Location privacy, the monitoring notice and tech consent

Overview#

Location data is personal data. TradesWork has three controls built in. Off-duty privacy hides positions outside working hours. The Monitoring notice must be accepted in the field app before a tech's phone shares anything. Techs can Pause sharing or withdraw consent at any time. Several US states require written notice before electronic monitoring, so have the notice reviewed for the states you work in.

Before you start#

• Owners and admins change privacy settings and the notice.

• Technicians and dispatchers can share their own phone location. Owners and admins can too.

• Only owners, admins, dispatchers and customer service see positions. Accounting, viewers and technicians never do.

• Trackers plugged into trucks are not gated by phone consent. The notice covers both the truck tracker and the phone, so give it to every driver.

Steps#

Turn on off-duty privacy#

1. Go to Settings › Integrations › GPS and find Privacy and retention.

2. Tick Off-duty privacy. It is on by default and recommended for take-home trucks.

3. Pick Working hours:

   • Dispatch board hours uses the board's hours.

   • Custom hours uses Custom start and Custom end.

4. Tick the Working days.

5. Set Keep positions (months).

6. Click Save privacy settings.

Positions recorded while a tech is en route to or working an appointment are always visible, even after hours.

Edit the monitoring notice#

1. In Monitoring notice, read the current text. The header shows the version number.

2. Edit the text. {company} and {retention} are filled in automatically.

3. Click Save notice. The message says technicians will be asked to accept the new version.

4. Every save raises the version. Everyone must accept again before their phone shares location.

The built-in notice explains what is collected (vehicle and phone location, speed and heading, about once a minute), when (working hours or an active job), who sees it, that it is never sold or used to train AI, and how long it is kept.

Check who accepted#

1. Below the notice, the table lists each Team member with the Current notice status:

   • Accepted with a date.

   • Accepted v2 only (or another old version): they accepted an earlier notice.

   • Not yet.

What the technician does in the field app#

1. On Today, the tech sees "Share your location on shift?" and taps Read the notice.

2. The Location notice screen shows the notice and the working hours.

3. They tap I agree, share my location on shift, or Not now.

4. The phone then asks for location permission ("While using the app").

5. The Location card on Today then shows Sharing location, Paused or Not sharing, with Pause / Resume and Start shift / End shift.

6. Sharing starts automatically when they are en route or working, or when they tap Start shift. It stops when they end the shift or pause.

7. To withdraw, they open Location notice and tap Withdraw consent. That stops sharing and deletes points not yet sent.

Background location (optional)#

1. An owner or admin ticks Allow background location on phones in Arrival detection and customer ETA, then clicks Save arrival settings.

2. In the app, the tech sees Share while the app is closed in the Location card and taps Turn on.

3. A Background location screen explains what happens. They tap Turn on background location, then choose "Always" or "Allow all the time" when the phone asks.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Integrations › GPS › Privacy and retention.

• Settings › Integrations › GPS › Monitoring notice.

• Settings › Integrations › GPS › Arrival detection and customer ETA › Allow background location on phones.

Tips#

• Saving the notice for a typo still asks everyone to accept again. Batch your edits.

• Off-duty privacy also hides those points from route playback and trip lines, not just the live map.

• The Location card on Today shows "points waiting for signal" when the phone is offline. They are sent when signal returns.

Troubleshooting#

• A tech's phone shares nothing. Cause: no consent for the current version, paused, not on shift, or location permission off. Fix: check the consent table, then have the tech open the Location card.

• "Accept the location notice in the app before sharing your location." Cause: the phone tried to send without consent. Fix: the tech accepts the notice.

• "Your office updated the notice. Read the new version, then accept." Cause: the notice changed while the screen was open. Fix: reopen and accept again.

• The Background location option does not appear. Cause: the company setting is off, or this app build can't share in the background. Background location needs the store build; Expo Go and the web app keep foreground only. Fix: check the setting and app version.

• "Background location wasn't allowed." Cause: the tech did not pick Always. Fix: tap Open Settings and allow it.

FAQ#

Can the office see a tech at home at night? Not with off-duty privacy on, unless the tech is en route to or working an appointment.

Is location used for AI? The built-in notice says location is never sold and never used to train AI. If you edit the notice, keep only promises you can stand behind.

Is the notice legal advice? No. It is a starting point. Have it reviewed for your states.

Do trackers stop when a tech withdraws consent? No. Consent controls the phone. Use off-duty privacy and the tracker's Disabled status for trucks.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• ServiceTitan relied on your GPS provider for notices and privacy.

• TradesWork builds the notice, consent tracking, pause and off-duty privacy into the product and the field app.