How Police Track You Without You Knowing

There are four main ways law enforcement tracks your location:

Cell Tower Records
Even when you're not calling or texting, your phone constantly connects to nearby cell towers. These connections leave behind a log. Police can ask your phone company for this Cell Site Location Information (CSLI), sometimes reaching back days or weeks.

Real-Time Phone “Pings”
In urgent cases—like finding a missing person—police can request a live location from your phone provider. But that same method is also used in narcotics, robbery, and surveillance investigations. Not all jurisdictions require a warrant for these pings.

GPS Devices on Cars
In some cases, officers physically place a GPS tracker on a suspect's vehicle. This logs every location, every turn, every stop—down to the second.

Stingray Devices (Cell-Site Simulators)
These are high-powered tools that act like fake cell towers. They trick your phone into connecting, revealing your location. Stingrays don't just pick up one phone—they sweep up data from everyone in the area.

What the Supreme Court Says

In Carpenter v. United States (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police need a warrant to get historical cell tower data over time. That was a major step forward for privacy.

But Carpenter left a lot unanswered.

What about real-time pinging?
What about a one-time location check?
What about emergencies or national security?
What about Stingray use?

The Court didn't say. Which means police still push the limits—until a defense attorney pushes back.

Nevada's Approach

Nevada tends to follow federal precedent, but enforcement is inconsistent.

Some agencies do request warrants for location data. Others piggyback off federal task forces or claim “exigent circumstances.” Judges vary wildly in how they define a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

You might never even know you were tracked—until the prosecutor drops GPS coordinates into discovery.

What If the Tracking Was Illegal?

If police got your location without a valid warrant—or used shady methods like Stingrays without disclosure—we can fight it.

Our firm files motions to suppress digital location evidence under the Fourth Amendment. If granted, this could mean:

• The location data gets thrown out

• Any search, arrest, or confession that followed could be suppressed too

• The entire case may unravel

We've seen cases where everything hinged on a single “ping” or a hidden GPS log. Without it, the State's case fell apart.

Can You Prevent Being Tracked?

You can reduce your digital footprint—but you can't eliminate it entirely.

Disable location services when not needed.
Use end-to-end encrypted apps.
Avoid sharing your location on social media.
And if you're truly concerned, power down your device or use airplane mode.

Still, if law enforcement is determined to track you—they'll try. That's why courtroom challenges matter.

Bottom Line: Police Tracking Is Invisible, But It's Real

Gone are the days when surveillance meant binoculars and an unmarked car. Today's surveillance is silent, remote, and often warrantless.

At Liberators Criminal Defense, we challenge illegal tracking. We dig into the methods police use, the tools they hide, and the shortcuts they take. If your location data was used against you, we'll find out how—and whether they had any right to it.

Charged with a crime after being tracked? Call us. We defend your freedom where it's most vulnerable—your digital trail.