The identification process works through your phone's communication with the cell it is in. GPS isn't really needed to locate your phone at least in terms of which cell it is currently in. AFAIK the phone will ping the cell tower even when it is off, so there is the danger. The GPS module shouldn't be able to send, just receive the satellite signal. On the other hand, there is the locate-my-phone function, which should involve some kind of triangulation, Samsung uses other Samsung phones to track your phone's bluetooth connection, which is quite unnerving. It's also how the [contact-tracing for the Convid works:](https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/stolen-or-lost-android-phone-heres-how-to-find-it-and-get-it-back-as-fast-as-possible/) > However, more recently, Samsung announced a new service called SmartThings Find. The new feature works like Apple's Find My app by crowdsourcing the location of a lost device, even if it's offline, but telling nearby Galaxy devices to look for its Bluetooth signal and report its location if it's found. All of which, of course, is done anonymously.