“I want to know how to track a phone on my Verizon account.” Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to do it.
Tracking phones without permission is unethical and may pose legal consequences because it creates a potential privacy breach. Luckily, Verizon has smart locator services that allow you to track a phone on your account.
How do you track a phone on your Verizon account? Here you go!
Verizon offers you several methods to track your phone. They have a Smart Family, which is an add-on to your plan which makes tracking phones of family members a lot easier.
Now, there are a few things you need to know before we can move on to tracking phones on your Verizon account.
Considerations on How to Track a Verizon Phone on My Account
It is possible to track a Verizon phone through various programs. However, you cannot use them without the tracked person knowing.
They will be notified through an alert or text message. The points below cover the crux of Verizon’s privacy policy.
✅ Privacy Concerns
The type of information Verizon collects depends on the use of products.
With smart locator services, they only gather location, device movement, app usage, and the like.
✅ Track Phones with Consent
If you want to track a phone on your Verizon account, you will have to consent to the telecommunications company to collect related information.
You may revoke the consent at any time as well.
✅ Security Issues with Data Sharing
Don’t worry about Verizon sharing your personal data with third parties. Verizon only discloses information within the company and its affiliates.
✅ Phone Connected to Verizon Network
Only phones connected to the Verizon network can use the smart locator service. You will have to install the Smart Family app on your device and the targeted devices for it to work.
Being able to track the Verizon phone of your loved ones in real-time allows you to see and hear their phone surroundings. So, you can protect them against malicious social media campaigns and other illegal online activities.
Now, let’s find out how you can do this.
Guide on How to Track a Phone on My Verizon Account
There are a lot of ways to track Verizon phones. However, if you have a family account and want to track the phones of your other family members via your Verizon account, there’s only a few ways to do it.
Most phones will come with built-in locator apps like iOS’ Find My iPhone or Android’s Find My Phone.
The downside with these is that you need to log in using the device’s Google or Apple accounts.
Verizon’s Smart Family allows you to locate the phones of those in your account by simply using the app. Let’s look at how you can do this for your account:
1. Get the Verizon Smart Family Premium Plan
The Verizon Smart Family plan is an add-on service to your current Verizon subscription. It offers a variety of features like parental control.
But most importantly, it comes with location tracking and check-in options for enrolled members of the plan.
To track phones via your Verizon account, you need to sign up to the Verizon Smart Family plan first.
Here are the steps to add Verizon Smart Family to your account:
- Go to the Verizon website at Verizon.com.
- Navigate to shop, then Apps and Add-ons.
- Select Safety, and choose Smart Family.
- Click on the Get it Now button.
- Choose Existing Customer and log in to your Verizon account.
Note: Make sure that you get the Premium version of the plan as that's the one that includes the phone tracking feature.
2. Install the Smart Family App on Phones in Your Account
After signing up for the Verizon Smart Family add-on on your account, it’s now time to set it up on your phone.
As it’s a different service with its own set of features, you will need to get the Smart Family app installed on all the phones of your account members.
Doing this will ensure that you can track the phones to know your child’s location or if they lose the phone.
Here are the steps on how to install the Smart family app:
- Go to your phone’s app store.
- Search for Verizon Smart Family.
- Download and install it on your phone.
- Open the app and sign in using your Verizon account.
Note: On your child's phone, you will need to install a different app called the Verizon Smart Family Companion.
3. Add Members to Your Smart Family Account
Now that all phones in your account have the Smart Family app, it’s now time to add the members on the account.
You will still need to enroll each member to the Smart Family account to register the app on their phones.
Once you finish this step, you will now have access to their location data with their consent. This is a necessary step so the app has access to the phones in your account.
Here are the steps to add members to your Smart Family account:
- Open the Smart Family app on your phone.
- Go to the Settings menu on the top right of the screen.
- Select Family Settings.
- Tap on Add Family Member.
- Enter the name and upload a picture for easy identification.
Note: You will need to repeat these steps for every member of your family.
4. How to Setup Your Child’s Phone
Setting up your child’s phone is a different step altogether compared to yours. Since you’re assigned as the parent, there are other features that you have access to.
You will have to set up your child’s phone differently so you can track them and grant them access to features that they can use.
You will need to do this after adding members to your account to pair up their devices to your account.
Here’s how to setup your child’s phone on Verizon Smart Family:
- On your child’s device, download the Smart Family Companion app.
- On your device, select Smart Family Companion.
- Tap on Send Invite.
- On your child’s device, tap on the invite link.
- Select Next to finish the process.
Note: You will also get a confirmation message that the connection setup is successful.
5. How to Track a Phone Using to Smart Family App
Now that everything is set up and ready to go, you can now track any family member’s phone.
To do this on your phone, you can use the Smart Family app on your phone to check in on the location of all your family members.
Here are the steps to track a phone on Verizon Smart Family app:
- Open the Verizon Smart Family app on your phone.
- Tap on the member’s phone you want to track at the top.
- Wait for the app to locate the phone.
- You will see a map with the location of the phone.
Note: You can tap on the map to see more detail of the phone's location for easierAprtvigation.
6. Tracking a Phone on Your My Verizon Account Online
Apart from the app, you can also access the tracking feature on your My Verizon account online.
Instead of the app, you will need to log in to your account and access the same information.
It’s also possible to track phones that are enrolled and paired with your account.
Here’s how you can track a phone using your Verizon account online:
- Go to the Verizon website at verizon.com.
- Log in to your My Verizon account.
- Find the Smart Family option.
- Click on the phone you want to track.
- Check the map to know the exact location of the phone.
Note: You can also check out the phone's location history so you know where it's been.
These are the steps that will help you locate a phone using your Verizon account.
You need to make sure that it’s enrolled and set up on your Smart Family account to get the exact location access of the phone.
You can also contact Verizon customer support if you come across any issues in setting up your account and tracking your family member’s phones.
Bottom Line
Now that you know the exact steps on how to track a phone on my Verizon account, you can eliminate the anxiety of not knowing where your child is.
This feature also comes in handy if any of your family members lose their phone since you can easily track and locate them.
Read Next: Can Verizon Track a Lost Phone?
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.