Drive detection & location updates

How does it know I am driving?

OurFamLife uses believable measured movement rather than one fast-looking GPS point: poor reception can make a stationary phone appear to jump. The updated Normal policy adds automatic drives using activity/departure evidence and a separate ten-second collection profile. It requires a supporting Android build and server capability; older versions may still provide point-only Normal history. Trip Tracking keeps its existing higher-detail classifier and collection profile. Battery Saver does not automatically record drives.

For Trip Tracking, the current server rules use 15 km/h as the initial driving-speed threshold. Confirmation also checks the accuracy, timing and progression of several points; conflicting walking evidence requires stronger proof. A saved Trip Tracking drive normally needs at least 400 metres and 1 minute. These configurable rules are not the separate Normal confirmation policy and do not guarantee that every short journey will appear.

Once driving is confirmed, the trip can start back at the first credible driving evidence, rather than the later confirmation time. A known previous place can identify the origin, but it cannot recreate road locations the phone never recorded. A drive describes the phone's journey; it does not prove who was driving rather than travelling as a passenger.

How often are locations sent?

There are three separate stages: Android provides a location, the app decides whether to send it, and the map displays or animates the latest received information. A smooth-moving marker is not a stream of new GPS fixes.

The permanent modes are listed below in their display order. Normal is the default for new users. Routine targets are not guaranteed delivery times: Android restrictions, signal quality and connectivity can delay a result.

Each quiet bounded acquisition stops when it succeeds or times out. Outside driving or explicit Live, Normal and Battery Saver do not hold routine GPS on between these cycles. A confirmed Normal drive uses a coherent ten-second request rather than restarting GPS every ten seconds. The interval does not guarantee that GNSS hardware sleeps between fixes. Trip Tracking preserves the former Balanced detailed collector, including departure, turn and stationary checks; it does not inherit Normal's ten-second drive interval.

In supported updated apps and compatible viewers, opening a map or profile only shows stored information. Choose Live location for the selected person to request approximately 3-second temporary updates. Older app or website versions may have different controls. Viewing alone does not create a drive. During a confirmed Normal drive, these measurements may enrich the same route. After the last viewer leaves or expires, Normal returns to ten-second drive collection, then five-minute quiet operation after arrival. Battery Saver does not automatically record drives.

The display stays Requested or Connecting until the phone acknowledges the request and provides a fresh measurement. A server response or push receipt alone is not proof of Live tracking. Stop Live, leave the selected map or hide the tab to release it; if the release cannot be delivered, its 60-second lease expires unless another authorised viewer is watching.

Refresh once requests one bounded acquisition, or can reuse a recent acceptable measurement. Requests for one phone are coalesced for 30 seconds. This does not start Live or change its permanent mode. SOS remains a separate safety override.

What happens when I stop?

A check-in target does not mean GPS must run continuously between check-ins. Quiet Normal and Battery Saver stop active acquisition between bounded cycles. Normal can start a bounded departure candidate from suitable movement evidence without waiting for five minutes; walking and unconfirmed hints must not create a drive. In Trip Tracking, supported phones can pause collection when stillness and healthy departure sensing support it. Android restrictions, denied activity permission or poor GPS may delay or miss a short drive.

In Trip Tracking, after confirmed walking, the app can request a pause after 60 seconds without further credible steps, provided the other safety checks pass. This is not the same as immediately closing the saved walk on the website, and it must not block a vehicle departure.

Saved Trip Tracking trips use separate stop rules to avoid splitting a journey at every traffic light. The current standard driving stop window is 4 minutes 20 seconds; the standard walking stop window is 8 minutes. Normal has its own measured stationary/walking confirmation and stale-evidence limits. Confirmation time is not necessarily the time shown as arrival.

Saved-place arrival/departure alerts use their own boundary and confirmation checks. Sparse updates can delay these alerts. OS geofences can assist but are not guaranteed. A delayed place alert is not proof that the phone stayed at that place.

Why can a route start late or have a straight section?

The route is built from accepted recorded locations. Indoor reception, Android background restrictions, a stopped app, delayed uploads or a lost connection can leave gaps. Outlier filtering can also remove unreliable points. A straight connection between two points does not prove the person travelled along that exact line.

Queued locations can arrive later, so a trip may become more complete after connectivity returns. Where a previous place is known but the departure route was not recorded, the trip can label that origin and explain that the drawn route begins at the first recorded driving location.

A missing-updates warning concerns recorded evidence, not just how tidy a route looks. Normal connects actual drive samples without guessed roads; ten-second sampling can cut corners and show less detail than Trip Tracking. Real gaps stay visible. Unwatched drive points are initially batched for upload about once a minute, separately from collection timing. Quiet Normal and Battery Saver observations remain separate dots. Changing mode does not delete earlier trips or turn old sparse points into routes.

The map shows location measurement age separately from when the phone last connected. A heartbeat or a late upload does not make an old measurement current.

Getting reliable tracking without leaving the app open

• Keep location sharing enabled and allow the app's required precise/background location and physical-activity permissions.
• Allow background operation and background data. Android's own Battery Saver and manufacturer restrictions are different from OFL's Battery Saver mode and can delay tracking.
• Keep location services on. A connection is needed for others to receive current updates; offline points may upload later.
• If you force-stop the app or Android has prevented recovery, reopen OFL normally and check sharing. You do not normally need to leave its screen open.
• When reporting a missed trip, include the phone model, app build, battery mode, approximate start/stop times and any charging or connection changes.

Battery screens show estimates, and each app's reported share depends on the measurement window and how the phone was used. We test location activity, network activity and route quality together before claiming a battery improvement.

Who can see these trips?

Visibility follows your family's and connections' sharing permissions. A help page or an open map does not grant new access. Review your sharing settings and the privacy policy for more information.

Need help with another feature? Visit the OurFamLife FAQ.