# OwnTracks

> Personal location tracking and sharing app with a focus on privacy. (iPhone/iPad app by Christoph Krey.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owntracks/id692424691 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Christoph Krey](https://appshunter.io/developer/692424694)
- Category: Travel, Navigation
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.20/5 from 32 App Store ratings · 42 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.6 · 4 MB
- Languages: American English, Danish, Dutch, French (France), Galician, German (Germany), Polish, Romanian, Russian, Chinese (Simplified, China) and 2 more
- Released: 2013-10-18
- Data updated: 2026-07-22
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owntracks/id692424691/reviews.md

## What is OwnTracks?

OwnTracks - Your location companion
OwnTracks allows you to keep track of your own location. 
You can build your private location diary or share it with your family and friends.
OwnTracks is open-source and uses open protocols for communication so you can be sure your data stays secure and private.
Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

## Key features

- Private location diary
- Location sharing
- Open-source
- Open protocols
- Data security and privacy

## Recent user reviews (10 of 42)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owntracks/id692424691/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Latest version broke Shortcuts control

*2026-07-11*

Any use of shortcuts to change the monitoring mode no longer works

### 4/5 — Regions delete?

*2026-07-07, version 26.2.3*

Hello OwnTracks developer.

For what reason do you delete all regions (with a warning tough) if one changes the port of a broker connection?
Simple example: I want to enable TLS and my broker speaks TLS on 8883 and not 1883, if I try to change the port: „blabla regions will be deleted“ … I don’t get it why that is needed?

### 5/5 — get the job done

*2026-05-05*

has lots of config options and is very privacy respecting.

However, many of the advanced features are very useful but impossible to discover without reading the online documentation.

### 5/5 — Bombe

*2025-09-08, version 18.5.1*

Alles top. Menüführung nicht ganz intuitiv aber Funktioniert

### 5/5 — Sehr zuverlässig und praktisch

*2025-02-12, version 18.3.1*

Tolle App, gerade wenn man das Ganze selfhosted betreibt (in meinem Fall in einem Docker Container mit Dawarich). Arbeitet stabil und präzise. Der Akkuverbrauch bisher bei Standardeinstellungen praktisch nicht erwähnenswert. Vielen Dank.

### 5/5 — Very nerdy GPS app

*2024-12-31, version 18.1.0*

If you're a bit of a location nerd, this thing is amazing. I've been tracking my location with this for a couple of years now and it's fun to have that data on your own server and not some big company's grip.

### 1/5 — No idea how it works

*2024-12-17, version 18.0.4*

There is no onboarding, so I have no idea how it’s supposed to work. I gave it all the permissions it asked and left it running for a few days. Went back to it and saw no evidence that it was doing anything. Again not a clue how it’s supposed to work.

### 5/5 — Last update is fantastic

*2024-09-24, version 18.0.1*

The last update seems to have fixed the region-based switching of recording modes, allowing for a decent compromise between battery consumption and recording granularity.

Thank you!

### 5/5 — Works with Hubitat

*2024-07-07*

Seamlessly works for presence detection in Hubitat and is no cost.

### 5/5 — Great!

*2024-05-07, version 17.3.1*

Have been using it for a couple of years and could not be happier. The app is part of a much bigger solution which provides great flexibility for all sorts of use cases. I use for outdoor activities like hiking, biking, skiing. Since you operate the backend yourself the data can be used not just for tracking, finding family members, recording trails etc but even for automation tasks like controlling your smart home. Everything is private, security is state of the art and under your own control. Devs are super helpful too. Initial setup is not for beginners though despite good documentation. Once set up, it runs rock stable. 5 stars!

## Frequently asked questions about OwnTracks

### What is OwnTracks used for?

OwnTracks is used to build a private location diary or share your location with family and friends. It focuses on keeping your data secure and private through open protocols.

### Is OwnTracks free to use?

Yes, OwnTracks is available for free. It does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements.

### Does OwnTracks have ads?

No, OwnTracks is ad-free. The app is completely free to use without any advertisements.

### What devices does OwnTracks support?

OwnTracks is available on iPhone and iPad devices. It is designed for Apple's mobile operating system.

### How often is OwnTracks updated?

The latest version, 26.1.1, was released on December 10, 2025. This indicates a commitment to ongoing development and improvements.

### What is the age rating for OwnTracks?

OwnTracks has an age rating of 4+. This means it is suitable for users of all ages.

### Can OwnTracks drain my battery?

Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Users should be mindful of this when using the app extensively.

### What makes OwnTracks private?

OwnTracks is open-source and uses open protocols for communication. This ensures that your location data stays secure and private.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 26.2.3 — 2026-07-06

### Security

This release addresses a security advisory covering several intent-handling and remote configuration vulnerabilities.
Users are strongly encouraged to upgrade. Thanks to [Noel Gomillion](https://github.com/engomillion) & [Pranati Majhi](https://github.com/pmajhi)
at Texas A&M for working with us on this.

- External configuration loading (via `owntracks://` URLs and config files) is now disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled in Settings
- A confirmation dialog is shown when enabling external configuration, warning that any config URL can fully reconfigure the app
- All intents/shortcuts now require a shared secret (`Intent Auth Key`) in every intent, preventing unauthorised apps from triggering location publishes or changing monitoring mode. The `Intent Auth Key` is created once when the app is installed.
- Security-related preferences (`allowConfigurationByURIAndConfigFile`, `allowIntentControl`, `intentAuthKey`) cannot be changed via imported config files or URLs

### New features

- New **Remote Control** preferences screen showing the intent auth key (with a copy-to-clipboard function) for use with shortcuts. The `Intent Auth Key` is created once when the app is installed.
- A new setting `remoteConfguration` controls (defaults to `off`)
- Config import screen now shows a structured diff of what is changing

### Under the hood

- [NEW] UI implemented in Swift
- [NEW] replace Cocoapods with swift packages
- [NEW] replace Cocoalumberjack with os_logger

### 26.1.1 — 2025-12-10

Bug Fixes and iOS 26 adpation

    [NEW] adapt to XCode 26 - requires iOS 17 or later
    [FIX] Settings options missing HTTP Mode #874

### 18.5.2 — 2025-09-10

Bug fixes and translation updates

    [NEW] Russian and French translation update
    [FIX] SUBSCRIBE is not repeated if MQTT broker reports no "sessionPresent" in CONNACK #866
    [FIX] cleanup if broker repors no sessionpresent in CONNACK (mqttc)

### 18.5.1 — 2025-08-23

Bug fixes and additional Languages

    [FIX] honor broker's max_topic_alias in MQTTv5 #864
    [NEW] Add simplified Chinese
    [NEW] Add Russian
    [NEW] Add Romanian
    [FIX] Remove abandoned Czech

### 18.4.7 — 2025-08-11

Bugfixes and Performance Enhancements
-  [FIX] speedup message burst processing

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## More apps by Christoph Krey

- [iEmdr](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iemdr/id695977516)
- [MQTTInspector](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mqttinspector/id758868884)

All apps by Christoph Krey: https://appshunter.io/developer/692424694

## Related topics

[owntracks](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/owntracks) · [luxepack keeptrack](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/luxepack-keeptrack)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-22.*