If phone is stolen and all locations or finding settings are off, user is not logged in etc it’s not possible for the user to see the approximate location of the phone.
What are recommendations, if user still wants to be able to find location of lost phone immediately, yet limit being tracked by location.
I think what you need is a trusted party/platform you give access to your location while removing location access to all other apps. But cellular triangulation will always be possible if using the cellular network so approx. location if not better will always remain the case should an entity powerful enough will go this far to try and find your location or approx. location.
which trusted party. examples?
Yes triangulation is of course possible. What is the consensus on leaving findmy or findmyphone type settings ON in terms of security and privacy.
Maybe for someone who is constantly followed, it does not even matter?
Why do you want to be able to find the person who stole your phone? What are you going to do when you find them?
If you just lost it the benefit is more obvious, but there are mitigation you can take to avoid losing it.
To state the obvious, it’s best to think of how you can avoid having your phone stolen or lost in the first place. Have situational awareness, don’t have it out in public if you don’t really need it, etc. Aside from that I think it comes down to deciding whether you want better privacy by only using location services as needed or if you prefer the ability to track your phone while granting Apple/Google the same ability.
FWIW there are various ways companies track your location so if you haven’t ensured you’re protected from that, leaving Find My iPhone/Device disabled might not stop Apple/Google/whoever from tracking your location anyways. You can also look into alternatives but I doubt they’re as functional as the native Find My options for iOS and Android.
Looking to find the phone, not so much the person. If accidentally left somewhere or it could be useful in other ways if it’s stolen.
So FMD Findmydevice would be best for Android.
Anything for apple?
When comparing, Samsung, Google, Apple and their built in services. How do they compare in terms of spying or data gathering.
I fail to see it helping if stolen. It’s not enough evidence for a warrant since it can only tell the general area and you are not planning to go recover the phone at night batman style. Phones also have the unique imei already as well as the serial number.
If lost, one option would be to use an external tracker attached to it, or even a remote controlled beeper. If you search online for “remote finder beeper” you’ll see a lot of things. They are more for keys and usually attach to a key ring, but with some effort you might be able to attach one to a case. There are also phone cases that come with key rings.
The beepers work like a garage door opener, except starts making a loud beeping sound when you press the remote while in range. This is good if you have a tendency to know the general area where you left things but not the exact location. This avoids the issues with having a GPS tracker.
Another thing you can do is have your contact info somewhere on the case itself. There’s a decent chance that whoever finds it will call you or send a text message letting you know. Most people aren’t thieves.