GPS Tracking Your Spouse in Illinois: Legal or Stalking?

This page is for people who have found an AirTag or GPS unit on their car or in their bag, people who suspect their phone is sharing their location, and people thinking about tracking a spouse to "prove" something in a divorce. Illinois handles location tracking through several statutes, not one, and the answer often depends on what was tracked, how, and why.

Is it legal to put a GPS tracker on my spouse's car in Illinois?

Usually not. Under 720 ILCS 5/21-2.5(b), "a person or entity in this State may not use an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a person." An "electronic tracking device" is "any device attached to a vehicle that reveals its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals" (21-2.5(a)). A violation is a Class A misdemeanor (21-2.5(d)).

The statute lists five situations where it does not apply (21-2.5(c)):

• the vehicle's registered owner, lessor, or lessee consented to the device on that vehicle;
• lawful use by a law enforcement agency;
• a business tracking vehicles it owns or leases that are driven by its employees or contractors;
• a State agency tracking its own vehicles driven by employees or contractors; and
• telematics installed by the manufacturer, or installed by or with the consent of the owner or lessee, that the owner or lessee subscribes to. Under this exception, the owner's or lessee's consent "constitutes consent for any other driver or passenger."

Two practical points follow. First, title matters for this particular statute. A spouse who is the sole registered owner and consents may fall outside 21-2.5, while a spouse who is not on the title does not. The statute does not say what happens when spouses co-own a car and one objects, and there is no published Illinois appellate decision on that question that we located. Second, falling outside 21-2.5 does not make tracking lawful. The stalking statute asks a different question.

When does tracking a spouse become stalking?

A person commits stalking by knowingly engaging in a "course of conduct directed at a specific person" when he or she knows or should know it would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of a third person, or to "suffer other emotional distress" (720 ILCS 5/12-7.3(a)). The definitions do most of the work:

• Course of conduct means two or more acts, including acts in which the defendant "directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils" a person (12-7.3(c)(1)).
• Places a person under surveillance includes "placing an electronic tracking device on the person or the person's property" (12-7.3(c)(7)).
• Emotional distress means "significant mental suffering, anxiety or alarm," and the reasonable person is "a person in the victim's situation" (12-7.3(c)(3), (8)).

Stalking is a Class 4 felony, and a second conviction is a Class 3 felony (12-7.3(b)). It becomes aggravated stalking, a Class 3 felony, if the person also violates an order of protection, a stalking no contact order, a civil no contact order, or a temporary restraining order, among other circumstances (720 ILCS 5/12-7.4). Hiring an investigator or asking a relative to plant the device does not shift the risk: a defendant who directs a third party is guilty "as if the same had been personally done by the defendant" (12-7.3(d-10)).

Whether a particular situation meets every element is a fact question. Ownership of the car, a "safety" explanation, or the fact that you are still married does not appear anywhere in the stalking elements.

Are AirTags and phone tracking apps treated differently?

Bluetooth trackers. An AirTag or similar tag dropped into a bag, coat, or child's backpack is not "attached to a vehicle," so 21-2.5 may not reach it. That gap is not a safe harbor. The stalking statute covers a tracking device placed "on the person or the person's property," and the Domestic Violence Act's harassment definition can apply as well.

Phone location. Location sharing that a person turned on for themselves is different from location sharing someone else switched on without their knowledge. Getting into another person's phone or account to change settings can be computer tampering under 720 ILCS 5/17-51. Knowingly and surreptitiously installing "electronic monitoring software or spyware" as a means to harass is cyberstalking when combined with a threat, placing the person in reasonable apprehension of harm, or soliciting a crime against them (12-7.5(a-4)). The statute says an installation is not surreptitious if clear notice was given in advance to the owners and primary users, or if their written or electronic consent was obtained.

Not eavesdropping. The eavesdropping statute expressly excludes tracking signals: "Electronic communication does not include any communication from a tracking device" (720 ILCS 5/14-1(e)). Location tracking is analyzed under the statutes above instead. Recording conversations is a separate issue, covered in recording a spouse in Illinois.

Children's devices. A parent keeping track of their own minor child raises different questions. Using a child's phone, tablet, or backpack to follow the other parent is the problem area. That conduct can be part of a stalking course of conduct, and in a parenting case the court considers each parent's willingness "to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the other parent and the child" (750 ILCS 5/602.7(b)(13)).

