Decision sheet — Claims, billing & privacy
Why tracker locations can be wrong
A location on a tracker map is an estimate with an age. Phones work out their position from GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile networks and Bluetooth, and each source has its own error: Google's Find Hub help says GPS is good to around 20 metres outdoors but sometimes inaccurate indoors, while a fix from cell towers can be off by a few thousand metres. Read the accuracy ring and the update time before you read the address.
- Read7–9 min read
- You needA finder or sharing app on your own or an agreed device
- Works onFind My (iOS) · Find Hub and Google Maps sharing (Android)
Verified: October 2026 against Apple and Google official support.
Position can be stale or imprecise when signals, power, connection or permissions change. An honest reading keeps three things together — the dot, the ring around it and the time it was taken — and never treats a precise-looking pin as proof of where someone is.
How to work out why a location looks wrong
- Read the update time first. Find My shows a device's location when it is powered on and has a network connection; otherwise it shows the last known point — for up to seven days in the app and up to 24 hours on iCloud.com. In Find Hub, if the current location can't be found you may see the last known location instead. An old time explains most “wrong” points.
- Read the ring, not the street name. Apple Maps draws a blue circle when your position can't be determined precisely, and the smaller the circle, the greater the precision. Find Hub's radius around the pin is, in Google's words, an indication of its confidence. A wide ring means the phone could be anywhere inside it.
- Ask where the phone was. Google says GPS is sometimes inaccurate inside buildings or underground, and a fix from a mobile-data connection to cell towers is far rougher than a GPS fix (the table below gives Google's figures). Indoors, in a car park or in a dense city centre, expect the dot to drift.
- Check the phone's location settings. On Android, with Location Accuracy off, only GPS and device sensors are used, and Google says Location Accuracy helps particularly where GPS is unavailable or obscured, such as indoors or near large buildings. If an app was given approximate rather than precise location, read the “Always the same general area” case below.
- Check which device is reporting. With Apple Family Sharing you can choose which of your devices shares your location — an iPad left at home will keep reporting home. Google's Location Sharing setting is device- and account-specific, so a second phone signed in to the same account can be the one on the map.
- When safety matters, use a second source. Call or message the person, or ask someone nearby. A map point is one estimate; it should never be the only evidence for a decision or an accusation.
What does the wrong location look like?
Pick the pattern you are seeing, and read the most likely honest explanation.
Low confidence, not a wrong answer.
The phone could only estimate its position roughly — often because GPS was weak and the estimate came from Wi-Fi or cell towers, which are rougher than GPS. The true position is somewhere inside the ring, not necessarily at its centre.
Do this: Treat the whole ring as the answer. Refresh later, ideally when the phone is outdoors or on Wi-Fi.
Last-known, not current.
A sharp pin with a time of hours ago is where the phone last reported, not where it is now. The phone may be off, out of signal or out of battery. Display precision does not make an old update current.
Do this: Read it as “was here at that time” and plan around the age of the point.
Normal drift between fixes.
Indoors or underground GPS is sometimes inaccurate, so successive fixes can switch between GPS, Wi-Fi and cell-based estimates. Google also notes that in busy areas Location Sharing may occasionally show a nearby point of interest instead of the right one.
Do this: Look at the pattern over several updates, not a single jump.
Check which device is sharing.
Location sharing comes from a specific device. On Apple you choose which device shares your location; on Google the sharing setting is per device and account. A tablet at home or an old phone in a drawer can be the one reporting.
Do this: Confirm with the person which device is set as the sharing device before you interpret anything.
Probably approximate location.
If an app has approximate rather than precise permission, Android tells it only a general area, and iPhone likewise shares only an approximate location when Precise Location is off. That is a privacy setting working as designed, and the size of that area is given in the limits below.
Do this: If precise location is genuinely needed and agreed, the device owner can change it in that app's location settings.
Why the dot can be wrong — the sources and their limits
- GPS needs sky
- Apple says GPS accuracy depends on the number of visible satellites, and Google says GPS is sometimes inaccurate inside buildings or underground. Tall buildings, tunnels and car parks all reduce what the phone can see.
- Wi-Fi and cell towers fill gaps — roughly
- When GPS is weak, the phone uses nearby Wi-Fi networks and mobile cells. Google's Find Hub help gives the widest figure of its listed sources to a connection to cell towers, which is why a cell-based fix can put a phone in the wrong neighbourhood. It gives no figure for Wi-Fi.
