Most people are not aware that there are free apps available which can help you track a vehicle or a person very quickly. These apps will work very nicely with your smartphone, so they’re easy to use and don’t call for any other hardware to be installed or maintained. When you use any of the free vehicle-tracking apps, you’ll gain an understanding of how GPS tracking works, and you’ll probably be impressed about how precise they are. When it comes to keeping track of family members or friends, you might even find these free apps to be very valuable to the safety and welfare of your loved ones.
Do you need a vehicle GPS?
You might be surprised at all the benefits you will derive from having a vehicle tracking system in place. In the past, a dispatcher would have been obliged to frequently contact a truck driver to ask them about their whereabouts, and this would be not only distracting but a colossal waste of time. When you consider that these same calls would be placed to many other fleet drivers, it could quickly add up to literally hours of wasted effort.
When you have a vehicle tracking system in place, you can see at a glance where all your vehicles are on a live Google Map, so all those calls can be eliminated. This makes for much more efficient use of your time, as well as far less hassle to your drivers. What that amounts to is much better productivity for your employees.
In a similar vein, you’ll be able to establish a greater sense of safety and well-being for all of your staff and drivers. If the weather happens to be inclement for any of your vehicles, you’ll know exactly where they are and what their situation is. If a specific driver hasn’t checked in for a long time, you can then contact them to find out what the issue is.
Your customer service will also be much improved when you have a vehicle tracking system installed. Rather than provide customers with a ballpark delivery time, you’ll be able to give them a much more specific time of delivery, because you’ll always know exactly where your vehicles are. This will provide you with a competitive advantage, and is sure to impress your customers. It’s a win-win.
Having a vehicle tracking system installed will likely earn you some discounts on your insurance premiums, as well. Most insurance companies offer discounts to those companies which have these systems in place, because the likelihood of theft or damage is reduced, which in turn reduces their own liability.
If a vehicle does get stolen, either from the parking lot or while on the road, it’s much easier to recover that vehicle because it is constantly being tracked. The faster the response to any such theft, the greater the likelihood that the vehicle will be recovered intact. Another thing that will deter unauthorized usage of your vehicle or possibly theft will be the automatic messages you get when a vehicle has left the parking lot. If this constitutes unauthorized usage of the vehicle, you can quickly react to it and have local authorities track down the truck very quickly.
Lastly, one of the biggest benefits of having a vehicle tracking system installed is the reduced amount of administrative paperwork. Logbooks that used to be maintained by hand will are being eliminated, and all the relevant information now must be automatically recorded. Any data which must be obtained regarding a particular vehicle can instantly be derived at the touch of a button, with no paperwork involved at all.
Are there any free options?
You might not expect that something as sophisticated as a GPS tracker would be made available for no charge. Still, in actuality, there are quite a few apps which are free, and that you can download to begin immediate tracking and locating vehicles and assets. The apps listed below are some of the best of these free solutions, and almost any of them could prove useful. Try one or several of them out, to see which one(s) suit you best:
- Open GPS tracker – With this app, you can store locations, notes, photos, and videos. Used with Android smartphones, this app will provide real-time notifications that you can set up for tracking.
- My family GPS tracker – Ideal for tracking younger members of your family, this app includes a sharing mode that you can use to share the locations of your children with other family members or friends.
- GPS tracker for Android – This app provides support for GPS tracking and for network functions and is designed to work with Android phones. You can share locations with others and can set alerts and alarms which are helpful to you.
- FamiSafe GPS Tracking – This app is ideal for keeping tabs on family members, so you’ll know where your children are at all times. It’s flexible enough to work with all kinds of smartphones and is very easy to use as a free GPS tracker.
- Mapmyrun GPS running – If you’re a person who enjoys walking or running, you can use this app to determine your speed, calories burned, and your specific route. It can be set up to provide alerts at specific checkpoints that you identify.
- GPS phone tracker – Offline Mobile Phone Locator – Using this app, you’ll be able to track the location of anyone important to you. Compatible with all Android phones, this app will allow you to find out your exact location in a matter of minutes.
- XFI locator – One of its best features is that it allows Google Maps to show your location to others whom you specify, and you can find the exact location of others using Google Maps, so you can have a street view if you so desire.
- GLYMPSE – One of the most versatile of all phone apps, GLYMPSE allows you to find and share locations with friends and family, and it can be used on almost any kind of device. It is highly automated, so with just a little input, you can get a ton of information from this app.
Closing thoughts on free vehicle GPS trackers
These days, you don’t often find something which has real value and is offered to the public at no charge. Free portable tracking devices and apps are a definite contradiction to this truism because you can get tremendous value from almost any one of them, completely free of charge.
If you have a business where tracking vehicles or persons would be helpful, these free apps can give you a flavor for what is possible, and get you thinking about a more substantial investment for your business. In any case, you’ll have some fun with these free apps, and in some cases, you’ll also find them to be extremely useful in your daily life.
