The OwnTracks app
OwnTracks is the open-source mobile app that sends location reports from your device to a backend you choose. Drup Trails uses it as the tracker client so location sharing stays under your control.
What OwnTracks does well
- Publishes precise location updates from iOS and Android with controls for movement thresholds, intervals, and battery use.
- Supports private backends over HTTP or MQTT, so your location history does not need to live in a consumer ad ecosystem.
- Keeps reporting resilient: the app queues data while offline and delivers when connectivity returns.
Reporting modes
OwnTracks supports a few different ways of deciding when to publish a location update. These are configured in the app itself, not in Drup Trails, but they directly affect how granular your history and insights will be.
Significant change (default)
Reports on meaningful movement — roughly every 500m on iOS, or using cell tower/Wi-Fi positioning on Android. Good battery life, suitable for everyday tracking.
Move
Reports frequently with GPS while the device is actively moving, similar to a navigation app. Highest accuracy and update frequency, at the cost of battery life.
Manual
Only reports when you tap the publish button in the app. Region entry/exit events (geofences and beacons) are still sent automatically.
Quiet
Like Manual, but region entry/exit events are also suppressed. No reports are sent until you publish manually.
MQTT vs HTTP transport
OwnTracks can deliver its reports over MQTT (a persistent, real-time connection to a broker) or plain HTTP (one request per report, with HTTP Basic Auth). The config link generated by Drup Trails sets up the app for MQTT, since it delivers reports to the dashboard with the least delay.
The same tracker identifier and access token also work over Drup Trails'
/api/v2/track HTTP endpoint, which follows the OwnTracks HTTP JSON
format. This is mainly useful for scripting or debugging a report without going
through the mobile app.
Privacy and security considerations
- Location trails are sensitive personal data. Share only with people and teams you trust.
- Use strong tracker access tokens and rotate them if you suspect exposure.
- Use secure transport (HTTPS/TLS) and protect your account with a strong password and 2FA where available.
- Tune reporting frequency to your real use-case. More frequent updates increase precision but also increase data volume and privacy impact.
- If a device is lost or reassigned, remove its tracker from teams and regenerate credentials immediately.
OwnTracks and Drup Trails
OwnTracks is the data producer on your phone. Drup Trails is where your selected people and teams can view and manage that trail. They are separate — you can self-host OwnTracks independently, or point it at Drup Trails for a managed, team-friendly experience.