In this article I want to tell you about pcTattletale’s GPS Tracking abilities for Android.  There are few things that might not be very obvious that you should know.  So give the article below a quick read or watch the video above.  You will understand a lot more about why things look the way they do in pcTattletale’s Android GPS cell phone tracker.

Grouping of Points

The first thing you need to know is that pcTattletale uses Google Maps to show you the chart data.  It is set to “satellite view” which gives you very real look at where they are at.  One of the most common questions I get asked is what do these points with the numbers mean?  Why are they different colors?

Google Maps automatically zooms out to show all the GPS data points it got from pcTattletale.  When you see a number like “11” it just means there are 11 data points in that group (or cluster). Zoom in to see them.

pcTattletale will log all of the points in Red.  The most recent point will be in Green.

When is GPS Location Recorded?

pcTattletale is not like other apps.  It runs in the background on their Android device.  Android knows the difference too.  When they are using an app like Facebook Android will give very accurate GPS location data.   Why?  Because they are actively using and clicking around in the app.

But Apps that run in the background do not get as accurate GPS readings.  The reason has to do with trying to preserve battery life.  In recent versions of Android they watch apps running in the background very closely.  Too many GPS location requests and Android will kill the app and not let it restart.  You can see other spy apps do this in my 7 Spy Apps reviewed article.

As you can see having an app run in the background and not bother Android too much is very important for pcTattletale to keep it running.  It is a bit like threading a needle.

For this reason I have to be very careful when and how often pcTattletale asks for GPS locations.  With pcTattletale GPS is requested when they unlock the phone and once in a while while the phone is sitting or being used.  So just know what you are seeing in pcTattletale are the GPS locations when they unlock their phone.  Shockingly, Most people unlock their phone around 80-100 times per day.

 

Dealing With False Data

Because pcTattletale is not actively being used it does not always get the “best” GPS location data.  Sometimes you will notice it does not even make sense at all.  For example: You could see a GPS location miles away when you know your daughter was home the whole time.

One of the quickest ways to spot these fake locations is to see that they are single points (no time span).  Look at the example above.  I clicked on the red pin and saw a 10 minute time span.  I can assume they were probably in that building around this time.  Also you have to ask yourself it that point makes any sense?  In the example above with your daughter the answer would be NO.  But looking at the picture above it has a time span so in this the answer would probably be Yes.  There were in this location.

So there you have it.  A little background on how pcTattletale for Android records GPS locations and how to look at the data.  Remember.  pcTattletale is running in the background on their phone.  It is being treated like a second class citizen by Android.  But I will always get you the best data available.

Want to give pcTattletale a try?  What are you waiting for?  Go give a test drive for free today.