Is It Legal to Track My Partner's Phone in Tennessee?

Can you legally track your partner's phone without telling her?

In most situations, no: secretly tracking or monitoring another adult's phone exposes you to criminal and civil liability in Tennessee and under federal law. Being married, living together or paying the phone bill does not automatically make it lawful.

There is no single Tennessee statute titled "phone tracking." Instead, several laws overlap: the vehicle tracking statute, the stalking statute, the computer crimes statute, and state and federal wiretap laws. Which ones apply depends on what you would actually be doing: putting a device on a car, putting software on her phone, logging into her accounts, or reading or recording her communications. Each of those is covered below.

This guide explains the law in general terms. It does not explain how any tracking or monitoring method works, and it is not legal advice. If you are facing a specific situation, a Tennessee attorney can tell you how these laws apply to your facts.

What Tennessee laws apply to tracking a partner?

Four Tennessee statutes do most of the work, and each targets a different kind of conduct. Together they cover vehicles, devices, accounts and communications.

• § 39-13-606: it is an offense to knowingly install, conceal or otherwise place an electronic tracking device on a motor vehicle without the consent of all owners. It is a Class A misdemeanor.
• § 39-17-315 (stalking): a course of conduct includes acts in which a person follows, monitors, observes or surveils someone, and expressly includes one instance of placing an electronic tracking device without the person's consent. Stalking is generally a Class A misdemeanor.
• § 39-14-602: it is an offense to intentionally and without authorization access any computer, computer system or computer network. Phones and online accounts can fall within this law.
• § 39-13-601: intentionally intercepting a wire, oral or electronic communication is an offense unless you are a party to it or a party consented, and that exception does not apply if the purpose is to commit a criminal or tortious act.

What federal laws apply?

Federal law adds a second layer, mainly around communications and electronic surveillance. These laws apply in Tennessee just as they do everywhere else.

The federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511, prohibits intentionally intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications, and separately prohibits using the contents of communications you know were unlawfully intercepted. Violations can be punished by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. Like Tennessee, it has a one-party consent exception, but only for a party to the communication or someone with a party's prior consent, and not when the purpose is a criminal or tortious act.

18 U.S.C. § 2701 makes it an offense to intentionally access without authorization a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided and thereby obtain, alter or prevent authorized access to stored communications. Logging into someone's email or messaging account to read what is stored there can raise this issue. Finally, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A makes it a federal crime to use an electronic communication service or system in a course of conduct intended to harass, intimidate or place another person under surveillance, where it causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress.

What about a shared phone plan, a shared car or Find My?

Shared accounts and shared ownership make the question more complicated, not automatically legal. The key word in these statutes is consent, and paying for something is not the same as her consent to be monitored.

Vehicles: the Tennessee tracking statute requires the consent of all owners. If a car is titled to both of you, your consent alone does not satisfy that requirement, and a car titled only to her is plainly outside your control.

Phones and accounts: being the account holder on a family phone plan, or having bought the phone, does not settle whether you are authorized to access her device or her accounts. Her passcode, her email and her messages are hers, and courts look at authorization and consent, not who pays the bill. Knowing or guessing a password is not permission to use it.

Location sharing apps: if she has knowingly chosen to share her location with you, looking at what she shares is not covert tracking. Turning sharing on from her phone without her knowledge, or interfering with her settings so she does not realize she is being located, is a very different act. If you are unsure where your situation falls, ask a Tennessee attorney before doing anything.

Why do these laws exist, and why do they matter in a relationship?

These laws exist because covert tracking and monitoring are common tools of controlling and abusive relationships, and the law does not try to sort good motives from bad ones after the fact. That is why a worried partner and a dangerous one can face the same statute.

There are practical costs too. Discovered tracking almost always ends trust, often ends the relationship, and can lead to protective orders or criminal charges. In a Tennessee divorce, evidence gathered unlawfully can create problems for the person who gathered it. Meanwhile, what tracking shows (a dot on a map) usually cannot answer the question you actually care about, which is what happened and why.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For questions about divorce, custody or your own legal exposure, talk to a Tennessee family law attorney.

What are the lawful alternatives?

The lawful alternatives are consent-based: talking, agreeing together on check-ins or sharing, counseling, and, where the concern is specific, a licensed investigator who documents public activity.

A direct conversation, ideally before the trip, is the most reliable path. Many couples agree on a simple plan for a girls trip, such as a text when she gets back to the hotel. If trust is already strained, a licensed couples or individual counselor can help you sort out whether the worry is about this trip or the relationship.

If you have a genuine, specific concern about a Nashville girls trip, Nashville Girls Trip Check, a service of Delator Group, offers Hotel Staging and Mobile Surveillance at $100 per hour plus applicable tax. A licensed investigator observes and documents her activity in public places only, and delivers photos, video and a written summary privately to you. Investigators do not access phones or accounts and do not place GPS trackers; the vehicle tracking statute contains no exemption for private investigators. You can call or text (629) 310-8667 to ask questions before paying.