can police ping your phone without a search warrant?
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can police ping your phone without a search warrant?
The police came looking for my son today and said they pinged his phone to our address. He is not in trouble and is not charged with anything so how and why would they ping his phone?
Asked on July 16, 2019 under Criminal Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
A "ping" is not a search: it is ascertaining location (and that the phone is on), and in that way is no different from simply driving driving around and looking for a person or asking if their family, friends, or associates know where they are, both of which the police may clearly do. It is not searching anything, and does not require search warrant.
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