At this time, mobile location permission is required because we really, really want your FitBark GPS to have enough battery life during an emergency.
Why is this permission necessary?
To maximize your chances of finding a missing pet, and to extend battery life of your FitBark GPS, the FitBark mobile app always requires location permissions. We only use your phone’s location when you are with your pet and outside the Wi-Fi range of an established Wi-Fi Safe Place.
Can I opt out of this permission requirement?
Not at this time. While assisting distressed users in real-time (via our support chat) in finding their missing pets, we learned that our product is only as good as its battery life is. There's no way for us to help you find your pet if the battery of the FitBark GPS is dead. We spend countless hours looking for ways to extend battery life, while restraining the use of your phone's location to those times when there's no Wi-Fi available and you're with your pet. We hope you don't mind trading a somewhat sensitive permission in exchange for your best odds at finding your pet when emergency strikes.
But I didn't know this when I got my FitBark GPS...
If you received the FitBark GPS as a gift or were not aware that this permission is required, please reach out to us and we'll help to facilitate a return (if within the return period). We try our best to highlight that the location permission is required in our product descriptions and marketing materials, but of course this is not always easy to catch.
All we do with your mobile phone's location
We display your pet's location (to you and other authorized users) when you are with your pet and linked to the FitBark GPS via Bluetooth
We display your distance from your pet's location on a map when you're apart
We use third party map apps (currently Google maps) to display the shortest path between you and your pet
We pre-populate Wi-Fi safe place and zip code information during the setup of a FitBark GPS
Battery life considerations
At all times, the FitBark GPS will try to use the least amount of battery possible to determine its location. Whenever it’s within the Bluetooth range of an owner’s smartphone, or within a Wi-Fi safe place, the FitBark GPS will enter a low power mode while still keeping all owners informed of its location. This requires Bluetooth to be enabled on your phone, and the FitBark app running in the background. Learn more about battery life here.
Android users
If you are an Android user, please also check out Why do I need to “Always Allow” location on Android?