In the not-too-distant past, keeping track of someone without him or her knowing was a task accomplished from a parked car or behind a thick bush.

But now, jealous spouses and others can keep watch with the help of GPS tracking devices, satellites and a home computer.

Depending on where one lives and the circumstances, it could be completely legal.

Private investigator Mike Aldridge said he would prefer to track subjects the old-fashioned way, but he said he has used his global positioning system device in three cases over the last year.

“It can be used to generate a lead or put you on the right track, so long as all owners of the vehicle knows it’s being used,” said Mr. Aldridge, owner of Metro Services Agency.

Pinned under the vehicle by a strong magnet, GPS trackers work two ways: One device stores the route traveled and then replays it in a computer mapping program once the device is connected to a computer. Using telephone equipment, a cellular device also beams the vehicle’s path back to a computer, and the tracker can watch where the vehicle is at any time.

Tennessee law states whoever places the tracker must be the owner of the vehicle. Mr. Aldridge leases his GPS tracker to clients to make sure it’s clear that he is not placing the device. He also informs clients of their responsibility under the law and asks them to act legally.

Twice in the last year, Chattanooga police have been called out to investigate when husbands placed the devices on parked cars. Both instances resulted in bomb squads being called out because police believed the devices were bombs. Buildings were evacuated and businesses were closed for hours.

The most recent incident occurred in late October when employees at Nova Med Eye and Laser Center on Gunbarrel Road alerted police to a man lurking around the back parking lot, said Sgt. Jerri Weary, police spokeswoman.

Employees told police the man ducked behind an employee’s vehicle for several minutes, reappeared, then ran off the lot. Turns out the man was placing a GPS device on a car, police said.

Although Tennessee law states it is legal for the owner of a vehicle to track his property, John Phillips, an attorney and partner with the firm Miller & Martin, said the individual being tracked could possibly make an invasion of privacy claim.

“One of the real problems that we have right now, with devices like these GSP trackers and the Internet, is that technology is moving so quickly that the law, which is a very slow-moving thing, can’t keep up with all the new developments,” said Mr. Phillips, who specializes in labor and employment law.

However, he counsels businesses on how to use the devices to track company-owned vehicles.

“It’s best and certainly safer to put out a policy saying these devices may be in use,” Mr. Phillips said. “No one is caught off-guard that way, but outside the employment arena — and when someone isn’t aware they are being tracked — it’s a little more complicated.”

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