NAVGPS

How-To

Set up a Family Circle

A Family Circle is always-on location sharing between people you have approved. Convoy does the same thing for the length of a single ride.

Steps

  1. Turn on cloud sync
    Settings → Sync tracks to navgps.app. Circles run through the backend, so this has to be on.
  2. Create the circle
    Community tab → Family Circle → Create Circle. You get a six-character invite code.
  3. Send the code
    Give the code to whoever is joining. They enter it on their own device in the same place.
  4. Approve each member
    Joining does not share anything. The owner approves each person first, and until then nothing of theirs is visible and nothing of yours is sent to them.
  5. See everyone on the map
    Approved members appear as pins on the Map tab. Tapping a pin opens their details, including their recent drives if they are sharing them.
The NavGPS Family Circle screen with Create Circle and Join with a Code
Create a circle, share the code, approve each member. Nothing is shared before approval.
The NavGPS Community tab showing Family Circle and groups
Circles and groups both live on the Community tab.

Worth knowing

  • NavGPS asks for Always location permission only once sharing starts, because iOS stops delivering position to a backgrounded app otherwise.
  • Crash detection, if enabled, alerts your circle — not emergency services. It asks you first with a countdown so a pothole doesn't call anyone.