About Hidden Car GPS, Did you know that someone can track you with a hidden car GPS? It’s unfortunate, but the technology you use to make your life easier can be appropriated by bad actors for malignant purposes.
We tend to underestimate the impact and importance of GPS technology in our lives. We use it to sync our clocks as well as navigate. It’s hard to believe that it can also be used for nefarious reasons.
You need to be able to protect yourself from non-consensual GPS tracking. The following guide will show you how to identify a hidden car GPS tracker and what to do when you find one.
What are Hidden Car GPS Trackers?
Today, automobile manufacturers equip modern cars with built-in GPS trackers. These trackers are there to assist with navigation. However, this is not the only way GPS trackers can be used on cars.
Stolen vehicle recovery solutions rely on GPS trackers to find and retrieve stolen cars. They can hide in various spots in your car. Where they hide the GPS tracker usually depends on the make and design of your car.
Albeit, at least you know your car is being tracked when you hire one of these services. However, there are situations where someone may try to track you using the very same technology.
These GPS trackers are very compact, making them easy to hide. Thus, they can be very hard to spot. There are two types of GPS trackers:
- Passive: These trackers record the locations you visit in your car. They don’t output any data to external devices in real-time. As such, you must retrieve them and connect them to a computer or smartphone to see what information they may have recorded. Some passive trackers have BlueTooth connectivity. This means that the bad actor must be close to the vehicle and tracker to retrieve its data.
- Active: These trackers can connect to remote devices, and relay live information about your whereabouts. These trackers don’t just use GPS radio waves. They may also use cellular networks such as 3G, LTE (4G) and 5G to relay data. These are currently the most popular trackers on the market.
These hidden car GPS trackers are typically flat and puck-shaped. Larger devices may be rectangular and sport an LED light.
Nevertheless, now that you know how these devices function, where do bad actors typically try to hide them?
GPS Tracker Isolated On White Car
Where GPS Trackers May Be Hidden?
As we previously mentioned, where a bad actor chooses to hide the GPS tracker depends on the type of your car. For instance, hatchbacks don’t have the same trunk space as sedans and coupes.
Nonetheless, we tried to make the following list as comprehensive as possible.
If you suspect your car of containing a hidden GPS tracker, you should be able to use this as a checklist regardless of your car type.
Some of the most common hiding places for GPS trackers include
Automobile GPS Tracking Pulsing Signal Vehicle
Wheel Wells, Rims, Hubcaps and Mudflaps:
It’s not unusual for bad actors to try to hide GPS trackers in areas behind, above and around your wheels. It’s one of the most common areas for bad actors who can’t gain entry into the vehicle.
Additionally, depending on the types of rims or hubcaps you have, someone can try to hide a GPS tracker between its spaces. As such, checking all four wheels and the spaces around them is important.
On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) Port:
The On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port (data collector is typically located near the lower left side of your steering wheel (right side for American drivers). Sometimes, bad actors may disguise the tracker as part of your vehicle’s electronic equipment.
On-Board Diagnostic Port
Bumpers and Inside The Hood
Bad actors may try to implant the tracker on the front and back bumpers of the car. These are fairly common hiding places, considering that bad actors may not have access to your car’s interior in most cases.
A bad actor may also try concealing the tracker just underneath your hood. They may also try embedding it near the engine.
Undercarriage/underside of your car
This is another common hiding place. Bad actors may try to place a GPS tracker underneath your car. They’ll usually implant it near the edges of your undercarriage so it’s easier to place and retrieve.
Inspecting your car for a Hidden car GPS
Roof:
Once again, while bad actors may not be able to gain entry into your motor vehicle, they can still plant a GPS tracker on the exterior of your car’s roof. This is especially common when your car has a tail, sunroof, or other roof.
Under the vehicle upholstery:
Bad actors can hide trackers underneath and between seats, headrests, mats, etc. You only have to worry about these areas if the bad actor is someone close to you who can gain entry into your car.
Cubby hole:
It may seem like an obvious spot, but the bad actor may implant the tracker in your car’s cubby hole. Look for suspicious devices or wires in the cubby hole and on the side of its door, hinge or swing.
Sun Visor:
This is another obvious spot that you should not take for granted. Bad actors may try to conceal a tracker in your visor. We recommend checking between the folds.
How to Uncover A Hidden Car GPS
Mechanic at work
As you can see from the list in the previous section, there are so many different places someone can hide a GPS tracker.
Trying to manually uncover a GPS tracker on your own can be quite difficult – especially considering the size of said trackers. Nevertheless, you can use tools and processes to make it easier.
Flashlights and Mirrors
If you do decide to try to manually find the tracker on your own, you should consider employing a mirror and flashlight.
The flashlight will help you illuminate all the dark corners of your vehicle, making it easier to expose any GPS trackers.
The mirror will help you search those tricky areas. For instance, you may be unable to position yourself underneath your car. You can use a mirror instead.
Bug Detectors
Most modern bug detectors can help you identify hidden car GPS trackers. GPS trackers receive radio signals from the GPS satellite system.
The bug detector should be able to alert you of any devices that are emitting or receiving radio signals.
It doesn’t matter if the bad actor uses a passive or active GPS tracker. It should be easier to identify an active tracker since they use all types of radio frequencies.
Nevertheless, you can purchase a bug detector at your local security shop or online store.
GPS Jammers
GPS jammers are outlawed in Canada and the USA. However, if you’re fortunate enough to live outside these countries, you can purchase and utilize a GPS jammer. These devices allow you to block GPS frequencies.
However, in some cases, these devices may jam all radio signals indiscriminately. Thus, they can interfere with cellular connections and Wi-Fi connections, too.
As such, you need to be very careful when using these devices. Please do not use them near airports or emergency vehicles. GPS jammers may disrupt their navigation systems and cause accidents.
Conclusion
If you suspect someone is tracking you using a hidden car GPS, you should contact and seek help from law enforcement.
The chances of you being tracked are very low. However, if a bad actor is indeed trying to track your whereabouts, you should be worried.
It has a very high chance of escalating into an extremely dangerous situation. We recommend following some of the steps in this guide to uncover any GPS trackers. However, you should always consult law enforcement if you feel in danger.