# OwnTracks — user reviews > 42 indexed App Store user reviews of OwnTracks by Christoph Krey, rated 4.20/5 from 32 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owntracks/id692424691/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owntracks/id692424691.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 22 · 4★ 2 · 3★ 4 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 3 ## Newest reviews (14 of 42) ### 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 — Einzigartig *2020-06-01, version 13.1.7* Ich benutze owntracks jetzt schon fast ein Jahr, vor allem in Verbindung mit iobroker. Die App funktioniert hervorragend und hat einen tollen Funktionsumfang. Aber man muss die Anleitung lesen und sich ein wenig einfuchsen. Ich würde sogar 6 Sterne geben, wenn man bei den BT beacons nicht auf die iBeacons beschränkt wäre. Es gibt so viele nette normale BLE beacons (z.B. G-tags) und es wäre eine echte Bereicherung, wenn man diese auch einbinden könnte. Danke für die tolle Idee, App und das ganze Drumherum! ### 4/5 — Die App ist Super !! Leider kein MQTT o. SSL *2020-02-12, version 13.1.7* Die App ist genau das was ich gesucht habe... was mir jedoch fehlt ist die Möglichkeit MQTT over SSL mit CloudMQTT zu sprechen. Ansonsten Top App 👍😁 ### 5/5 — Ottima applicazione! *2020-01-28, version 13.1.7* la utilizzo per monitorare la posizione e devo dire che funziona davvero bene! ### 5/5 — Great app... *2019-09-27, version 13.0.2* ... to facilitate presence detection for Smarthome scenarios. Works seamlessly with MQTT and Openhab. Update 2017-10-22: OwnTracks is still the best choice when it comes to presence detection for Smarthomes! Dear developer(s): Thank you very much. Your app is fantastic. Please keep up the good work! ### 5/5 — Ottima *2019-04-14, version 12.0.3* Unico problema... quando si usa la connessione tramite TLS in background non invia la posizione! Se poteste risolvere sarebbe una meraviglia 💪😁 Aggiornamento: ora sembra funzionare anche il TLS in background. 5 stelle 👌 ### 5/5 — Hammer App - einfach Spitze *2019-04-10, version 12.0.3* Ich benutze Owntracks mit FHEM für location tracking, absolut zuverlässig. Was mir besonders gefällt ist 1) dass man verschiedene Modi einstellen kann, wie “significant changes” , so das bei grösseren Positionsänderungen automatisch ein Update verschickt wird. 2) falls momentan keine Verbindung zum Server aufgebaut werden kann, probiert owntracks das automatisch nach 10 minuten nochmal, so gehen keine Daten verloren. Danke an den Entwickler! ### 5/5 — Funktioniert top *2019-03-03, version 12.0.2* Vielen Dank für die Arbeit, die in diese App gesteckt wurde. Es funktioniert alles super und die Dokumentation ist sehr hilfreich. ### 3/5 — Not reliable *2018-10-09* If i compare my location using this app and a similar app this app shows me drifting and waypoints not recognized. Documentation needs focus. Its a great effort and i want to support this project. Perhaps i didnt set up my backend correctly. i tried the containerized recorder and mosquitto made by this author of this app as well as mosquitto broker in the standard ubuntu repos. lots of quirks along the way but eventually got to see two phones on the map. I get badge notifications on the icon of my app but cant find any notifications in the app when i launch. So though maybe i am close to my goal and missing something i am tired of trying any further. ### 5/5 — Great for REAL privacy and flexibility *2018-01-02, version 9.7.2* Great app to use in conjunction with home assistant or any personal project ### 5/5 — 9.7.1 hat ein Problem - kein Problem mehr *2017-10-04, version 9.7.2* Die App war gut, findet in der neuen Version allerdings den eigenen Standort nicht mehr. Schade Update: Schnell vom Entwickler behoben, 9.7.2 funktioniert wieder einwandfrei! ### 5/5 — meine liebste hintergrund-app *2017-10-03, version 9.7.2* owntracks sagt meiner hausutomatisierungssoftware wo ich bin (und wie viel ich gelaufen bin) ohne dass ich die app jemals in den vordergrund holen muss. zuverlässig und stabil. ### 5/5 — 9.7.1 hat einen Bug *2017-10-02, version 9.7.1* Aktuelle Version (9.7.1) findet den Standort nicht mehr! Bitte beheben! Ansonsten funktionierte die App ohne Probleme! ### 3/5 — Works well enough *2016-10-12* Documentation is severely lacking and it has a UI that only an engineer could love, but once you manage to get it working (with a fair amount of googling) it does what it's supposed to do. