Mobile Data Usage

What tracking and uploads cost in mobile data, and the Wi-Fi-only option.

How Much Data Does Tracking Use?

Very little. GPS points are tiny; photos and videos are what use your allowance.

How Points Are Recorded

A point is saved about every 15 metres you move, roughly 60 to 70 points per kilometre. When you are stationary a small heartbeat point is saved every 3 minutes to confirm tracking is alive.

Data Per Point

A whole day of tracking uses less data than one photo: each point is about 0.3 KB, so a kilometre of travel is roughly 20 to 30 KB.

Quick Estimates

10 km: about 0.2 to 0.3 MB
50 km: about 1 to 1.5 MB
100 km: about 2 to 3 MB
500 km: about 10 to 15 MB

When Stationary

Around 5 KB per hour. A day parked up is not noticeable.

Photos and Videos

One photo is usually 2 to 5 MB, more than a whole day of GPS. A video can be hundreds of megabytes. On a limited plan set Settings › Uploads to send media over Wi-Fi only.

Live Tracking

Live mode sends points as you move rather than in batches, so it makes more, smaller requests. The total is still small, but Live always uses mobile data, even in Wi-Fi-only mode.