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Depends on the software being use. I use https://www.instamapper.com/ . It is a third party with no vested interest in any speeding case that I might be involved in. I also don't have access to their servers, so while I might be able to send packets with bad data, I could not retroactively change data after a stop. So, data from instamapper would be exactly the same situation as if your local grocery store had a security tape showing you were there instead of at the scene of a crime. Neither would be certified and calibrated, but both would be evidence from a third party that you were not committing the crime.

Instamapper GPS tracking software for Android handles this in what I consider an adequate way. They put a small icon on the notification bar, and after about 3 days of running, it gives you the ability to turn off the icon.

I prefer Big Brother though. I like it better because it is designed for you to submit your locations to your own webserver instead of to the developers server. Ironic that 'Big Brother' is the least Big Brotherish.

It might look a lot like a cell phone.

All phones manufactured in the US since 2000 have GPS in them, it is required by law for 911 tracking purposes.

It also never turns off, though you can "disable", which basically just tells the cell phone company to stop monitoring the signal it is continuing to send out.

The cheapest phone that will allow you to use GPS tracking services (which tend to require extra software on the phone) like Instamapper is the Motorola iDEN pre-paid phone, which can be had for $40 at any Target or Best Buy.

You were saying?

... you can use InstaMapper, which has an iPhone app, and works with some other devices.

http://www.instamapper.com/howto.html

First of all, I don't advocate tracking of people against their will, no matter what their age. My solution is not only cheap, but exceeding difficult to use without the child being aware of it, so I don't mind sharing it:

option 1:
http://www.instamapper.com/diy.html

option 2:
http://www.slashgear.com/open-gps-tracker-based-on-cheap-prepaid-phone-0340035/ (more work, but potentially cheaper)

Just stash it in their backpack.

I used Instamapper on my Blackberry to provide real time / historical GPS tracking of myself. It's free, extremely easy to set up, and has Facebook integration. Be warned, GPS is a battery killer. I set all this up when I first became interested in location aware apps, and its run fine since.

http://www.instamapper.com/

And InstaMapper

If anyone is interested in GPS tracking, there is a free service that works with inexpensive cell phones: http://www.instamapper.com/diy.html

I operate a free GPS tracking service (http://www.instamapper.com), so I know a thing or two about this topic.

This is an interesting idea, but it won't catch on for a few more years. The problem is that only a tiny fraction of cell phones (I would estimate less than 1%) are capable of GPS tracking now. Of those people who have a compatible phone, most won't bother to install the app and remember to start it whenever they go out. Typical battery life when GPS is turned on is about 8 hours. So this is not an app that can run in the background 24/7.

In the end, you will have something like 10 people in San Francisco who send data to their system. It is enough data to make sense of what's happening in the city? Not hardly.

Give it another 5-10 years, and perhaps most phones will have GPSs in them. Perhaps battery life will improve enough to make continuous GPS tracking possible. Until then, this service, and other similar services, will have little value.

Step-by-step guide on how to track your own phone online: http://www.instamapper.com/diytracking.html

I've tried to use SSH a few times on several phones over the last couple of years, and it never worked right. The big problem is latency. You hit a key on a keyboard and have to wait a second or two before it's echoed. This may be ok if all you want to do is restart a server, but for any serious work cell phones just don't cut it.

---- My GPS tracking site: http://instamapper.com/

This is pretty cool. The website claims accuracy of 1-2 meters. If they indeed use triangulation, their equipment has to be able to measure time down to ~1/300 millionth of a second. BTW, chances are that tracking is anonymous. I don't believe phones transmit phone numbers or other private information unencrypted.

Since this article is about cell phone tracking, I thought I would mention a free GPS tracking service that we recently launched. It's called InstaMapper. There is a DIY that explains how to track a car in real-time using a $40 prepaid cell phone:

http://www.instamapper.com/diytracking.html