my information was in danger.

The best feature of Life360 is driving insights. Since I have a teenager, I found the app’s speed tracking useful to monitor my teen’s driving behavior. It also has a crash detection feature that promises to alert me if my child is in an accident.

Even though Life360 has great features, our research found it tends to show inaccurate data occasionally, like showing drives that were never made or displaying a location I was never at. If you are using the free Life360, you can have the Verizon Family Locator work for location tracking.

Try Life360

Bark

Bark parental control app aims to protect your child online and in real life. This app has a 4.1-star rating from 17.7K ratings on the App Store and 3.9 stars on the Google Play Storefrom 5.1K reviews. The Bark app is also popular on Facebook, with over 130k followers and 118K likes.

Features:

• 30+ apps monitoring;
• app and website blocking;
• screen time management;
• location sharing;
• location alerts and check-ins;
• online scanning.

Compatibility:

• Android 6.0+;
• iOS 11.0+.

Price:

• $5.99/mo – Junior plan;
• $14.99/mo – Premium plan.

User Experience:

I needed to sign up with Bark to get started with phone monitoring. Bark required my child’s login information, so they knew their Verizon phone was being monitored.

I got my child’s location alerts after setting them on the phone. Bark also has a location insights feature that allowed me to see where my child had been and howling they had spent at that location.

I liked Bark’s monitoring feature for teens, since it focuses on keeping the child safe without being invasive. It tracked texts, photos, and videos and only provided notifications if it found something potential that warranted my attention. This app monitored data from popular apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Titktok.

Since I could not view what was on my child’s phone, I could not pinpoint problems using my judgment. I had to depend on Bark for alerts. Thus, It’s a drawback when keeping tabs on a naughty teen.

Nevertheless, it allowed me to access certain websites and apps by blocking Wi-Fi access. It could block certain types of content, helping me protect my child from potentially harmful content.

After experimenting with Bark, I feel it’s a good app for parents with teenagers, thanks to translating the messages’ context.

Try Bark

uMobix

uMobix is an advanced parental control app that can track a Verizon phone without them knowing. You don’t need to use Verizon Family Locator, since it has all the Verizon Smart Family app features and more. uMobix has received stunning reviews on Sitejabber, scoring 4.46 stars.

Features:

• remote device control;
• GPS location tracking;
• social media monitoring;
• deleted info;
• streaming features;
• keylogger and screen recording.

Compatibility:

• Android 4.0+;
• all iOS.

Price:

• $29.99/mo;
• $49.99/mo for full features;
• $26.66/mo 3-month plan;
• $12.49/mo – yearly plan.

User Experience:

uMobix proved to be one of the best apps to use as loved ones’ locator without them knowing. In an age when kids don’t want to check in with parents, I felt this app helped get their location information without asking for check-ins that could potentially be ignored.

I configured the app on my teen’s Verizon phone and headed to the online dashboard to track various features on my child’s lines. uMobix proved to be better than the Verizon Family Locator, since it showed all visited addresses and the date they visited.

I could also track calls, contacts, messages, and all keystrokes made on the device. I did not need to worry about Verizon Smart Family not showing calls since I could see them on the uMobix app.

uMobix was quite comprehensive. It listed all messages, including those that were recently deleted. In addition, it recorded the screen, so I could watch Facebook and browsers. Not to mention the capability to remotely control the device to delete unwanted apps, restrict apps, block Wi-Fi, and regulate data storage. Due to my practical knowledge, uMobix is ideal for protective parents.

Try uMobix

GEOfinder.mobi

GEOfinder uses a unique tracking method by sending the target a photo. Photos are quite irresistible; you’ll have their location once they click the link to view the image. It’s one of the reasons why Geofinder has been so successful in location tracking without installing software. Thus, it’s a much better alternative to the Verizon Family Locator.

Features:

• GPS location services;
• IP logger;
• Wi-Fi tracker;
• device info;
• VPN checker.

Compatibility:

• all Android;
• all iOS.

Price:

$39.99/mo.

