T-Mobile Tracker Glitch Exposes Locations of Random Children to Other Users

A significant privacy issue emerged with T-Mobile’s SyncUP tracking app, revealing the names, photos, and exact locations of random children across the U.S. instead of showing parents their own kids.

The issue, first reported by 404 Media, affected multiple users, raising serious concerns about data security and child safety.

Jenna, a parent who uses SyncUP to monitor her three-year-old and six-year-old, logged in expecting to see if her kids had left school but was instead shown the real-time locations of eight unknown children.

“I would log in and I couldn’t see my children but I could see a kid in California. I refreshed and would see a different child.” Jenna said, as reported by 404 Media.

Screenshots provided by Jenna to 404 Media confirmed that children’s profile pictures, names, and last known locations—including schools—were visible to other users. Alarmed by the situation, she immediately contacted T-Mobile support.

“As a mother, this is super alarming to me, and I raised flags right away [with T-Mobile] and nobody took me seriously there,” she said, as reported by 404 Media.

In a recorded call with T-Mobile, a customer support representative admitted the company was aware of the issue but offered no immediate solution.

“We are now aware of the problem and we’re trying to find a way to fix it,” the representative said, as reported by 404 Media. “We’ll just need to wait for a little bit,” he added.

Jenna also emailed T-Mobile for further clarification but received no response, as reported by 404 Media.

After 404 Media published the story, T-Mobile’s crisis communications manager, Bennet Ladyman, acknowledged the issue.

“Yesterday we fully resolved a temporary system issue with our SyncUP products that resulted from a planned technology update. We are in the process of understanding potential impacts to a small number of customers and will reach out to any as needed. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Ladyman stated, as reported by 404 Media.

However, Jenna was not alone. Similar complaints flooded social media, with parents reporting that they, too, had been shown random children’s locations instead of their own. Additionally, users of T-Mobile’s SyncUP DRIVE—a car tracking device—reported that their app was randomly displaying other people’s vehicles instead of their own.

This incident highlights the risks associated with location-tracking technology. Similar breaches have occurred before, including a 2023 incident where users of Ubiquiti surveillance cameras were shown live feeds from other people’s homes.

While Jenna’s SyncUP tracker appeared to be functioning correctly again on Wednesday, the security lapse has left many parents questioning the reliability of T-Mobile’s tracking services.