Turning Android's Location setting off can prevent ordinary apps from receiving fresh device location, but it does not create a universal promise that every kind of device-finding technology becomes impossible. Platform recovery features, network information and previously recorded data are separate systems. For a normal third-party app such as LocationOf, the important rule is simple: it cannot bypass Android's location permission and settings to secretly obtain GPS coordinates.
Android exposes system location controls and app-specific permissions. When location access needed by an application is disabled, that application should not be able to continue requesting precise location as if nothing changed. The operating system—not the website—enforces those controls.
A web service cannot remotely override the user's Android setting merely because it knows a phone number, IMEI or account name.
Turning location off now does not rewrite history. A service may still possess points that were legitimately recorded earlier, subject to its retention rules. Always check timestamps: the last marker may be an old position rather than proof that the phone is currently there.
This distinction is especially important with lost devices and family-sharing maps.
Android platform recovery capabilities are designed specifically for devices linked to the owner's account. Supported systems can include recent or offline-finding information under their own settings and hardware capabilities. Those features are not the same as granting an arbitrary third-party app continuous GPS access.
If you are trying to recover your own missing Android phone, start with the lost Android checklist rather than random “track any phone” websites.
A cellular network necessarily handles technical information when a phone is connected to provide service. Carrier or law-enforcement capabilities are governed by network architecture, authorization and law; they are not a public consumer GPS API. Turning an app permission off does not mean a random website gains or loses access to carrier systems—it did not have that access in the first place.
LocationOf relies on its installed Android application and the location access granted to it. If the device stops providing location, LocationOf cannot use the website to secretly re-enable GPS, defeat permissions or invent a current coordinate.
If a map stops updating, check the newest timestamp before assuming the phone has stopped moving.
When continuous route recording is your goal, enable the permissions appropriate to that use case and test how the tracker behaves after the screen is locked and after a reboot. Android background rules can stop updates even when the master Location switch remains on.
Read Android background location and why location updates can be delayed.
LocationOf does not provide instructions for covert tracking or methods for defeating Android's privacy controls. Use transparent location sharing where everyone involved understands what is being collected and who can view it.
See Can you track someone's phone without them knowing? for the privacy boundary and safer alternatives.
“Location is off” can mean several things. The device-wide Android Location switch can be disabled; one particular app can have its location permission removed; or the phone can simply be offline with no internet connection. Those states have different consequences.
Checking which state actually changed is essential before interpreting a stopped map.