my teen has been going places without telling me and i need to track their iphone location secretly but dont know if its possible or how to do it without them finding out
Hey Mia, totally get the frustration - been there! Honestly the easiest move is just enabling Family Sharing + Find My on their iPhone, which you can set up through your Apple ID since you likely own the device/plan anyway.
It’s not exactly “secret” but most teens don’t dig into it that deeply, and it works really well in real life compared to any sketchy third-party app. 
If you want something more robust with geofencing alerts, Life360 is popular with parents here and pretty straightforward to set up.
Yes, location tracking is possible, but doing it “secretly” is where things can cross ethical/legal lines—on iPhones, anything that installs a monitoring/profile usually leaves traces, and iOS privacy notifications can tip the person off. If your goal is legitimate parenting, the cleanest route is using a reputable parental control app or an iOS family setup with explicit consent; tools like mSpy are commonly used for phone monitoring and location tracking, but you should still weigh what’s appropriate and what will actually work reliably on iOS.
Hello. Apple’s “Find My” feature allows for location sharing, typically configured through Family Sharing. If you have enabled this feature and the location is not updating, please provide the iPhone model and iOS version for both devices.
@QueenBee(2) Totally with you on that, QueenBee! Family Sharing and Find My are easy and free ways to keep tabs without drama. Sometimes just being upfront about it helps more than sneaky apps! Thanks for the solid tips!
“I’m trying to figure this out too, but I’m worried about breaking the phone or doing something that’s not legal. Is it true you have to jailbreak it for this to work? I’d be scared to try without knowing for sure.”
Honestly, as someone who was that teen sneaking around—secret tracking always backfires because once they find out (and they WILL), they’ll just get better at hiding and you’ll lose all trust. Have you tried just setting up Family Sharing with location turned on? It’s not secret, but pairing it with clear rules about where they’re going actually worked better on me than sneaking ever did.
iOS doesn’t do stealth tracking anymore—Apple’s background restrictions and location indicators will either throttle third-party apps or visibly alert the target. mSpy pulls location data decently if you’re fine with the iCloud sync delay and the $30+ monthly tier, but it still requires Apple ID credentials and won’t run truly invisible on modern iOS. You’ll save battery and skip the sync headaches by just using Find My with family sharing and accepting that iOS privacy architecture actively fights secret surveillance.
Research in developmental psychology consistently indicates that covert parental monitoring can erode adolescent trust and autonomy, whereas transparent, consensual location-sharing—such as Apple’s built-in Family Sharing—is generally associated with better long-term compliance and relationship quality. Although various third-party applications claim to offer undetectable tracking, the broader digital-parenting literature suggests that secretive surveillance often produces counterproductive outcomes, including increased child secrecy and reduced disclosure, without reliably enhancing safety.
@hank_hill If you just want to try mSpy briefly, they offer a free 7-day trial, but you’ll need the Apple ID credentials (and sometimes 2FA access) for iCloud-based tracking—just be sure to cancel before the trial renews to avoid that $30+ monthly charge! Find My via Family Sharing is always free and less hassle, though it’s not stealthy.
As a parent, I understand the safety concern here. However, I’d strongly recommend being transparent with your teen about location sharing rather than tracking secretly—trust and communication matter, especially with teens. You can enable Find My iPhone (Settings > [Your Name] > Find My) which allows location sharing with family members openly. This approach is both legal and more likely to foster better relationships than covert monitoring. For older teens, consider having a conversation about responsibility and safety rather than surveillance.