Tabs
The privacy-conscious location tracker
Tabs is a way to keep track of family and friends without crossing the creepy line.
Maybe you don't want to be pinpointed on a map, or to be tracked everywhere.
However, you might want to know if your child made it to school, or if your significant other is still at the office.
Maybe you want your spouse to see you on a map, but a friend to just know whether you're home or not. Perhaps you want people to know you're out for a run and might not respond. Maybe you want to see that your girlfriend is at work with her phone silenced, and that's why she isn't responding to your texts.
Tabs can handle all of that!
Secure
Tabs encrypts everything it sends to the server using public key encryption. Private keys never leave the device, so there's no way for anyone else to decrypt updates.
Every update is encrypted so that only your followers can decrypt it.
We can't read it, Apple can't read it. If the server were compromised, the data would be unintelligible gibberish to any attacker.
Private
Tabs lets you share only what you want with who you want. You get fine grained control over who can see what in a very simple platform.
Tabs does not maintain a history of your locations, only your current location is shown to your followers.
Tabs does not require any information from you. Not even an email address. No sign-in, no linking accounts, it just works!
Fast
Unlike Find my Friends or Find my Phone, you'll instantly see the last update when you launch Tabs.
Automatic
No check-ins or anything necessary. Tabs runs in the background and updates your status automatically.
FAQ
- Do I need an account?
No, Tabs is linked to your phone. You don't need to sign up for anything, you don't need to sign-in with Facebook, Google or anything else.
- Does Tabs share my personal data with anyone?
NO! Tabs doesn't really collect any information. You don't even need to give it an email address. Your name and current location's name is encrypted with RSA public key cryptography for your followers. No one else can decrypt it. The actual GPS co-ordinates of your location are never sent anywhere.
- Will Tabs kill my battery?
Tabs is very careful not to drain your battery. It does not constantly monitor your location. It only updates using geofences, background notifications and significant location changes. These are handled by iOS and have minimal battery impact (compared to something that continuously monitors your exact location).
- Is there an Apple Watch app?
Not yet, but send me a note if you're interested... I'd love to make one if there's interest.