The moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived – it’s time for TechRadar’s annual Santa Tracker!
We will monitor St. Nick’s whereabouts while delivering everything best tech gifts this Christmaskeeps track using the two most popular trackers; NORAD and Google.
Every year, millions tune in to watch Kris Kringle’s annual gift-giving globe trot. It’s practically a sporting event, with both the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Google running Santa Trackers to track his movements.
What is a Santa Tracker?
Santa tracking is a popular tradition that is increasingly observed around the world, but it all began with a happy accident in 1955, making this the 70th year of Santa tracking. According to NORAD, a Sears catalog accidentally printed Colorado Springs’ Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center’s phone number instead of a Santa hotline and began receiving calls from children hoping to speak with Klaus himself.
Seeing an opportunity for some festive fun (and some positive PR), CONAD began issuing press releases about Santa’s whereabouts each year, handing the reins to NORAD after its formation in 1958. In 2004, Google released its own Santa tracker, which offers a very different experience, but is still just as much fun.
Fast forward to today and there are a number of ways to find out what’s up with Santa, but these two are the main ones to look out for, according to our expert opinion.
Which is the best Santa Tracker? NORAD vs. Google
The original way to follow Santa, and some would say, still the best, this website is actually run by the US military. It mixes gruff colonels presenting a video about Santa with live, updated info on where the man in the big red suit is.
You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play Store and from there you will be presented with some mini-games that you can play as well as you can follow the progress of the gift giving live.
It’s pretty basic compared to other trackers that lack a lot of polish and website design. However, it’s also the most popular and has a heartwarming story behind it—as well as an army of volunteers ready to take your call to find out where Santa is, and the strength of Verizon’s network in a now 23-year partnership.
NORAD has also added an AI chatbot called Radar to help you spot Santa, but if you prefer to use the phone, you can also call +1 (877) HI-NORAD.
A newer addition to the Santa tracking mix, Google Santa Tracker has been around since 2004, combining the power of Google Maps with the expert knowledge of where Santa is.
How to play the Santa Claus game on your mobile
Every year when we publish this guide, we have people wondering how to play the games on mobile like the big ‘PLAY!’ the button in the middle of the screen sometimes fails and will only give you random games or videos anyway. Well, just go to the Santa Tracker page on a mobile browser, click on the three lines in the top left corner and see all the games to play. (Note – the ‘install’ option which tells you to ‘Add to Home Screen’ does not work on iPhones).
While Google doesn’t have the same satellite tracking power as NORAD, one has to assume that the search giant has struck a deal with the North Pole to find out where he is in real time using search and radar and lasers and… stuff. Don’t ask us to interpret the magic.
Backing up Santa Tracker are a host of mini-games to play, as well as a month-long website that encourages kids to learn to code while encountering a winter wonderland.
There are some pro-Google tool moments in this Santa Tracker – the Quick Draw game is designed to teach Google’s image recognition software to improve, which feels a little odd – but it’s a wonderfully designed site and arguably the most visually accessible way to follow Santa.
You can download the app from the Google Play Store, but in our opinion the mobile site is just as good and more accessible for iPhone users, plus Google’s Santa Tracker also has the best and easiest to use desktop experience.
