Tips for the Best Experience
Get the Most from Pebbls
A few habits make a big difference to how your journey looks online and how long your battery lasts.
Skip the Commute
Start tracking when the adventure starts, not on the flight or motorway to get there. A long transfer can dominate the map and dilute the story. When you pick a flying transport mode the app asks "Skip the Commute?" with Go Back or Continue, because flights record as straight lines and GPS works poorly on planes.
Add Context
Use descriptive chapter titles and Pebbl titles. "Day 1: The Coastal Path to Brighton" tells a story; "Day 1" does not.
Drop Pebbls Often
More Pebbls make a richer story and a better feed. A chapter needs at least 3 Pebbls with 4 photos before a flyby film can be made.
Keep an Eye on the Sync Tick
The upload status button next to your name in the app menu shows a tick when everything is uploaded, or a count of items still waiting. Open it to see what is queued. Updates can take up to 5 minutes to appear on the website.
Battery
Pebbls records in the background and sends your route every few minutes, so a full day of tracking is normal on most phones. Standard tracking uses less power than Live. A power bank is worth carrying on long days, and a small solar panel on multi-day trips off-grid.
Stay Connected
The app keeps recording without signal and uploads when you are back online. If you are on a limited data plan, set Settings › Uploads to send photos and videos over Wi-Fi only.
Take the Tour
Tap the ? button at the top of the map screen, or Take the tour in the menu, for a guided walk through the map screen's controls.