Introduction OwnTracks app Configure OwnTracks Trackers & teams Privacy promise Terms
Drup Trails · Getting started

Configure OwnTracks

Use the My trackers page to create a tracker, link it to teams, and import a ready-to-use OwnTracks configuration into your phone in one tap.

Step-by-step setup

  1. Open My trackers and select New tracker.
  2. Enter a short tracker identifier. This maps to the OwnTracks TID value and helps distinguish devices on the map.
  3. Save the tracker, then open the row menu and choose Copy tracker config link.
  4. Open the copied link on your phone. OwnTracks can import it directly and apply the generated endpoint, username, token, and device details.
  5. Edit the tracker and assign it to one or more teams so the right group can view updates.

The config link is generated as an OwnTracks configuration payload, so setup is mostly one tap rather than manual field-by-field entry. It sets the app to MQTT mode for real-time delivery.

Prefer HTTP, or want to send a one-off test report from the command line? The tracker's identifier and access token also work against the /api/v2/track endpoint using HTTP Basic Auth, following the same JSON format OwnTracks uses in HTTP mode.

After setup

Recommended checks

  • Confirm OwnTracks shows the correct device ID and tracker identifier.
  • Send a manual location update from the app and verify it appears in Drup Trails.
  • If sharing scope changes, update team assignments for the tracker.

When rotating credentials

  • Create or refresh tracker credentials before handing a device to another person.
  • Regenerate and re-import the config if a token may have been shared accidentally.
  • Remove trackers you no longer use to keep your account clean and reduce risk.