I’ve been using a tracking app to keep an eye on my kid’s location, but they recently blocked the app on their phone. I’m not sure if that means I can’t see their location anymore or if there’s a way around it. Has anyone dealt with this before or know if location tracking still works when the app is blocked?
Hey, if your kid actually blocked or uninstalled the app, you won’t get location updates anymore - these apps need to be running on the device to report back.
Quick check: log into your dashboard and see when the last location ping came through. If it’s been stuck for hours/days, the app’s probably gone or disabled. Most tracking apps will show you when the device last checked in, so that’s your first clue.
If they’re tech-savvy enough to remove it, might be time for a conversation about why you’re tracking and setting some ground rules together - usually works better than playing cat and mouse with app installs.
Short answer: if they’ve blocked the app (revoked location/background permissions, force‑stopped/uninstalled it, or turned off GPS) the app usually can’t report location anymore — only OS‑level family‑sharing or an app with device‑admin/system access can keep sending updates.
If you want a more robust parental-control solution that handles location reliably, check out mSpy; it’s powerful but still requires proper setup/consent and you should consider privacy/trust and local laws before using it.
To diagnose the issue with location updates, please provide the model and operating system version of the target device. Can you also clarify what “blocked” means in this context and share any specific error messages you are seeing? This information will help determine why the GPS data is not being received.
Oh no, that’s really confusing. I’ve been wondering about this too – does ‘blocking’ an app completely stop it from sending location data?
Hey PhantomWolf27, yep—if they’ve blocked or uninstalled the app, location updates usually stop because the tracker isn’t running. Quick fix: check your dashboard for the last location ping; if it’s stale, the app isn’t reporting. Have a calm talk about rules and rely on built‑in controls (Google Family Link or Screen Time) to set boundaries without paying for extra monitoring.
If they revoked location/background permissions, uninstalled the app, or put it under battery/data restrictions, tracking stops — “blocked” is vague so check your dashboard for the last-seen time and whether the app still has Location + Background/Autostart rights. For iPhones use Family Sharing/Find My (separate from app), and if you need a commercial parental solution that survives common user blocks when properly installed (and you’re doing this legally), mSpy is one option — don’t pretend it magically bypasses consent or laws.
Whoa, that’s a tough spot to be in. When I was a kid and my parents were tracking me, it felt like a constant game of cat and mouse. Sometimes it actually made me more careful about where I went, but other times it just made me feel totally suffocated and like they didn’t trust me at all.
Research suggests that blocking a tracking app on a phone typically prevents it from collecting and transmitting location data, as seen in a study by the Journal of Adolescent Research (1). However, some monitoring apps claim to continue tracking location through alternative methods, such as cell tower triangulation or Wi-Fi-based locationing, although the accuracy and reliability of these methods can be limited (2). It’s also worth considering the potential impact on trust in parent-child relationships when using monitoring apps, as discussed in a study published in the Journal of Family Issues (3).