FAQs About GPS Tracking & Geofencing in VeriClock

This FAQ section answers common questions about GPS tracking and geofencing in VeriClock. It covers topics such as GPS accuracy, the impact of turning off GPS, the necessity of enabling continuous tracking, and the geofencing setup process. Employers and employees can find solutions to common concerns here.

Is there an extra cost for using geofences/GPS?

What factors could influence the accuracy of GPS tracking or geofence activation?

What happens if GPS is turned off while clocked in?

Does 'Continuous Tracking' have to be enabled in VeriClock for geofences to work?

Will geofences work if an employee goes offline?

Can my location be shared when I'm off the clock?

Is the App going to use a lot of my cellular data?

Will the VeriClock app drain my battery?

Can my coworkers see where I am?

Can I opt out of having my location shared if my employer has enabled GPS tracking?

 

Is there an extra cost for using geofences/GPS?

Nope. VeriClock includes geofencing and GPS tracking (geotracking) with every account. There could be data charges for the device owner depending on cellular provider and phone plan.

What factors could influence the accuracy of GPS tracking or geofence activation?

Before relying on GPS data to make decisions about your employees, it's good to understand the limitations of positioning hardware. Accuracy depends on: whether a device has line of sight to a positioning-satellite; the number of satellites it has in view; the quality and types of positioning hardware in the device; how often the device reports stale positioning data; and the ability of the device to use secondary positioning markers like cell towers or wireless access points.

What happens if GPS is turned off while clocked in?

If your account is set to disallow clock events with GPS turned off, an employee will be prevented from clocking in or out. If an employee is within a geofence when clocked in and turns off their GPS, they will be treated as if they had exited the geofence.

Does 'Continuous Tracking' have to be enabled in VeriClock for geofences to work?

It does. While geofences are sent to an employee's device and updated whenever they are connected to our service, our app requires continuous tracking be enabled in your VeriClock settings to properly
interact with the geofence(s) active on an employee's device.

Will geofences work if an employee goes offline?

Absolutely. Once a geofence has been added to an employee's VeriClock app, all in-device actions are taken independent of a connection to our service. Depending on individual geofence settings, these actions could be to warn an employee they are leaving a geofence, or clocking them out automatically.

Can my location be shared when I'm off the clock?

The most important thing for you to know is that even if it's enabled on your company's account, only you can start location-sharing by clocking in with the app on your phone. No other clock in methods
will initiate sharing the location of your device. Once you clock out using our app, we immediately stop sending your location to our servers. Location data will only be sent again after you clock back in
using the app. We believe your private time is your business, we do everything we can to protect your privacy when you're not at work.

Is the App going to use a lot of my cellular data?

Not at all. We regularly use our app with location tracking enabled and typically consume about 5mb/month of data. You can always check your individual usage in the app settings on your device.

Will the VeriClock app drain my battery?

Typical usage, where GPS updates infrequently, will result in negligible battery consumption. The more frequently your GPS updates, or the harder your GPS hardware has to work to maintain a signal, the
more your battery will be consumed. If your mobile device supports it, you may be able to see per-app battery usage and can determine how much of your battery is used by our app.

Can my coworkers see where I am?

Nope. The only people that can view your location are those listed as your manager, or your company administrators.

Can I opt out of having my location shared if my employer has enabled GPS tracking?

You always have the option of disallowing location services for our app, but depending on your company's account settings and policies, you may not be able to clock in or out if you do. If you have serious concerns about having your location shared, please speak to your employer.  We have many ways to clock in that might work for your company.