- Settings change the inputs
- On Android, turning Location Accuracy off leaves only GPS and device sensors such as the accelerometer, barometer and gyroscope. Without the Wi-Fi and network inputs, there is less to fall back on when the sky is blocked.
- Approximate permission is deliberately vague
- An app with approximate location on Android knows only an area of about 3 square kilometres. iPhone users can switch Precise Location off per app. A tracker given approximate access cannot show a street-level point, however its map is drawn.
- Old points look as sharp as new ones
- Find My falls back to a last known location when a device is offline, and Find Hub stores only the most recent encrypted location for a device or accessory. The map draws an old point with the same crisp pin as a fresh one — only the time tells them apart.
- Third-party apps are not documented
- Apple and Google document their own finders. The official help does not describe how third-party tracker apps calculate or smooth positions, so treat any accuracy figure they advertise as the vendor's claim.
Location sources and what Apple and Google say about them
| Source | What the official help says | When it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| GPS (satellites) | Google: around 20 m; Apple: accuracy depends on visible satellites | Indoors, underground, among tall buildings |
| Wi-Fi networks | Used by both platforms to estimate position | The official help does not give an accuracy figure for Wi-Fi |
| Cell towers | Google: accurate up to a few thousand metres | Whenever GPS is weak and the phone falls back to the mobile network |
| Bluetooth | Apple lists Bluetooth connections as an input to Location Services | The official help does not give an accuracy figure |
| Approximate permission | Android: an area of about 3 km²; iPhone: Precise Location off | Always — by design, for privacy |
| Last known point | Find My: 7 days in app / 24 h on iCloud.com; Find Hub: most recent stored location | Phone off, offline or out of battery |
| Crowd-sourced network | Find Hub shows an aggregated location from several reports | Few nearby devices to relay a report |
Read uncertainty without making an accusation
Fresh but broad
A recent approximate result still cannot identify a room, an address or a person's intention. It only says the phone was somewhere in the ring.
Precise-looking but old
Display precision does not make an old update current. A sharp pin from three hours ago is history, not a live position.
Unexpected device
Check which authorised device supplies the location before interpreting a position — on Apple you choose the sharing device, on Google sharing is set per device.
Wrong venue name
Google says Location Sharing may occasionally show a nearby point of interest in busy areas. The business named on the card may simply be next door.
No tracker, paid or free, removes these limits: every app ultimately reads the same phone sensors and networks through the same permissions. A service that promises pinpoint accuracy for a number it has no device access to is not more accurate — it has no real data at all.
Official sources (checked October 2026)
- Apple — About privacy and Location Services
- Apple — Control the location information you share on iPhone
- Apple — Use Find My to locate your lost device
- Google — Find, secure, or erase a lost Android device (location sources)
- Google — Location Accuracy on Android
- Google — Manage your Location Sharing settings
Questions people ask
Why does a lost tag or accessory seem to sit between places?
Because the point may be built from several reports. When Android devices nearby detect a lost item, Google says Find Hub shows the owner an aggregated location calculated from the multiple location reports. With few devices around, there may be little to aggregate.
Why is the location off by a whole neighbourhood?
Probably because the fix came from cell towers rather than GPS — Google gives cell towers the widest error of the sources in its Find Hub help (see the table above). A wide ring around the dot is the clue.
What does the circle around the dot mean?
Uncertainty. On Apple Maps the blue circle appears when your location can't be determined precisely, and a smaller circle means more precision. In Find Hub the radius indicates Google's confidence in the location's accuracy.
The pin looks exact, so why is it wrong?
Check the time. A last known point is drawn just as sharply as a live one, and Find My keeps showing a last known location for a while after a device goes offline. Read it as “was here then”.
Why does a location show a shop or restaurant the person never went to?
Google says that in busy areas Location Sharing may occasionally show a location incorrectly as a nearby point of interest. The estimate may be right to within the ring while the venue label is wrong.
Can an app be set to share only a rough location?
Yes. On Android, once you have allowed location access, you can turn Use precise location on or off for that app. On iPhone you can turn Precise Location off for an app in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
Are paid tracker apps more accurate than Find My or Find Hub?
The official help does not describe third-party apps' accuracy. They rely on the same phone sensors and permissions, so they cannot see more than the phone itself knows. Treat advertised accuracy as the seller's claim.
What should I do if a location worries me?
Contact the person directly or use another source of information. If you believe someone is in danger, contact emergency services rather than acting on a map point alone.