Help Pages

Location

Location data collection is a critical part of the Bodyguard, Virtual Defender Application and the Personal Security Network Service. It is a key security feature that also serves as a backbone to unify all of the other security features, including the various media collection capabilities.

As already discussed in the Basic Operations Help section, location data collection supports two collection modes:

• Periodic GPS, and

• Smart GPS

The Periodic GPS collection mode is intended to collect location and any security media data at regular intervals regardless of other constraints. It will, therefore, collect more data than the Smart GPS collection mode, which attempts to filter out data it deems redundant, or otherwise undesirable.

Regardless of which data collection mode is used, all location data is automatically sent to the cloud and is retained there for some time as determined by a particular subscription level, or the user, who is free to delete this data at any time. For detailed discussion of subscription levels please refer to the Subscriptions Help section.

User location information is an extremely sensitive piece of user data, and it is treated as such by Bodyguard. Location data is not just made anonymous, as is a common industry practice, but it is fully encrypted using industry standard encryption methods. Location data collected by Bodyguard is never shared with any third-party vendor and is never used for any purpose not explicitly discussed here. It is conceivable that in extreme circumstances this data may be useful to law enforcement authorities to assist in investigative work if they are material as crime scene evidence. In such instances, it is up to the data owner -- the user -- to authorized release of this information. The user can authorize release of this information by selecting the "Authorize Security Data Release" option, which can be found under General Options. Please refer to the Settings Help section.

Location data collected by Bodyguard may contain the following information:

• Location Timestamp

• Location Provider

• Location Time and Date

• Elapsed Nanoseconds

• Latitude

• Longitude

• Altitude

• Speed

• Bearing

• Horizontal Accuracy

• Vertical Accuracy

• Speed Accuracy

• Bearing Accuracy

• Inferred User Motion State

• Device Name

Information content may vary depending on the service used to gather the data. Bodyguard always attempts to gather the most accurate data available at the time. However, location data may come from the following sources:

• GPS

• Network

• Passive

Access to these services can be restricted by user or system action, or the data may be temporarily unavailable for technical reasons. Bodyguard will always attempt to collect the most relevant data available.

Because it is possible to share the same Bodyguard account among multiple devices, location data is identified using the name of the device that what was used to collect it. Thus, it is possible to filter location data by the device name when viewing them. Please refer to the Settings Help section for the discussion of available options.

The inferred User Motion State is used by the Smart GPS mode to decide how frequently to collect location data. As already discussed in the Basic Operations Help section, user motion may fall into the following categories:

• Stationary (under 3 miles per hour)

• Walking (under 5 miles per hour)

• Running (under 10 miles per hour)

• Biking (under 20 miles per hour)

• Cruising (under 30 miles per hour)

• Driving (under 120 miles per hour)

• Flying (above 120 miles per hour)

• Unknown

These inferences are not extremely accurate because of the limitations of the GPS technology and are intended to give only a rough idea of the user's relative motion.

Each user can display their own location data, as well as the location data of those members of the user's security network who have specifically authorized this particular user to view their location information. To view your own location data, make sure you are logged in as a valid Bodyguard user and then simply open the Location History item from the Main Menu display pane.

The LOCATION HISTORY page displays a list of location points according to the location Time Filter settings. Location data can be filtered by the date and time of collection, as well as, by the collecting device name. The two yellow buttons located above the list allow rapid access to the Date and Time Filters. Initially, as the filters are disabled, the buttons display the text "FROM DATE" and "TO DATE" respectively. This text indicates that no date filter is currently active, and every recorded location is part of the displayed list. Tapping either button presents a date selection widget which can be used to select a particular date of interest. If a date was selected, then another set of two buttons also becomes visible. Each of these buttons can be used to narrow down the time within each corresponding day. Initially each button displays the text "12:00:00 AM" representing the midnight hour of each day. Tapping either of these buttons presents a time selection widget, but only if the corresponding date button displays a valid date.

