As society becomes more advanced in technology, the need to protect one’s child increases. Using their smartphone provides an easy opportunity to do just that. For instance, if your child owns an iPhone and you, an Android device, the question begs how do you go about tracking your child’s activities and whereabouts in motion? While Apple and Android belong to different ecosystems, there are many ways in which parents can track their child’s iPhone from the Android device.

This post should show you the steps to take so that you do not have to own two Apple devices and still be able to track your child.

Read: How to Lock Messages on iPhone iOS 18: A Complete Guide

Why Track a Child’s iPhone from an Android Device?

There are some parents who do not like the idea of enabling any form of tracking on your child’s iPhone which is not usually to be overly cautious but this can also serve other reasons around this;

• Peace Of Mind: Whenever the child is at school, with some friends, or even a family outing, they can easily be located.
• Control screen time: If overspent especially on gaming, it interferes with productivity and sleep.
• In case something goes wrong: Kids sometimes stray away even from their parents and knowing where the child is can help in times of trouble.
• Keeping Kids safe from themselves: Some kids develop other interests that may not be appropriate such as watching certain types of movies and other activities that expose them to dangerously bad influences.

What You Need to Track an iPhone from Android

To locate an iPhone while using an Android device, it will be necessary to do one of the following:

1. Find My iPhone via iCloud (using a browser).
2. Third-party parental control apps.
3. Family Sharing features via iOS (requires some setup on another Apple device).
4. Tracking apps that are cross-compatible between iOS and Android.

Steps to Track a Child’s iPhone from an Android Device

1- Using iCloud’s “Find My iPhone” feature from an Android Browser:

Although ‘Find My iPhone’ is an Apple-unique feature, it can be accessed from all devices including an Android by using a browser. This makes it possible to keep tabs on your child’s iPhone provided you have their Apple ID. Steps: Open up an Android browser (e.g. Google Chrome, Firefox, etc).

• Access websites on iCloud.com using your child’s Apple ID and password.
• After signing in, click on Find iPhone.
• You will be led to a map showing you the location of your child’s iPhone.
• On this interface, you can insert a ring on the device, lock in the device change the pin, or delete total device memory if lost.

Limitations:

• This system requires knowing the Apple ID and the password of the child.
• Location tracking will be the only thing you will get to use from the parental control section.

2- Using Third-Party Parental Control Apps:

There are some cross-platform parental control applications that let you monitor an iPhone from an Android phone. Apart from just location tracking, these apps provide various functions like app usage reports, screen time management, website filtering, and much more.

Apps: iPhone Monitoring Apps for Android Phones

• Qustodio: includes features such as tracking device location and applications and screen time.
• Bark: track sms, MMS, emails, and social networks and find a real-time location.
• FamilyTime: includes applications that enable parents to follow loved ones and limit their access to certain things.
• Life360: location tracking with family maps and location history.

Steps to Set Up:

• First, download and install the necessary application on the iPhone and on the Android device. Select the applications recommended for a setup.
• Then create a parent account on the Android device and a child account on the iPhone.
• It is necessary to follow the instructions of the parent tablet to link the children’s devices and adjust the settings allowed: monitoring applications, tracking permissions, etc.
• After that, you will be able to control your child’s iPhone via the application installed on the Android phone.

Benefits:

• Tracking iPhones or focusing on the location of their child simply through an application interface.
• Not only location tracking is facilitated. Instantly notifies of any rule breaches, for example, entering an intended restricted zone.
• Some apps allow to regulate the amount of screen time and restrict the content through web filtering.

Limitations:

• A lot of apps are mostly okay but require users to pay if they want the full benefits of the app.
• It is required to install the application on both devices, and the child may still have some option to turn off some features.

3- Using Family Sharing Features:

Through the Family Sharing feature released by Apple, the members in the family can share the purchases and the locations on the devices. You cannot however set up Family Sharing from an Android device but if you have another iOS or a Mac device, you can set it through your child’s iPhone and oversee it with I cloud.

Steps:

• On the child’s iPhone, launch Settings and tap Apple ID on the top.
• Click Family Sharing and go to Add Family Member.
• Attach enable Location Sharing so that you may share the child’s iPhone with another Apple ID that perhaps belongs to you on another device.
• Once put in place this information can be accessed through I cloud on an Android browser.

Benefits:

• Get this feature without obliging the use of third-party apps.
• There is proper location tracking.
• Can be embedded within other family safety applications by Apple.

Limitations:

• Requires getting hold of an iOS or a Mac computer for configuring the application the first time.
• No other screen time or app control facilities like monitoring and management.

4- Tracking Apps that Allow Use in Both iOS and Android.

There are some applications that only perform the tracking function and they are bridgeable with the two OS platforms i.e. android and iOS. For instance, there is Google Maps that allows one device to show the location of other devices in real-time making it possible to monitor the location of an iPhone by an Android phone.

Steps:

• Use Google Maps on your child’s iPhone.
• Click on their profile picture and select Location Sharing.
• Enter someone’s Google account or phone number to share the location with you.
• Use Google Maps on your Android device to check on your child’s current location.

Benefits:

• Very easy to configure.
• Every minute continuous location tracking is possible.
• Third-party subscription is not needed.

Limitation:

• Only limits backward design – focus only on location without any additional parental control functions.
• Telling about the child, there is an opportunity to stop location sharing whenever the child wants.

Conclusion

Indeed tracking a child’s iPhone from an Android device is a reality with some approaches in place depending on what you are looking for. Whether you are looking for a temporary fix consisting of iCloud’s Find My iPhone app or a more complex approach of using dedicated parental control Apps, pursue these solutions and you will never lose your child.

For parents who want a more comprehensive monitoring experience, Qustodio and Life360 are examples of third-party applications that provide options such as app monitoring, internet filtering, and tracking the amount of time spent on certain activities. For just the purpose of locating your children, Google Maps or Family Sharing in iCloud will solve this issue.

Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, therefore it is important to select the one that is most appropriate for your parenting style and technology adaptation. In the end, it’s most important to know what the child’s safety is and each one of these enables this connection between Apple and Android devices.