12 Best Hidden Tracking Devices for Cars in 2020

This one uses the 4G LTE network to transmit data to the app. You use the app on your phone or computer to check where your target is. You can also elect to receive alerts when the vehicle you’re tracking leaves or enters the geofence you define. You can also view location history and check the maximum and average speeds of the target vehicle.

What Customers Are Saying

People have remarked about how strong the magnets on the case are. A few buyers have stuck the unit on the bottom of their vehicles and have said that the magnets have held up and there was no damage due to water splashing on it. All in all, everyone is happy with their purchase.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This is the best hidden GPS tracker for cars and other vehicles due to its small size and useful features. You can track your target in real time and view speed and location history as well as get alerts per the parameters you set.

This model is on the larger side. It’s five inches wide. The battery lasts almost three weeks, but there is a battery expansion available that extends that life up to six months! You can get alerts when the geofence is broken. Other alerts are possible for speed, reckless driving and driving outside curfew times.

The app stores a year’s worth of data and lets you prepare customized reports. For example, you can pull location history. fuel usage and speed reports.

What Customers Are Saying

There are many reviews online by people who have used the tracker. They often talk about how accurate the location is and how often it updates.

There have been some complaints about the monthly fee being too high, At about $25 per month, it is among the highest subscription rates for GPS trackers.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This is a good real time hidden GPS tracker for cars. It is very accurate and the app is user-friendly. The high monthly fee may be worth it for you if you want to be able to go back and view data going back a year.

This tracker plugs right into a vehicle’s OBD port. There’s no batteries to fool with. You can access the data collected and track in real time on the app or website. One great feature is the customizable geofence. Most trackers only allow a circular fence, but this one lets you make one of any size and shape.

This is the best hidden GPS tracker for a car without a monthly fee. After the one year of free data, there will be a small monthly charge.

What Customers Are Saying

Parents seem to love this tracker. Many have commented about how they not only track their teen’s movement when they drive, but they can keep up with the kid’s vehicle’s maintenance needs. For the same reason, business owners really like this model too.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This could be a great choice for you if you can’t or don’t want to charge or replace a battery every couple weeks. It’s hard to beat that free one-year data service!

The price is the biggest pro here. It is very affordable to purchase, and the monthly fee is less than $10. That’s one of the cheapest data plans we’ve seen. You can view location, history, and driving habits on the app or on Bouncie’s website. It’s even compatible with Alexa and Google Home.

It’ll work in USA, Canada and Mexico in any 3G area. You can customize the system to send you alerts on your phone when the target leaves the geofence or operates the car outside of certain time limits.

What Customers Are Saying

Customers have voted this the best inexpensive GPS tracker for cars. They like all the useful features, and they love that the data plans start at only $8 per month.

Pros/Cons

Summary

If you need to go cheap but don’t want to give up any basic functionality, take a good look at this little secret GPS tracker for cars.

Here’s a good tracker for fleet owners. The battery, which can be recharged with a cell phone charger, lasts for up to a year and a half. It’s not for real time tracking, though. It will update once every minute at the most. There’s no app. You’ll have to log in to the site to get the data.

The great thing is that you won’t be totally dependent on a satellite signal. When there’s no signal, like in a parking garage or warehouse, the unit will use cell towers to determine a position.

What Customers Are Saying

Most of the people who’ve bought this model are business and fleet owners. They like that the battery lasts for well over a year and that there is practically no maintenance required. People who bought this one to track loved ones don’t like that there is no app involved.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This may be the best concealed GPS tracker for you if you can’t fool with batteries but can’t have an OBD model either.

This affordable tracker uses 4G LTE cell signals to send location data to the app at a rate of up to once every ten seconds. The only feature it really has, other than real time tracking, is the geofence. It’s simple and it’s small. The fee is pretty high, though. It’s $25 a month, but you can save $5 per month if you pay semi-annually.

What Customers Are Saying

People who just wanted a basic and affordable GPS tracker are very happy with their purchase. There has been some pushback on the monthly fee, which is about $25, but most seem to not mind paying extra for the simplicity offered by this device.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This discrete GPS tracker for cars is easy to operate and gives about two and a half weeks of service with a fresh set of batteries. It may be good for you if you want a simple, functional unit at a decent price.

Right off the bat, know that this one only works on 2G networks, and there is no way to update the hardware. If your area is served by 2G, you can use it. There are some useful features here. It updates real time location every 10 to 15 seconds.

You will get an alert if the unit is tampered with, or if it senses that the car has been broken into.

You can view target location and speed history online. Another way you can get a location update is by texting the tracker. It will then text you back with a link to the unit’s Google Maps location. You click the link, then you are presented with a precise location. That’s pretty cool!

What Customers Are Saying

Many are apprehensive about buying this unit because it is only compatible with 2G. They say it still works in many areas, but they worry that it will not work for much longer. As far as function goes, everyone is happy with the battery life and the accuracy and ease of use.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This model could be the best hidden GPS vehicle tracker for you if you will track a vehicle in a mostly 2G area. You may want to do some research about the cell service in the area where your tracker will function. If you can use this one, you will appreciate the real time updates and the speed diary that you can access on the site.

This isn’t just a car tracker. It is often used for pets. Indoors, it can be used as a WiFi tracker. As a car tracker, it is accurate to less than 10 feet. The app stores up to five years of location and driving history. You can get alerts when the geofence, speed or time boundaries are broken.

The magnetic and waterproof case allows attachment to the outside of vehicles.

What Customers Are Saying

Nearly all of the feedback is positive. People say that all of the claims are true. That includes the claims of accuracy to within six feet and the battery life of three weeks.

