Location tracking

RaceRanger tracks the GPS position of officials on course so the team can see where everyone is on the map. This helps with coordination — knowing which officials are near an incident, who’s covering which section of the course, and whether anyone has moved out of position.

Who is tracked

Location tracking is controlled by your role and TO assignments. Not everyone is tracked — typically, officials on the course (bike officials, vehicular officials, swim officials) have tracking enabled, while stationary officials (registration, venue control centre) do not.

Your role’s isTrackingEnabled permission determines whether your position is shared.

How it works

When location tracking is enabled for your role:

After every sign-in, the app shows a Location Tracking notice that you acknowledge before continuing — the policy is reaffirmed each session, not just on first install.
The app requests location permission on your device.
Your position is shared in real time while you’re in an active race.
Other officials (with map access) can see your position on the course map.
Your position updates are motion-based — the app sends updates more frequently when you’re moving and less frequently when you’re stationary. This conserves battery.

If location is turned off while you’re in a race — or, on iPhone, set only to “While Using” — the app shows a banner below the top bar reminding you that race control can’t see you on the course, with a one-tap Grant location button. When permission is “While Using”, the banner explains that you need to set location to “Always” so your position is shared with the screen off. Tapping the button re-requests permission, or opens your device settings if permission was previously denied. The banner clears itself once location is allowed.

While you are in race mode, a small icon in the top bar shows your location-sharing status at a glance:

Filled location pin (blue): Your position is actively being shared.
Hand-off icon (teal): A dedicated device holds the location lock; your device is not the active tracker for this event.
Location-off icon (amber): Location sharing is off for this session, but your role is eligible to share. Check your permissions or network connection if you expect to be sharing.

The icon disappears when the race ends or when location tracking is disabled for your role.

If you need a break from sharing — a planned stop, or stepping away from your section — you can Pause sharing from the location indicator and Resume sharing later. While you’re paused, race control sees a distinct Paused status instead of assuming you’ve dropped off, and you show as live again the moment you resume.

Switching tracking to your device

If location tracking is already running on another official’s device (not a dedicated tablet), race mode shows a banner offering to move tracking to the device you’re using. Tap Use this device to take over; until you do, the other device keeps tracking and nothing else in race mode is interrupted.

What others see

On the map view, officials who have a last known position appear as markers showing:

Their name or role.
Their current position on the course.
Their last update time.
Battery level.
A status label — sharing, paused, stopped for low battery, or location turned off — shown in your own language.

Hovering an official’s battery indicator, on the map panel or the team list, shows how their battery has changed over the last couple of hours.

Officials who have stopped sharing their location are still shown on the map based on their last known position. In the officials picker, they appear with a “(not sharing)” label so you can tell at a glance whether their marker reflects a live position or a stored one. An official who has deliberately paused sharing reads as Paused rather than as someone who has dropped off.

The position dot on the map uses three states: green when the tracker is active and recently updated, amber when the tracker appears active but has not sent an update for around fifteen minutes (for example, when an Android device’s app has been closed by the system), and red when tracking has stopped. A stationary official who simply isn’t moving no longer trips the amber state — it now reflects a tracker that has genuinely gone quiet. The officials list panel shows the same amber dot next to a name when the position data is stale.

Battery considerations

Location tracking is designed to minimise battery drain:

Updates are motion-based, not continuous.
When you’re stationary, updates slow down significantly.
The app uses efficient location strategies that balance accuracy with battery life.

Tip

Keep your device charged during long events. A portable battery pack is recommended for officials on course all day.

Enabling location permissions

For location tracking to work, you need to grant the app location permission. The “Always” permission provides the best experience, allowing the app to update your position even when it’s in the background.

iOS

Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services.
Find RaceRanger in the list.
Set to Always.

Or when the app prompts you, tap Allow While Using App, then later change to Always in Settings.

Apple’s guide: Turn location services on or off

Android

Open Settings → Apps → RaceRanger → Permissions → Location.
Select Allow all the time.

Or when the app prompts you, grant “Allow all the time” permission.

Google’s guide: Manage your Android device’s location settings

Privacy

Your location is only shared while you’re in an active race with tracking enabled.
When the race ends or you leave the event, tracking stops.
Location data is stored for the duration of the event and included in the event’s location history.

Troubleshooting

If your position isn’t appearing on the map:

Check that location permissions are set to “Always” in your device settings.
Ensure you’re in an active race with tracking enabled for your role.
Verify you have a GPS signal (indoor locations may have poor accuracy).
Check your internet connection — location updates need connectivity to reach the server.