The following is a list of frequently asked questions relating to Smart Phone tracking. If you have any queries please feel free to contact our pre-sales team.

Q How do you track devices?

A small software application is loaded on to your Smart Phone which retrieves your location from a connected GPS. Position reports are sent to our Tracking Server and persisted in a Relational Database. You can track devices via a web interface displaying maps. For more information see our animated demonstration page.

Q What security is in place for monitoring the information which could be highly sensitive based on knowing where high profile executives might be?

We take security seriously and provide information assurance in a number of ways:

• All data is retained in a secure industry leading relational database
• All data access is strictly controlled via access control lists and user authentication mechanisms. You’ll only see what you have permission to see.
• Identification obfuscation - we track phones not people. Each phone is given a unique identifier which can not be traced to an individual’s name. Optionally we do allow ‘nicknames’ to be stored however this is not mandatory.
• For mission critical applications we are also able to offer the Tracking Server & Database to be co-located at customer sites. This option is for customers where data classification requirements go above commercial levels, for example Government and/or Military requirements. This allows for all end-to-end data transfer to remain within a logical secure corporate network, for example, just like your corporate BES configured email on your Blackberry device.

Q Do you need permission of the various network providers to allow for tracking?

No permission is needed from Network providers. Tracking is no more different than browsing to a web page or ‘Texting’ a friend on your phone. Network providers actively encourage software vendors to provide innovative applications on phones that use data.

Q Is this tracking software approved by Blackberry?

Blackberry does not approve individual software applications. Instead each software vendor is provided with a ‘code signing’ certificate by Blackberry. This certificate permits our application to be installed on your Blackberry.

Q By installing this application does that have any implication for warranty on the phone?

No, this does not affect warranty on phones. Blackberry encourages software vendors via their developer network to produce more software applications that make use of the Blackberry device. This is similar to how it works via your home computer - by loading anti-virus from a software vendor does not invalidate the warranty of your PC.

Q What does the tracking platform provide?

We offer a comprehensive set of tracking features across a number of product variants. Please refer to the Products page for more information.

Q Can the phone tracking be started automatically?

Yes, a ‘locked-down’ version of Watchberry is available on request. The main benefits are as follows:

• Automatically starts every time your device is switched on
• Automatically starts minimised / hidden. Users will be able to ‘see’ it from the Blackberry ‘task switcher’
• Users will not be able to permanently stop Watchberry
• Users will not be able alter any configuration settings
• Remote configuration of tracking intervals on a per device basis or whole group of devices.

Q What type of mapping lies underneath? Is it directly linked into Google Earth or Maps?

We offer a free mapping service which uses either Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth as the default mapping provider. This is accessed via a web portal. Additionally near real-time tracking is provided via a Google Earth KML feed.

Q Can people add their own specific mapping on top?

Using your own map data is a specialist cartographic requirement as user maps have to be accurately geographically registered before being rendered on a map display. We are able to utilise other popular GIS mapping engines to address this requirement. Further details are available upon request.

Q What phones do you support?

We have versions of Watchberry for a variety of Blackberry and Nokia smart phones. We support phones with either an internal GPS or external Bluetooth GPS. Refer to the compatible hardware page for more information.

Q Most GPS mobile tracking vendors use a lot of data transfer, do you?

The positional reports we send are very small because we optimise every bit of data. To illustrate, a typical web page you might view (this one!) uses the same amount of data as tracking a single person every hour of every day, 24/7, for 153 days!

Q How does this tracking effect the battery performance of my phone?

Watchberry includes advanced battery saving techniques which allow you to optimise battery consumption. For example, our tests have shown that by setting your position reporting time interval to say 20 minutes on your corporate Blackberry with an internal GPS has no noticeable effect on battery life. Why don’t you try for yourself and see the results.

Q Can I allow others to see where I am?

Yes, you may add unlimited web tracking user accounts to authorise only your selected users to check your location.

Q I’m an IT administrator and we impose a comprehensive security IT policy for our devices. Are you able to support these configurations?

These configurations can be supported with the help of your IT administrators. For more information refer to our Blackberry Enterprise IT Policies self-help guide.

Q I can’t find a telephone number to contact you, why is this and how do I get support?

Due to the large volume of users we support and to ensure cost effect access to all we do not offer telephone support for our entry level service. Most of our service is completely automated and we pass the savings on to you. Email support is provided to everyone, details on our contacts page.

Telephone support is available as a costed option, which is usually of most interest to our large business and/or corporate clients.