PlaceTrack app for iPhone and iPad

4.0 ( 4160 ratings )

Social Networking Navigation Utilities
Developer: Nico Tranquilli

4.99 USD

Current version: 4.8.5, last update: 6 months ago
First release : 11 Sep 2010
App size: 37.2 Mb

PlaceTrack is a modern, cross-platform, full-featured location journaling and sharing app, available for iPhone, Apple Watch, and other platforms, and also offering compatibility with Car Play. It keeps a history of your locations 24/7 with almost no impact on battery life, capturing data on speed, course, altitude, and user activity. Additionally, its optional sharing features allow you to track your loved ones, monitor their travelling speed, get directions to their current location, and view street-level images of any place they are or they have been. You can also overlay and compare your location or your contacts locations against a GPX track. This can be imported from files, Strava, or Apple Watch workout routes, as the app integrates seamlessly with HealthKit.

In short:
- personal location journaling h24
- Apple Watch and CarPlay compatibility
- context data: location data can include location history, speed and course, altitude, whether you’re walking, running, moving in a vehicle or resting
- Healthkit/Apple Watch and Strava integration for GPX import
- optional safe location sharing with the people you trust, in real time
- GPX merge, map overlay and export
- POIs (Point of Interest) support and sharing
- live data: force a contact’s device to immediately send a fresh location
- passive and battery friendly: run in the background with no noticeable impact on battery life, location is periodically updated as the device moves
- you are in control: set who sees your current location or who has access to your location history with fine-grained access controls

Other features:
- excellent battery usage: PlaceTrack uses SLC mode (Significant Location Change) and region monitoring, NOT continuous background. PlaceTrack is suspended in the background most of the time and is woken up only when you move significantly (detected using cell towers signal); most of the time it just sleeps and the GPS hardware is powered off to preserve battery. Install the app and forget about it
- save your location history for later viewing
- optionally share your recent location or location history with authorized PlaceTrack contacts
- forced contact location updates: you can ask for a live location update from a contact and the backend platform will silently ask your contact device for a new location update
- delayed sync: stores your locations when network is unreachable and pushes them to the PlaceTrack servers when youre back online
- in-app streetview images
- track overlays: import route data from Apple Watch, Strava and GPX files
- location sharing works using address book phone numbers: your phone number is authenticated through an sms code on your first activation
- your data, including your phone number and location, is always sent on a secure connection (ssl) and is never shared with any third party

Pros and cons of PlaceTrack app for iPhone and iPad

PlaceTrack app good for

Apples new app review process has made me happy. I got an unexpected email and it was good news, PlaceTrack was available! So far my latitude has been updating :-)

I have an iPhone 6S and since updating to iOS 10 the app runs but it wont connect I get an error code cant remember which one. But it wont record my location or sense my location or send information

After wasting money on the other latitude apps Im happy to say I finally found "THE ONE" Not only is my location updated in the background, but I can see my friends location. W00t!

This app is great. I cant believe apple finally approved it after months in limbo. Perfect solution for keeping latitude updated without killing your battery.

Im glad this got finally approved. Now we need a google voice app to get approved. One thing Id like to see is a "open in maps" button.

This app is what google should have done instead of their silly web portal. I cant wait for the update with the larger map view.

Some bad moments

Even with 4.2.1 background updates dont work, but they do with Latitudie. I mentioned this on the FaceBook page as an aid to debugging, but my negative comment was removed. Censorship of negative comments in an open forum is very bad customer support... Can I have my money back please?

Cant stress how upset I am. Core app ability to update location has bugs and theres no reason to leave this app running. This app updates location only when i am about 6 blocks+ away from my last location which is useless. Turned on debugging and this app self restarts alot. Note to author, please give up updating location based on cell tower because that simply does not work well in the real world. There is a reason why google latitude on the blackberry updates periodically. Do fix this app to update location periodically and allow user configurable intervals i.e. every 10 mins or less if the ios4 permits. Sorry to bash this but for now this app is in absolute fart app status - no joke

Works ok for a while, but regularly stops updating about halfway through my daily commute (I dont have data dead spots... I can stream audio the whole trip...). I am running iOS 4.1, so maybe an app update will fix things.

Does not auto update the location on iOS 4.1. Wish I had known this before I wasted my money

Bought this to update my location so my wife could see where I am during commute via running, biking, or car. I have the latest iOS. Crashes constantly and does not update location as expected in the background unless I manually bring the app to the front. Very disappointed. Allow the google app to get through Apple!!!!!!!!

Avoid this app. Dont waste your money. Its just as buggy as the app called latituide. It will eventually stop updating in background and freeze up.

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