User Experience:

I did not need to install an app on the target Verizon phone for accurate network location. GEOfinder.mobi used the phone number to find the phone’s IP address and show me its location on Google Maps. I uploaded a relevant image and sent it to the target Verizon phone. Once the person clicked the link, GEOfinder revealed their location on Google Maps.

I tried out other GEOfinder features as the Wi-Fi tracked, and it showed me which Wi-Fi the phone has connected to. In addition, it verified that the phone was not using a VPN and gave me the type of phone I had tracked, the time zone, and the phone’s operating system.

With one GEOfinder subscription, I could track as many Verizon phones as possible without them knowing. Sending a photo worked like a charm. I got a response every time. Now I understand why it’s the best locator without them knowing. Even when I use Verizon Family Locator, GEOfinder was more effective when my kids turned off location services.

Try GEOfinder.mobi

XNSPY

XNSPY is an easy-to-use monitoring app that you can use as a Verizon phone tracker. It’s pretty reliable and has garnered impressive reviews and 11,000 followers on Facebook.

Features:

• calls logs and text messages monitoring;
• email tracking;
• internet tracking;
• built-in keylogger;
• live location and location history.

Compatibility:

• Android 4 – 13;
• iOS 6 to 16.3.1.

Price:

• Basic:
  • $29.99/mo;
  • $13.99/mo 3-month plan;
  • $4.99/mo 12-month plan.
• Premium:
  • $35.99/mo;
  • $20.00/mo 3-month plan;
  • $7.49/mo 12-month plan.

User Experience:

XNSPY could easily track Verizon phone location. After installing the app on the phone, I accessed its features on my online account. I used it to track Verizon cell phone location on a map and see the location history over the past few days. XNPSY refreshed the location feature every five minutes, allowing me to locate the phone in real-time.

XNSPY changes its name upon installation and operates in the background. It does not alert the owner about tracking, unlike the Verizon Family Locator. Therefore, I accessed all the available features on the target Verizon phone without them knowing. I stopped worrying about Verizon Smart Family not showing texts since I could access them from the XNSPY dashboard.

XNSPY is also the cheapest Verizon Family Locator without them knowing alternative. The yearly plan costs only $4.99. It has features of pricier options such as the installed apps monitoring, surrounding recorder, call recording, and remote cell phone control.

Try XNSPY

FlexiSPY

FlexiSPY is a pioneer in the rental control apps industry, having launched in 2006. This app has received numerous positive reviews scoring 4.39 stars on Sitejabber and 4.5 stars on Trustpilot. It nails down many monitoring features that the Verizon Family Locator does not have.

Features:

• live calls recording and listening;
• surroundings recording;
• Facebook recording;
• LINE call logs;
• social media monitoring;
• browser activity monitoring;
• location tracking & geofencing.

Compatibility:

• Android 4.0 +;
• up to iOS 9.0.2;
• Blackberry OS 5.x – 7.1x.

Price:

• $29.95/mo – Lite plan;
• $79/mo – Premium plan;
• $119/mo – Extreme plan.

User Experience:

FlexisPY required physically accessing the target Verizon phone to install the app. This is important for the app to access the phone’s features before uploading the data onto its online platform. The app’s location feature worked like the Verizon Family Locator without notifying the cell phone’s owner. I could set the app to operate in the background or in the foreground.

FlexiSPY could track the phone’s location with some tweaks. For example, I created alerts for locations with up to 10 kilometers radius. The app allowed the setting of unlimited alerts, including keywords and Caller ID alerts. Its advanced tracking features operate without draining the phone’s battery. Hence, it was undetectable during the time of testing this app.

FlexiSPY’s unique feature is intercepting calls and recording them. If you are suspicious about your child’s interaction with someone, you can listen in on their phone calls to get the whole picture.

Besides, it has a nicely arranged keylogger showing every app’s keystrokes. Finally, FlexiSPY has one of the most responsive customer support that answered all my questions with little delay.

Try FlexiSPY

Comparison of Verizon Smart Family App & Third-Party Apps

So, let’s compare what’s better to use.

Conclusion

While the Verizon Family Locator has some nice features, it cannot track family members without notifying them. Thus, only third-party apps can provide discreet tracking.

We hope one of these apps provides the best alternatives for the Verizon Family Locator.