In this urgency, you want to know if they are on their phones or not. If they are, they might be ignoring you, which can be annoying. If they are not, at least they have a reason for not answering you. Thankfully, there are quite different ways you can check to see if someone is on their phone. From simply giving them a call or stalking their location on Find My Friends, you should be able to find a way to tell if someone is on their phone.

How to Tell If Someone is on Their Phone

1. Check Their Active Status on Facebook

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through Facebook. When you open Facebook, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if you are friends with them on Facebook. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Facebook on any device you have.
  2. Go to Messenger.
  3. Once in Messenger, you will see your Facebook friends at the top of the screen.
  4. Now, scroll through these until you see the account of the person you are trying to find.
  5. If there is a green dot on their profile picture, this means they are active on Facebook. If there is no green dot, you can still tell if they have recently been on Facebook. Follow these steps.
  6. While in Messenger, scroll through your messages until you find the person you are looking to see if they are on their phone.
  7. Once you can find messages with this person, look at the little green text next to their name.
  8. In this text, you will see a number next to M. The number is the number of minutes it has been since they were on Facebook.
  9. If this number is low, they have recently been on their phones.
  10. Checking Facebook is a great way to know if someone is on their phone. However, Facebook is also accessible on other devices. So, they might be active on Facebook, but that does not mean they are on their phone. They could be accessing Facebook through another device.

2. Check Their Active Status on Instagram

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through Instagram. When you open Instagram, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if you are following them on Instagram. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Instagram on any device you have.
  2. Go to your Direct Messages. Once in Direct Messages, you will see the Instagram accounts you follow at the top of the screen.
  3. Now, scroll through these until you see the account of the person you are trying to find.
  4. If there is a green dot on their profile picture, this means they are active on Instagram.

3. They’re Online on WhatsApp

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through WhatsApp. When you open WhatsApp, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if you have messaged with them before on WhatsApp. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up WhatsApp on any device you have.
  2. Go to your messages.
  3. Once in your messages, you will see all the people you have sent a text to on the app.
  4. Now, scroll through these until you see the account of the person you are trying to find.
  5. If there is a blue check mark by their username, they are active on WhatsApp. If there is no blue check mark, you can still tell if they have recently been on WhatsApp. Follow these steps.
  6. While in your account, scroll through your messages until you find the person.
  7. Once you can find messages with this person, look at the last message you sent to them.
  8. In this text, you will possibly see a time below your message. The time signifies when your friend reads your WhatsApp message.
  9. If the time is recent, they have recently been on WhatsApp.
  10. If they have not read their text, there will not be a time below your messaging. Your friend has not been on their phone recently, or they are ignoring your text.
  11. If they read your text a while ago, they are probably not on Whatsapp and have not been in quite some time. Checking WhatsApp is a great way to know if someone is on their phone. However, WhatsApp is also accessible on other devices. So, they might be active on WhatsApp, but that does not mean they are on their phone. They could be accessing WhatsApp through another device.

4. They Reply to Your Texts Quickly

A quick way to know if someone is on their phone is to text them. If they respond to your text quickly, they are on their phone. However, even if they are on their phone, they may ignore you. Most phones have the option to be placed in a silent mode, meaning someone can use their phone and not be alerted to any notifications. If you are to text someone who has their phone in this mode, they could not respond because their phone did not warn them of your text. Also, your friend might receive your text but choose to ignore it. If this is happening, you will not be able to tell if they are on their phone or not accurately. They are not responding to you, but they are on their phone. We all dodged a text here and there, so texting someone is not an absolute indication of whether someone is on their phone.

5. They Answer Your Call

You should try calling your friend to figure out if they are on their phone or not. If your friends answer your call, they are on their phone. However, even if they are on their phone, they may ignore you. Most phones have the option to be placed in a silent mode, meaning someone can use their phone and not be alerted to any notifications. If you are to call someone who has their phone in this mode, they could not answer because their phone did not warn them of your call. Also, your friend might receive your call but choose to ignore it. If this is happening, you will not be able to tell if they are on their phone or not accurately. They are not responding to you, but they are on their phone. We all have dodged a call here and there, so calling someone is not an absolute indication of whether someone is on their phone.

6. You Can See Them Actively Moving in Find My Friends

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through Find My Friends. When you open Find My Friends, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if they have to Find My Friends on their phone. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Find My Friends on any device you have.
  2. Go to your Maps on the app.
  3. While in Find My Friends, search for the person you are trying to find.
  4. Once you find the account, stay with them.
  5. If their icon is actively moving, they are probably on their phone.
  6. If their icon is not actively moving, they might not be on their phone. Checking Find My Friends is a great way to know if someone is on their phone. However, you face the issue of not being able to tell if they are on their phone or not. While their icon is not moving, they can still use their home phone.

7. You Can See They’re On Snapchat Using Snap Maps

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through Snap Chat. When you open Snap Chat, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if they have turned on their location in Snap Maps. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Snap Chat on any device you have.
  2. Go to your Snap Maps by clicking on it on the lower left side of your screen.
  3. While in Snap Maps, search for the person you are trying to find in the search bar. You can access the search bar by clicking on the magnifying glass in the upper right corner.
  4. Once you find the account, you will see a time below their name.
  5. This time indicates how long it has been since there were on Snap Chat.
  6. If this number is low, they have recently been on their phones.

