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Mechanics & law · How Trackers Work

Is it legal to track a car or a person?

Your own property, generally yes. Someone else's, frequently not. Here is what one representative statute actually says — and this is not legal advice.

By Mike M.Last updated

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state and by context, and family-law, employment and criminal matters all have their own rules. If a tracking question matters legally to you, speak to a lawyer in your jurisdiction.

The short version

Tracking your own property is generally lawful. Your car, your luggage, your tools, your bike, your pet. You own the thing and you are tracking the thing.

Tracking a person, or property you do not own, frequently is not. This is where the statutes bite, and where the fact that the device cost $25 rather than $250 makes no difference at all.

A representative statute, quoted

California Penal Code § 637.7 is a useful example because it is clear and because many states have something comparable. Its central prohibition is:

“No person or entity in this state shall use an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a person.”

The statute defines an electronic tracking device as any device attached to a vehicle or other movable thing that reveals its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals. An AirTag is squarely within that definition.

Two exceptions are provided. The prohibition does not apply where the registered owner, lessor or lessee of a vehicle has consented to the use of the device, and it does not apply to the lawful use of such a device by a law enforcement agency.

A violation is a misdemeanour, and for businesses licensed under California's Business and Professions Code Division 3 it can also mean license revocation.

Why the consent exception matters more than people realize

Read that exception carefully: it turns on the registered owner, lessor or lessee of the vehicle consenting.

That is the clause most families are relying on without knowing it is a clause. Tracking a car registered in your own name is covered. Tracking a car registered in your adult child's name, or your partner's name, or a car you do not own, is not — and the prohibition is about determining the location of a person, which a car containing a person does.

Situations, and the honest answer in each

Your own car, your own belongings

Generally lawful. You own it and you are tracking it. The practical caveat is other people: if somebody else regularly drives the car, you are also tracking them, and in some jurisdictions and relationships that changes the analysis.

A car you own that someone else drives

More complicated. Statutes like § 637.7 hinge on the registered owner consenting, which if that is you may cover it — but the prohibition is about determining a person's location, and an employee or an adult family member driving your car is a person. Tell them, and in an employment context take advice: there are separate employment-law rules about monitoring.

Your minor child

Generally accepted as a parental decision, and less automatic than people assume — it depends on your state, the device, and the child's age. We would tell them anyway, for the practical reasons on our conversation page.

Your adult child, or your parent

An adult with capacity decides whether they are tracked, including by family. Where capacity is genuinely impaired — dementia, for instance — the picture is different and involves their clinician and whoever holds a power of attorney. We cannot advise on it.

A partner or former partner

Do not. This is the situation the statutes were written for, the anti-stalking features exist for, and the one where consequences are most serious. It is also the one we will not help with in any form.

An employee

Company vehicles are commonly tracked lawfully, with disclosure, and employment law in your jurisdiction will have rules about notice and scope. Take advice rather than assuming, and disclose it in writing.

A hire car or a shared vehicle

You are not the registered owner, so the consent exception does not apply to you. Do not fit a tracker to a vehicle you do not own.

What the law does not care about

Price. A $25 AirTag and a $250 cellular tracker are both electronic tracking devices. The statute's definition is about function, not cost.

Your intentions. “I was worried about them” is not an exception in the text.

Whether you looked at the data. The prohibition is on use of the device to determine location, which fitting one does.

Other jurisdictions, briefly

State laws differ substantially — some have specific electronic-tracking statutes, some handle it through stalking, harassment or privacy law, and some through a combination. Some require consent from all vehicle owners rather than one. Several have strengthened their statutes since Bluetooth tags became cheap.

We are not going to summarize fifty states, because a summary accurate enough to rely on is beyond what a web page should claim. Find your own state's statute, or ask a lawyer.

If you are being tracked

You have a practical route and a legal one, and they are different.

Practical: your phone can find Bluetooth tags for free, and a physical search finds cellular ones. Detection is here and the physical search is here.

Legal and personal: local law enforcement, and — if the person is a partner, former partner or family member — a domestic-violence advocacy organization, who deal with exactly this and can help with the situation around the device rather than just the device.

Please do not treat being tracked by someone close to you as a technical problem to solve alone. It rarely is.

Questions

Frequently asked

Is it legal to put an AirTag on a car?
On a car you own or lease, generally yes. On someone else's, frequently not: California Penal Code § 637.7 prohibits using an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a person, with exceptions where the registered owner, lessor or lessee of a vehicle consents and for lawful law-enforcement use, and a violation is a misdemeanour. Other states differ. This is not legal advice.
Does the law treat an AirTag differently from a GPS tracker?
No. Statutes like § 637.7 define an electronic tracking device by function — any device attached to a vehicle or other movable thing that reveals its location or movement by transmitting electronic signals — so a $25 AirTag and a $250 cellular tracker are both covered. The law does not care about price, and it does not provide an exception for good intentions.
Can I track my spouse's car?
We will not help with this, and the law is a real risk as well as the obvious relationship one. Statutes such as § 637.7 prohibit using a tracking device to determine a person's location, with the exception turning on the registered owner, lessor or lessee consenting — so a car in their name is not covered by your consent. This is the exact situation the anti-stalking protections exist for, and it is where consequences are most serious.
Is it legal to track my child?
For a minor in your care it is generally accepted as a parental decision, though less automatic than people assume — it depends on your state, the device and the child's age. For an adult child it is not: an adult with capacity decides whether they are tracked, including by family. We would tell a minor anyway, for practical reasons as much as ethical ones.
Can an employer track a company vehicle?
Commonly yes, with disclosure, and employment law in your jurisdiction will have its own rules about notice and scope that sit on top of any tracking statute. The safe approach is to disclose it in writing and take advice rather than assuming the company owning the vehicle settles the question — the statutes are about determining a person's location, and an employee driving a company van is a person.
What should I do if someone is tracking me?
There is a practical route and a personal one. Practically: your phone finds Bluetooth tags for free using its built-in scan, and a systematic physical search finds cellular trackers. Personally and legally: contact local law enforcement, and if the person is a partner, former partner or family member, a domestic-violence advocacy organization deals with exactly this and can help with the wider situation. Please do not treat it as a technical problem to solve alone.

Read next

Related

Where the figures came from

Sources

Every specification and plan price on this page traces to one of these, read on the date shown. Device prices are live from Amazon and stamped separately.

  1. California Penal Code § 637.7 — electronic tracking devices — accessed 2026-10-05
  2. Apple Support — if you get an alert that an AirTag or Find My network accessory is with you — accessed 2026-10-05
  3. Google — unknown tracker alerts on Android — accessed 2026-10-05