Software Engineer Uses Google Maps to Recover Stolen Phone in Hours | – Times of India

Google Maps offers various features, including one that allows users to share location with friends and family. A person used this feature to recover his father’s stolen phone and other belongings in two hours and shared the whole situation in a thread on X (formerly Twitter).
One Raj Bhagat P hailing from Tamil Nadu claimed that his father was travelling from Nagercoil to Trichy in a train when a person, who boarded along with his father, stole his bag and mobile phone.The thief deboarded the train but did not turn off the stolen mobile – something that thieves do after stealing phones.
Bhagat’s father called him from another number to inform him about the theft. Bhagat said that among immediate family members, they have location sharing enabled that allowed him to track the location of the mobile.

Thief went back to Nagercoil on another train
Bhagat claimed that the location on Google Maps suggested that the thief was moving along the train track, deducing that the thief was returning to Nagercoil on another train. The person followed the thief with his friend and tracked him based on his movement.
Soon, the map showed the thief’s location accurate to 2 metres and Bhagat was able to identify the thief with the bag that had CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions) written on it – a clue that helped him spot the thief.
“My dad is a union activist. My friend and I confronted the thief at the bus stand and with the help of other people at the bus stand, we recovered my dad’s phone and bag,” he claimed.
Recovered items included chargers, earphones
Bhagat claimed that they nabbed the thief and handed him over to the police. Upon interrogation, other items, including a cell phone charger, Bluetooth earphones, lock key and train chain, Rs 1,000 were recovered from the thief.
How to enable Location Sharing feature on Google Maps
While some may prefer that apps do not access their location, others may want to use it as a safety feature. Both Google Maps and WhatsApp allow users to share their location with their friends to keep a tab on them while they are travelling.
To enable location sharing on Google Maps:

Apart from location, name and photo, the device’s battery power as well as arrival and departure time (if the location-sharing notification is added) will also be shared with the recipient.