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Latest version broke Shortcuts control *2026-07-11* Any use of shortcuts to change the monitoring mode no longer works ### 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. ### 1/5 — Broken *2023-12-13, version 17.0.3* I tried using the report a problem link but that page doesn’t work. Great app but yesterdays update has broken it for me and all my users. Won’t open on the phone at all so it’s not sending locations. Pleaser help. ### 1/5 — immediately sends my location to the web without consent! *2022-01-09* This app immediately sends my location off the device to a web service without my consent. It uses a lookup service to convert location to street address, and display a map. **Developer response:** Sorry to have upset you. To be honest we never thought of using the device’s native map or reverse geocoder (both from Apple) could be regarded as a privacy problem. But we take your comment seriously: In the next version uou will have the choice to use the map interactively (zooming, etc.) and the choice whether to use adress resolution. We hope you will give the app another try then. ### 1/5 — Version 7.4 is flawed *2015-03-29, version 7.4* The improvements in version 7.4 are not working. 1. With version 7.4, the region mode done not work anymore. Therefore geofancying is not possible. 2. Also I noted that I am receiving sometimes hundreds of pending messages. ### 1/5 — Crash *2014-07-03, version 7.2.2* Wont even run since this update. (Ios 7.1.1 & iphone 4s) ### 2/5 — Ottima *2024-01-06, version 17.0.5* Perfetta, ma in background non funziona, funziona in background solo se si è in Wi-Fi, in gsm non funziona. ### 2/5 — Not relisble *2016-01-18* Tried both the GPS geo fencing feature as well as the beacon. Nothing works reliably. For example I hold my iPhone and set a geo fence center based on current location. I move around few minutes later come back to the same spot and it is not within the geo fence anymore. Struggled with this app for 2 months and giving up. ### 2/5 — Crash Loop *2014-12-16, version 7.3.5* Unfortunately, the program crashes instantly. Deleting and reinstalling helps for a day or two but afterwards, the same instant crashes ### 3/5 — Is iPhone to Android Possible? *2022-07-29* I’ve downloaded the app and it appears to be fine; just a little “glitchy”. But I’m uncertain if it’s going to work across different system platforms. Some family members have Android phones, I have an iPhone. Is this going to function across those very different operating systems? EDIT: I’ve discovered that this app apparently must interact with an online server. That’s not doable in my scenario; I do not have, operate, maintain a server. Will be deleting app. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 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. ### 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! ### 5/5 — Fantastic app! Just what I was looking for! *2023-03-22* If you are looking for a private, self-hosted real-time tracking solution for your family, look no further than OwnTracks! ### 5/5 — This is a Hero app! *2022-01-10* Firstly thank you very much to the developer, you are a hero. App is great, total privacy with Owntracks and Life360 is now history. (Life360 are data thieves and should be banned as seen in the news recently) One request, how do I log daily journeys ? I need this for tracking work drives. A nice map route and/or text based journey tracking would be amazing. ### 5/5 — Excellent app *2020-06-14, version 13.1.7* This is a great application that allows users to track their location without compromising privacy with a third party spying on you. Great effort and a generous contribution to the iOS ecosystem. --- *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.*