"WRU?"
"How do I get there?"
"Am I going the right way?"
"Where are we all meeting?"
Sound familiar? Usual messages we send or receive when meeting up with colleagues, friends, or family (or clingy girlfriends/spouses? hahahaha). But sometimes, it's not very safe or convenient to text or message a location. And some tracking services aren't very good, don't offer a lot of privacy, and worst of all require the creation of an account and everyone you want to give your location to, to sign up as well. So why bother with GPS tracking apps?
Well, there are some very valid reasons to allow certain people to track you. Safety, navigation, travel logs just to name a few. But you don't want to leave this open to the public, nor do you want certain people to track you anytime THEY want. Give them a glimpse of where you are, using
Glympse!
This is an app designed to give your GPS location and movement to a specific person (or persons) for a specific amount of time.
In use, it's quite practical for out of town trips, and safety.
I'm part of a car club, and we frequently go on out of town trips. Meet up points are useful but sometimes, others may be late or just choose to follow. What happens if someone doesn't know the way? Sending a
Glympse to that person allows the app to create a route to your location. No need to input a destination, just click on the link and a route to that person is calculated automatically.
Alternately, it will allow that person to send you their location, so you can track their movements and verify that they are going in the right direction or are on the right track. "Am I going the right way? Or did I already pass it?"
It's also quite useful for travel safety. Specially in unfamiliar areas, you may want to send a Glympse to a friend or relative so they will know exactly where you are should you need help or if it's critical for people to find you. Like if you're on a long road trip, and your car breaks down or need to be fetched, having sent a link to someone before you head out will make it easier for help to find you.
It's quite an efficient app as well, people you send your location to do not need to have the app, just an email address and web browser. If they have the app, it just allows more options, but isn't critical to receive your location. It doesn't drain your battery much, nor does it chew up that much data so don't worry so much about long trips.
**Disclaimer, this blog does not take ANY responsibility for the impact this app will have on your relationships! Hahahaha! Use at your own risk!**