Can being tracked support an order of protection?

It can. Under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, "abuse" includes harassment, which means knowing conduct that is not necessary to accomplish a reasonable purpose, would cause a reasonable person emotional distress, and does cause emotional distress to the petitioner (750 ILCS 60/103(7)). The current list of conduct presumed to cause emotional distress includes "repeatedly keeping petitioner under surveillance by remaining present outside his or her home, school, place of employment, vehicle or other place occupied by petitioner."

Effective January 1, 2027, P.A. 104-754 adds a specific item to that list: "using electronic means to repeatedly track, monitor, surveil, record, or otherwise acquire information about the petitioner's location, movement, or travel patterns, including through third parties."

An order can prohibit harassment and stalking as defined in 12-7.3 (750 ILCS 60/214(b)(1)), grant other injunctive relief needed to prevent further abuse (214(b)(17)), and order a wireless carrier to transfer your phone number, and the account responsibility for it, to you (214(b)(18)). See orders of protection in Illinois.

In the divorce itself, tracking does not by itself change how property is divided or whether maintenance is awarded, because both are decided "without regard to marital misconduct" (750 ILCS 5/503(d), 504(a)). It can matter in parenting decisions, which consider "the occurrence of abuse against the child or other member of the child's household" (602.7(b)(14)).

I found a tracker. What should I do?

1. Think about safety before you remove it. If the person who placed it has been violent or controlling, a device that suddenly goes quiet can be a trigger. Talk with an advocate about a safety plan: the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-877-863-6338, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788). Apple's guidance is that if you feel your safety is at risk, go to a safe public location and contact law enforcement. In an emergency, call 911.
2. Document it in place. Photograph the device where you found it and where it sits on the car or in the bag, and note the date, time, and location. Screenshot any "unwanted tracking" alerts on your phone. For an AirTag, holding an NFC-capable phone near it opens a page showing its serial number and the last four digits of the registered owner's phone number; Apple suggests taking a screenshot of that page.
3. Preserve it. Keep the device intact and give it to the police when you report it. Ask for the report number. Apple states that law enforcement can request available information about a device found to be unlawfully tracking a person.
4. Check your phone. Review location-sharing settings, the devices signed into your Apple ID or Google account, and unfamiliar apps. If you suspect spyware, preserve the phone before resetting it, because a reset can erase the evidence. More on this in whether a spouse can read your texts.
5. Tell your lawyer. Purchase records, account registrations, and the device itself can tie a tracker to the person who placed it. Your lawyer can seek that information through discovery and use it in an order of protection or parenting case.

For additional location-privacy steps when leaving an abusive relationship, see protecting location data when fleeing abuse.

Is there a lawful way to use location evidence in a divorce?

Yes. Location information that a person shares openly, records the other side produces in discovery, and observations made in public places can all be used, subject to the rules of evidence. What you should not do is plant a device, switch on someone else's location sharing, or get into their phone or account. If you have a genuine safety concern about a child's whereabouts during parenting time, raise it with your lawyer so it can be addressed in the parenting plan or by court order rather than through secret tracking.

When should I talk to a lawyer?

• You found a tracker or tracking app, or alerts suggest one is moving with you.
• You are thinking about tracking a spouse or co-parent, or you already have.
• Tracking is part of a pattern of control, threats, or showing up where you are.
• Location data is about to become evidence in your divorce or parenting case.

To talk through your situation with Jonathan D. Steele, call (312) 621-4394 or reach out through the contact page.

Sources

• Criminal Code of 2012, 720 ILCS 5/12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-7.5, 14-1, 17-51, 21-2.5: ilga.gov
• Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, 750 ILCS 60/103, 214, including the version of section 103 effective January 1, 2027 under P.A. 104-754: ilga.gov
• Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/503, 504, 602.7: ilga.gov
• Apple, unwanted tracking alerts and AirTag information: support.apple.com; Google, finding unknown trackers on Android: support.google.com

This article explains general Illinois law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Written by Jonathan D. Steele

Chicago divorce attorney with cybersecurity certifications (Security+, ISC2 CC, Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate). Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star 2016-2025.

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