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Limitations and Cautions

The Safety Tracking feature is useful, but it depends on smartphones and communication environments, so several limitations must be kept in mind.

Outside communication coverage​

  • When a participant goes out of coverage, location sharing is temporarily interrupted
  • The device may keep records and send them later after communication returns
  • However, immediate SOS delivery and real-time monitoring are not possible during that time

Background behavior​

  • Continuity of location acquisition and transmission depends on device and OS behavior
  • Depending on battery-saving settings and permissions, background transmission may stop

:::note On Android While location is being shared, a "Sharing location" notification stays visible. This is normal behavior. If you dismiss the notification or close the app from the recents (task list), sharing may stop. :::

GPS accuracy​

  • Location accuracy depends on the device and the environment
  • In mountain areas, forests, valleys, or near building shadows, the error may become large
  • Location data with extremely poor accuracy (error greater than 100m), or location data that jumps unnaturally from the previous point (implying a movement speed above about 80 km/h), is automatically discarded. Because of this, the position on the map may not update for a while, but this is not a malfunction

Maximum location sharing duration​

  • Location sharing stops automatically a maximum of 24 hours after it starts
  • For events that run longer than 24 hours, plan for participants to restart sharing partway through

Battery​

  • Long events require attention to battery consumption
  • Bringing a mobile battery is strongly recommended

Device failure and user mistakes​

Sharing may not continue as intended because of:

  • Water damage in rain
  • Damage in a fall
  • Accidental stop by user operation
  • App trouble

Operational assumptions​

  • Do not finalize judgments based only on the app display
  • Use other safety methods together, such as phone calls, radios, or patrols
  • Perform tests on both the organizer side and the participant side before the real event