TxtWatcher and Your Phone’s Location Services
TxtWatcher is a passive location-aware feature for Android. TxtWatcher utilizes two different Android location services to determine the best last known phone location at the time a message is sent or received – the GPS Service and the Network Location Provider Service:
- GPS is most accurate location service, but since it relies on satellites to determine locatio,n it generally only works outdoors. In addition, it quickly consumes battery power, and doesn’t return the location quickly.
- Android’s Network Location Provider service determines a phone’s location using cell tower and Wi-Fi signals, providing location information in a way that works both indoors and outdoors, that responds more quickly than GPS, and uses less battery power. Unfortunately, it is also less accurate.
TxtWatcher utilizes all available location services to determine the best last known phone location at the time a message is sent or received. Accuracy will vary based upon the activation state of these services including network connectivity and the physical location of the phone.
As location precision can vary, it is important to utilize the TxtWatcher location feature for general reference only.