8. Ask Them

The easiest way to determine if someone is on their phone is to ask them. You can go about asking them in multiple ways. You can text, call, or message if you are confident they are on their phone. In your message, simply ask if they are on their phone. They can then respond and let you know if they are on their phone or have to respond to you some other way because they do not have their phone. Maybe they are responding on their computer to a text they sent you. Asking them if they are on their phone will prompt them to respond with the fact that they have to use their computer.

9. Use Mailtracks Active Email Indicator

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through Mailtracks Active Email Indicator. When you open up Mailtracks Active Email Indicator, you can see if someone is active. However, this will only work if you have emailed them in the past. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Mailtracks Active Email Indicator on any device you have.
  2. Go to the email that you previously sent to this person.
  3. If you see a green light, they have opened your email or replied to your email in the past hour.
  4. Seeing the green light is an excellent indication that they are on their phone. No green light can means your friend has not been on their phone. It can also mean they ignore your email and are on their phone. If there is no green light, they have not opened your email or responded to it in the past hour. Checking Mailtracks Active Email Indicator is a great way to know if someone is on their phone. However, Mailtracks Active Email Indicator is also accessible on other devices. So, they might be active on Mailtracks Active Email Indicator, but that does not mean they are on their phone. They could be accessing Mailtracks Active Email Indicator through another device.

How to Tell When Someone Was Last Active on Their Phone

1. Check When They Last Read Your WhatsApp Message

You can tell if someone’s on their phone through WhatsApp. When you open WhatsApp, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if you have messaged with them before on WhatsApp. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up WhatsApp on any device you have.
  2. Go to your messages.
  3. Once in your messages, you will see all the people you have sent a text to on the app.
  4. Now, scroll through these until you see the account of the person you are trying to find. If there is a blue check mark by their username, they are active on WhatsApp. If there is no blue check mark, you can still tell if they have recently been on WhatsApp. Follow these steps.
  5. While in your account, scroll through your messages until you find the person.
  6. Once you can find messages with this person, look at the last message you sent to them. In this text, you will possibly see a time below your message. The time signifies when your friend reads your WhatsApp message. If the time is recent, they have recently been on WhatsApp. If they have not read their text, there will not be a time below your messaging. Your friend has not been on their phone recently, or they are ignoring your text. If they read your text a while ago, they are probably not on Whatsapp and have not been in quite some time. Checking WhatsApp is a great way to know if someone is on their phone. However, WhatsApp is also accessible on other devices. So, they might be active on WhatsApp, but that does not mean they are on their phone. They could be accessing WhatsApp through another device.

2. Check When They Last Read Your Text Message

Read receipts is a setting you can turn on that will alert the person you are texting when you have read their text. Checking when someone last read your text is another way to tell if they are using their phone. However, this will only work if your friend’s phone has turned on the read receipts feature. So, if the person you are texting has not enabled this feature, you cannot tell if they have been on their phone by texting them. If it is on, follow these steps.

  1. Go to your messaging app and find your messages with this person.
  2. Once you are there, go to the latest message you sent to them. Underneath your text, you will see a time. The time signifies when your friend reads your text. If the time is recent, they have recently been on their phone. If they have not read their text, there will not be a time below your messaging. Your friend has not been on their phone recently, or they are ignoring your text. If they read your text a while ago, they are probably not on their phone and have not been in quite some time.

3. Check Their Last Active Status on Instagram

You can check when someone was recently on Instagram. When you open Instagram, you can see if someone is active. Doing this will only work if you are following them on Instagram. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Instagram on any device you have.
  2. Go to your Direct Messages.
  3. Once in Direct Messages, you will see the Instagram accounts you follow at the top of the screen.
  4. Now, scroll through these until you see the account of the person you are trying to find. If there is a green dot on their profile picture, this means they are active on Instagram. If there is no green dot, you can still tell if they have recently been on Instagram. Follow these steps.
  5. While in Direct Messages, scroll through your messages. Once you find the person, look under their username.
  6. Once you can find messages with this person, look at the text under their username. In this text, you will see their activity. If this number is low, they have recently been on their phones. Checking Instagram is a great way to know if someone is on their phone. However, Instagram is also accessible on other devices. So, they might be active on Instagram, but that does not mean they are on their phone. They could be accessing Instagram through another device.

5. Check Their Last Active Status on Facebook

You can check when someone was last active on Facebook. When you open Facebook, you can see if someone is on the app. Doing this will only work if you are friends with them on Facebook. Follow these steps.

  1. Open up Facebook on any device you have.
  2. Go to Messenger.
  3. Once in Messenger, you will see your Facebook friends at the top of the screen.
  4. Now, scroll through these until you see the account of the person you are trying to find. If there is a green dot on their profile picture, this means they are active on Facebook. If there is no green dot, you can still tell if they have recently been on Face. Follow these steps. While in Messenger, scroll through your messages until you find the person you are looking to see if they are on their phone.
  5. Once you can find messages with this person, look at the little green text next to their name. In this text, you will see a number next to M. The number is the number of minutes it has been since they were on Facebook. If this number is low, they have recently been on their phones. Checking Facebook is a great way to know if someone has recently been on their phone. However, Facebook is also accessible on other devices. So, they might be active on Facebook, but that does not mean they are on their phone. They could be accessing Facebook through another device.
How to Tell If Someone is on Their Phone 9 Ways - 15