MyTracks
MyTracks 2.0 Logo
MyTracks 2.0 Logo
Screenshot
Screenshot of MyTracks 2.0 Android Application, Nov 2012.jpg
Original author(s)Google
Developer(s)Google
Initial release12 February 2009 (2009-02-12)[1]
Final release
2.0.11[2] / 21 January 2016; 6 years ago (2016-01-21)[3]
Preview release
2.0.2.rc6
Repository
Written inJava, XML (content language)
Operating systemAndroid 1.5+
SizeVaries with device[2]
LicenseApache License, Version 2.0
Websitewww.google.com/mobile/mytracks/

MyTracks was a GPS tracking application that ran on Android. The application used a device's GPS to collect data, allowing real-time review of path, speed, distance, and elevation. Later, this data could be saved to Google Maps, Google Fusion Tables, or Google Docs and shared with Google+, Facebook, or Twitter. The application also allowed a user to record annotations along the path, hear periodic voice announcements of progress, and sync with select third-party bio-metric sensors.

Google has announced that as of the 1st May 2016, MyTracks will be deprecated and no longer available in the Google Play Store.[2][4] The app itself continues to work and is still available to sideload via APK repositories.

An in-app popup alerted users that MyTracks would stop working on April 30, 2016;[5] Google has confirmed[6] they will be investing in "other, more wide-reaching, mapping projects".

Features

History

The application made its debut on February 12, 2009 under a closed license.[1] A year later on March 28, 2010, Google announced the release of the source code and open-sourcing of the application, stating "The collective intelligence of the development community will create a more powerful, more intuitive, more useful, and more robust My Tracks."[7] The first major re-haul of the application came on July 13, 2012 when Google released version 2.0 of the application. Version 2.0 introduced a new interface, support for playing back data in Google Earth for Android (although this feature is broken since Google Earth v8[8]), improved charts, and additional statistics.[9] In 2014 the developers announced on the google code project site that My Tracks is no longer developed in the open and that the source will be removed on 01/01/2015.[10] The last open source version was 2.0.5 released in August 2013.[11]

Reception

As of September 2013, the Google Play Store listed the application as being installed on 10,000,000 – 50,000,000 devices, with an overall rating of 4.4/5 from over 80,000 reviews.[2] CNET gave the application 4/5 stars, praising its "Chart, Statistics, and satellite playback" and ability to pause recordings but criticized it for an "unattractive interface" and lack of "athletic-specific features".[12] PCWorld awarded MyTracks with a perfect 5/5 stars, stating "this app is just about perfect. It is intuitive to use and very stable." However, PCWorld did mention they would like to see a few features added.[13]

Forks

OpenTracks is an open-source fork of Google's MyTracks that respects privacy started in 2020. It is actively developed, in 2020 Version 3.7.x was published.

OpenTracks
OpenTracks Logo
OpenTracks Logo
Initial release19 September 2019 (2019-09-19).[14]
Stable release
v4.0.6[15] / 7 August 2022; 28 days ago (2022-08-07)
Repository
Written inJava, XML (content language)
Operating systemAndroid 5.0+
PlatformAndroid (operating system)
License Apache License, Version 2.0
Websiteopentracksapp.com

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Shankland, Stephen (February 12, 2009). "My Tracks turns Android phone into GPS device". CNET. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "My Tracks". Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  3. ^ "My Tracks". Jan 30, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  4. ^ "My Tracks no longer available after April 30, 2016 - Google Maps Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  5. ^ "Screenshot about App discontinuation (German)". Google+. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Google statement about MyTracks discontinuation". Google. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  7. ^ Dornbush, Sandor; Damazio, Rodrigo (May 28, 2010). "Code for My Tracks is now yours". Google Lat-Long Blog. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  8. ^ "Google Maps and Earth Help Forum: KMZ file won't transfer correctly from My tracks to Google Earth any more". Google Groups. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  9. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (July 13, 2012). "Google Launches MyTracks 2.0 GPS App For Hikers, Bikers & Runners". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  10. ^ "My Tracks for Android - Google Project Hosting". Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  11. ^ "Google Code Archive - Long-term storage for Google Code Project Hosting".
  12. ^ Cabebe, Jaymar (October 4, 2012). "My Tracks review: Google makes a solid multipurpose GPS tracker". CNET. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  13. ^ Rose, Brent (September 14, 2010). "My Tracks". PCWorld. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  14. ^ "OpenTracks v3.0.0". Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "OpenTracks v4.0.6". Retrieved August 7, 2022.
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