Zero-config family location sharing that survives the move to a de-Googled phone, with reliable background updates on GrapheneOS

android app real project ••• trending

Several existing FOSS location apps (Traccar, OwnTracks, Nextcloud) break background updates after users move to GrapheneOS, because they depend on Google Play Services' fused-location and geofencing APIs that don't run on de-Googled Android. The specific unmet need is a background-location engine that uses Android's native location APIs and foreground service correctly on GrapheneOS, combined with zero-touch setup for non-technical group members. The general family-tracking space has many FOSS solutions; the gap is the GrapheneOS-compatible implementation of reliable always-on background updates.

builder note

The map and the sync are the easy 20%; the moat is reliable background location on de-Googled Android (no Play Services geofencing, aggressive battery killers) plus a pairing flow an 80-year-old never has to re-touch. Nail those two and you win the whole 'leaving Life360' crowd, not just the homelab subset.

landscape (5 existing solutions)

There is a crowded field of FOSS location-tracking backends (Reitti, Dawarich, Traccar, OwnTracks, Hauk, GeoPulse, PhoneTrack), so raw map-and-share capability is solved. What no one has packaged is the Life360 experience for de-Googled phones: a one-tap pairing flow for non-technical/elderly members plus rock-solid background location on GrapheneOS without Google's fused-location/geofencing APIs, which is exactly where the existing tools repeatedly fall down.

Reitti Self-hosted location tracker whose dev confirmed in-thread it can share live location between users (via OwnTracks/Overland apps), but it is a server you install and configure yourself, not a zero-config family product an 80-year-old can be onboarded to without help.

Traccar Free, open-source, self-hostable GPS platform with real-time tracking and Android/iOS apps, but setup and its admin interface are aimed at technical users; a commenter said its background updates stopped working after moving to GrapheneOS.

Hauk Genuinely simple FOSS self-hosted sharing, but it is session-based 'share my location for the next N hours' rather than the persistent always-on group sharing Life360 users need, and the app is dated.

Home Assistant + OwnTracks The most-recommended option and the data stays local, but it assumes you already run Home Assistant and are comfortable with companion-app/MQTT/intents plumbing; far too heavy and fiddly to set up on a non-technical relative's phone.

Life360 (incumbent to replace) The proprietary app families want to leave: it requires Google Play Services (the OP runs GrapheneOS with the Play store installed solely for Life360) and is freemium with paid tiers, but nothing FOSS matches its zero-touch reliability for non-technical members.

sources (1)

other https://lemmy.world/post/48211243 "I ONLY need the real time sharing to other devices in the group" 2026-06-15

grapheneosdegooglelocation-sharingfamilyself-hosted