The list of visible location points is automatically updated to match the current filter setting. As should be already clear, the "FROM DATE" and the "TO DATE" widgets, together with the associated time widgets, allow selection of the time range with the oldest visible location point corresponding to the "FROM DATE" and time, and the most recent visible location point corresponding to the "TO DATE" and time. Together, these filters allow one to reduce the number of visible locations and to unclutter the associated map page, if so desired. Long pressing any of the filter buttons clears that part of the filter and updates the location list page.

If more than one device was used to record the location data, a Device Filter can be accessed using the options menu displayed in the upper right corner of the page. Touching the corresponding menu item opens a dialog displaying a list of all known device names associated with the collected data. This dialog allows selection of either an individual device from that list, or all devices.

The options menu can also be used to open the "FROM DATE" and the "TO DATE" filter widgets. If a valid "FROM DATE" was selected, then an additional menu item "Select From Time" appears on the menu, and likewise, a valid "TO DATE" also adds a "Select To Time" option to the options menu.

As already mentioned, the Time and Device Filters are useful for limiting the number of visible location points. These filters can also be used to select the location points for deletion. Simply use the filters to choose the unwanted location points to delete, and then use the "Delete All Shown Locations" option from the options menu to permanently remove the associated data from the cloud database. Once data is removed from the cloud database, it cannot be recovered.

Each row of the list on the LOCATION HISTORY page displays a single location point summary. The summary includes the following information:

• The date and time the location point was taken

• The inferred motion type

• The device name used to record the location point

Long pressing the text of the summary opens a dialog containing the full details of the location point, already discussed above.

The LOCATION HISTORY page also allows sharing of the shown location point with someone using email, text messaging, or another method.

Flanking each location point text summary are two buttons. The blue button on the left side opens a map page displaying the individual location point on a map. The black button on the right side allows deletion of the associated location point. Long pressing the blue button opens a dialog containing the details of the location point, just as long pressing the text of the location summary does. Long pressing the black button allows deletion of all visible (filtered) location points. There is also a Sharing Icon to the right of the location summary text, which can be used to easily share the associated location with anyone, by means of another Android application.

The big round button in the lower right corner of the page selects all shown location points for display on the LOCATION HISTORY MAP page.

The LOCATION HISTORY MAP page operates differently according to context; however, certain features of the page remain constant. For example, touching the map view surface, or performing other interactions, overlays the map with a number of controls. These controls remain visible for three seconds following the last interaction.

At the top of the map there is a slide bar that can be used to control the amount of zoom applied to the map. Double tapping the map zooms in on the section of the map being touched. Pinch and spread gestures can also be used to control zooming. To pan the map page, touch the map and drag it around with your finger.

At the bottom of the map page there is a large yellow button with the text "MAP TYPE" written on it. Pressing this button allows selection of the following map types:

• NORMAL

• TERRAIN

• SATELLITE

• HYBRID

Most settings throughout the Application are "sticky," meaning they remain in effect until changed.

Also at the bottom, but over to the left side, there is another large button, which is blue, with text written on it. This button controls the viewing mode of the location map, and its text identifies the selected mode. The text can be one of the following:

• TRACK

• DETAILS

• CLEAR

The text of this button indicates the currently selected location map viewing mode, each of which is described in detail below.

The big round button in the lower right corner has two functions. Tapping it centers the map on the current device location, if the user is viewing their own history, or the last known location of another user's device if viewing someone else's data. Long pressing this button is identical to tapping the blue button and this action cycles through the three different modes:

• Live Tracking Mode

• Detailed View Mode

• Blank Map Mode

The Live Tracking Mode is most useful when displaying another user's data, particularly when that user is moving. In this mode, the current user position is identified by a blue animated circle and the map is kept centered on the location of this circle as the user's position changes with time. The Dynamic Zoom option can be used to automatically adjust the map zoom level in response to the velocity of the tracked device. Higher velocity automatically zooms out, while lower velocity automatically zooms in. The Dynamic Zoom option temporarily suspends whenever the user makes their own adjustments to the zoom level using the zoom slide at the top of the page. The Dynamic Zoom option can be controlled either via the Settings or using the map options menu. Use the "Select Other Map Options" menu item to control this setting. Please refer to the Settings Help section for further discussion of the available settings and options.