There were a few complaints about the app being buggy, but it has been updated since those complaints and all of the bugs have been fixed. Also, there have been a few complaints about the magnet on the case coming loose.

Pros/Cons

Summary

Do you need a cheap hidden GPS tracker for your car? If so, this one is affordable as well as accurate. It can even be used as a personal tracker or a locator for pets. It gets great reviews and few complaints.

This small GPS tracker for cars needs to be wired directly into the vehicle’s ignition system. That makes it a more or less permanent part of the vehicle. What a great anti-theft device! It tracks in real time and will send alerts when the car is started. It can even sense when the car is being towed, so a thief can’t simply pull the car away.

What Customers Are Saying

Many people use this one as an anti-theft device, since it can send an alert when the vehicle is started.

One customers told a story about how he received the alert when his motorcycle was started. He knew it was being stolen, so he tracked it on the app. When it stopped, he called the police and gave them the location. He has his bike back within an hour.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This is a great hidden GPS vehicle tracker. The way it has to be hardwired ensures it cannot simply be removed and tossed out the window by a thief. It also makes a good tracker for kids’ cars. It shows every time the car is started and when it leaves a predesignated area, so it would be easy to see what they are up to.

Here’s another tracker that gets hardwired to the car. It works good as a simple tracker. It shows real time location on the website and can send speed and geofence alerts to your phone. It’s pretty affordable, but only works on 2G networks. You’ll have to buy a SIM card before setting it up because it doesn’t come with one.

What Customers Are Saying

Fleet owners seem to like this one. Installation is not easy, but it is difficult to keep up with batteries in many trackers spread across many vehicles. Regular people who want to secure their vehicles or keep an eye on their loved ones in 2G areas like how user-friendly the system is.

Pros/Cons

Summary

The best hidden GPS tracker for cars reviews say this tracker is great as an anti-theft device, but it only functions in 2G service areas. It may be good for you if you are in a 2G area and want a simple and affordable tracker to prevent theft or track family cars.

Are you looking for a tracker with long battery life? How does two months sound? We’re impressed with such a long battery life in such a small package. You can view real time location on the website or app and receive alerts when the geofence is crossed or a preset speed limit is broken. These features make it great for both parents and fleet owners.

What Customers Are Saying

There have been some complaints about the magnet not holding well enough. Some customers have lost their units when they fell off on the road while the car was traveling. On the positive side, everyone is happy with the accuracy and the super long battery life.

Pros/Cons

Summary

You may have just found the best vehicle tracking device for you if you want an easy-to-use unit with a long battery life and don’t intend to use the magnet to stick it to the outside of a car. It would be best to place this one inside the car somewhere.

This is a new and improved version of the Ameriloc GC300. This one is functional with up to 4G LTE, instead of 2G, and it has a longer battery life. It tracks in real time and stores data for later retrieval from the app.

You can set it up to get text or email alerts when the target travels beyond the parameters you set or goes past a certain speed. You can also elect to receive alerts when the vehicle is started and when it is parked. An international SIM card is included, so it works pretty much from anywhere in the world.

What Customers Are Saying

There are so many great reviews online, it was hard to figure out what people liked the best! They love the app. It is easy to navigate and it shows a very accurate location. There weren’t many legitimate complaints, other than a few warranty claims.

Pros/Cons

Summary

This unit shines among hidden GPS tracking devices for cars. It is easy to place and the app is simple to use. It has all the features that a parent or business owner needs to track their assets or keep an eye on their loved ones.

Keep these tips at the front of your mind when shopping so you can get the right one for you.

Decide Where You Will Place It

This is an important consideration. The best place for it to go is somewhere inside the car, but you need one with a good magnet if you must mount it on the outside. If you will put it inside, figure out whether you need a battery-operated unit or one that will be hardwired.

Hardwiring isn’t easy. You need some know-how to do it right, but you won’t have to charge a battery every couple of weeks.

If you get a battery-operated unit, pay attention to the battery life. Make sure you’ll be able to remove and recharge it or replace the batteries at the interval required. And if you suspect that you are being watched without your knowledge, then look at our hidden camera detectors, some of which can track the signal from the GPS tracker. This will help to uncover and remove them.

Check The Features

Do you need to know how fast the target travels? if so, make sure the tracker you get offers speed alerts. Geofencing is a popular feature. It alerts you whenever the target moves beyond boundaries that you set. Ignition alert is a good feature if you are going to use the unit as an anti-theft device. It sends out an alarm when the vehicle is started.

How Do You Want To Get Alerts?

Hidden tracking devices for cars can let you know when a specified event happens, like when a geofence is broken. The better models, like the ones we reviewed above, let you choose how you are notified.

Text alerts are convenient because you probably have your phone on you all the time.

Email alerts are best for fleet owners. They may not need or want to know about the alerts right away.

All covert tracking devices for vehicles are capable of real time tracking. Make sure there is an app available. If an app isn’t totally necessary for your purposes, be sure the company’s tracking site is easy to use.

Don’t forget about these important things.

Is It Legal In Your Area?

Be sure to check your laws. They vary by country, state or province and even by city. Tracking devices for cars that can be hidden are legal for purchase just about everywhere, but installation is where matters may get muddy.

Generally, it is legal to install a tracking device on a car you own. This is especially true of commercial vehicles where tracking is an economical consideration. You can probably install one on someone else’s car if they are aware of it.

Will It Hold Up In Court?

If you buy a good car tracking device and use it to try to catch a cheating spouse, you may want to use the evidence that the device provides in court. Be aware that it may not be admissible, especially if your spouse didn’t know he or she was being tracked. If it violates the law, it probably won’t hold up.