The Detailed View Mode allows one to retrace the visible location points in chronological order. When this mode is active, additional buttons appear on either side of the "MAP TYPE" button. These buttons are shaped as large arrows pointing away from the "MAP TYPE" button. The left arrow button, if visible, allows traversal to the past, while the right arrow button allows traversal toward the future. Either button becomes invisible when further traversal in the corresponding direction is not possible. When the Detailed View Mode is active, individual location points, typically identified by colored map pins, also display the tag associated with the currently selected location. The tag displays the date this particular location point was acquired. Tapping the tag displays the location details in a separate dialog window. That dialog may also allow other actions depending on various context. These actions are discussed later in this Help section.

The Blank Map Mode is useful for uncluttering the map by removing the location points' map pins and leaving just the dotted line trace. The dotted line trace can be controlled via the Settings or through the "Select Other Map Options" menu item, "Location Trace" selection. When the "Location Trace" option is disabled, the Blank Map Mode simply clears the map of all location data. Tapping the dotted line temporarily makes it invisible, until tapped again, or the map is redrawn.

When visible, the location map pins identify each position point's exact location on the map. The map pins are color coded depending on context. When the user views their own account's location history using the LOCATION HISTORY MAP page, all map pins are colored red. On this page, tapping any map pin centers that map pin on the map, and displays the map pin's tag, identifying the date the location point was collected. Tapping the tag displays the details associated with that location, and long pressing the tag opens a dialog allowing deletion of that location point from the database.

When the user views someone else's location history using the ALLIANCE MEMBER LOCATION page, the map pins are color coded and can be of the following colors:

• Violet

• Blue

• Green

• Magenta

• Cyan

• Azure

• Rose

• Yellow

These colors carry information regarding the security media data available for each location point. For example, a violet map pin represents a location at which a video clip has been taken. A blue map pin indicates presence of an audio clip, and a green map pin signifies a photo snapshot. The color yellow indicates that only position data is available for this location. Other colors indicate combinations of media. Here is the complete table:

• Violet: Video

• Blue: Audio

• Green: Photo

• Magenta: Video + Photo

• Cyan: Audio + Photo

• Azure: Video + Audio

• Rose: Video + Audio + Photo

• Yellow: Location only

For quick reference regarding the color-coded map pins use the SYMBOLS SUMMARY page, accessible from the Main Menu, using the Symbols Summary menu item.

When displaying someone else's location data in the ALLIANCE MEMBER LOCATION page, in addition to the standard Time and Device Filters discussed earlier, one can also use a Media Filter, which is accessible either through the Settings or the Map Options menu pane. Simply open the options menu and choose the "Select Media Filter" item. You will see a dialog window with the following choices:

• Only Media

• Location + Media

• Location + Audio

• Location + Photo

• Location + Video

The Media Filter operates slightly differently to the other standard filters. The Media Filter does not limit the number of location points displayed, but it does narrow which map pins are visible on the map. Selecting one of these items will limit the displayed location map pins to include only the ones which satisfy the stated condition. For example, the "Only Media" choice will display any and only location map pins that also have media attached to them, omitting all of the yellow location map pins. Likewise, selecting the "Location + Photo" will show only the green map pins. While the "Location + Media" will show all of the location data as filtered by the standard Time and Device Filters.

When viewing the ALLIANCE MEMBER LOCATION page, tapping a location map pin displays a tag above the pin with the date that particular location point was collected. Tapping that date opens the Location Point Details dialog window displaying all available details for that location. If there are any security media associated with the selected location, then this window will also contain media playback buttons arranged along its bottom. Pressing these buttons will download and playback the corresponding media. It is not possible to delete someone else's location, or security media data. It is possible, however, to share someone else's location data, if that user allowed it. It is not possible to share someone else's security media data.

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