OurFamLife help
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about how OurFamLife handles family location sharing, trips, calendars, reminders, shopping lists, privacy and plans.
Updated 29 June 2026How does OurFamLife update location?
OurFamLife updates intelligently. When someone is driving or moving quickly, the app sends updates more often. If they are driving while plugged in, it sends every usable location fix it receives. When someone is still, it slows down and sends occasional check-ins to help protect battery life.
Why does someone show as offline?
Offline means OurFamLife has not received a recent location or phone check-in from that device. This can happen when the phone has no signal, battery saver is restricting background activity, location permission is not set to Allow all the time, or Android has paused background location updates.
Does OurFamLife drain battery?
Location apps use battery, but OurFamLife is designed to adapt. You can choose Battery Saver, Balanced or Live mode so each phone can balance battery life with closer location updates. Battery Saver now stays gentle while stationary, but can still adapt driving updates around speed and turns so local routes stay useful without using full Live mode. Pings can temporarily use Live-style updates, and SOS always uses the most accurate updates available while the alert is active. See the table at the bottom of this page for more info.
Why is a location sometimes slightly wrong?
Phone location depends on GPS, mobile signal, Wi-Fi, buildings, weather, battery settings and Android permissions. OurFamLife shows the best point the phone provides, but indoor or low-signal locations can drift.
What does the orange circle on the map mean?
The orange circle shows the phone's reported location accuracy range. It does not mean the marker is definitely wrong by that much; the marker may still be very close. It simply shows the wider area the phone says the person is likely within, often when GPS is weaker indoors, near buildings, or in poor signal.
What is Trip Replay?
Trip Replay lets approved family members replay a completed journey on the map. It is designed around trips and family coordination, not surveillance. Tiny GPS drift around one place is ignored where possible.
Why might a trip start or end late?
A trip can only be built from points the phone successfully sends. If Android delays background location, the phone loses signal, or the app is restricted by battery settings, part of a trip may be missing.
Can routes follow roads exactly?
OurFamLife draws trips from the phone's accepted GPS points rather than trying to force them onto roads. Some routes may show straight sections if the phone did not send enough points.
What are saved places?
Saved places are locations such as Home, School or Work. They can be used to label family locations and send arrival or departure alerts when enabled.
What are Map buddies?
Map buddies are people from another family who are connected for location sharing only. They can appear on your map, but they cannot see your family calendar or shopping lists.
What is a ping?
A ping is a temporary live location share. You can send a ping to someone for a limited time without giving them permanent access to your family map.
Can I turn location sharing off?
Family admins can decide who is allowed to control location sharing. Location sharing is on by default for family visibility, but permissions can be adjusted for each member.
Can children or pets be added without phones?
Yes. You can add family members such as children or pets without devices so they can be included in calendar events and family planning.
Can OurFamLife sync calendars?
OurFamLife can connect calendar feeds such as Google Calendar, iCal and Cozi where an iCal feed is available. After connecting a calendar, OurFamLife keeps it synced in the background automatically.
How do reminders work?
Events can use app notifications and email reminders when those options are enabled. Reminder times can be selected before the event, such as 15 minutes, 1 hour or 1 day.
Can everyone edit shopping lists?
Family shopping lists sync across the family. Members can add, tick off, edit, delete and reorder items so the list stays useful while shopping.
What are SOS and check-ins?
SOS is for quickly alerting family members that help is needed and showing the person's live location. Check-ins are a calmer way to let family know someone is okay or has arrived.
Who can see my location?
Only approved family members and approved map-only connections can see shared location information. Temporary pings expire automatically after the selected time.
What is included in the free plan?
The free plan includes family location sharing, shared calendar basics, one shopping list, custom avatars, temporary pings, four place alerts and four days of location history.
Can I cancel a paid plan?
Paid plans are managed through Stripe Checkout. Family admins with billing permission can manage the plan, and card details are handled by Stripe rather than stored by OurFamLife.
Location & Battery Modes
OurFamLife lets you choose how your phone balances location accuracy and battery use.
More frequent updates can make locations feel more live, especially when someone is travelling. Less frequent updates can help reduce battery use, especially when someone is staying in one place.
Battery Saver is designed to be especially gentle while someone is stationary, while still using smarter driving decisions when the person is actually moving. It can send sooner for local turns, corners and roundabouts, then relax again on faster straight roads so routes stay readable without behaving like full Live mode.
Location modes
| Mode | Best for | Stationary check-ins | Driving updates | Walking updates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Saver | Longer battery life | Every 30 minutes | Dynamic, about every 4-12 seconds | Up to every 15 seconds |
| Balanced | Everyday use | Every 15 minutes | Up to every 4 seconds | Up to every 10 seconds |
| Live | Closer tracking | Every 10 seconds | Up to every 2 seconds | Up to every 2 seconds |
How updates work
When someone is moving, OurFamLife does not send a new point every single second. A location update usually needs both:
- enough time since the last update, and
- enough movement since the last update.
This helps avoid unnecessary battery use when the phone has barely moved. In Battery Saver driving mode, OurFamLife can also adjust the upload decision by speed and direction change: slow suburban driving and turns can publish sooner, while faster steady driving can publish less often.
| Mode | Driving movement needed | Walking movement needed |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Saver | Dynamic, about 8-60 metres | 15 metres |
| Balanced | 8 metres | 5 metres |
| Live | 4 metres | 3 metres |
Pings and SOS
Pings can temporarily use Live-style updates so the person viewing your Ping can follow your trip more closely.
SOS alerts always use the most accurate location updates available while the alert is active. Battery Saver does not reduce SOS accuracy.
Low battery
When your phone battery is low, OurFamLife can reduce location update frequency to help your phone last longer.
In low battery mode, stationary check-ins may happen every 30 minutes, and moving updates may be less frequent unless an SOS alert is active.
Saved walking trips
For a walk to be saved as a trip, it needs to be long enough to matter.
A walk is saved when it reaches at least:
- 150 metres, and
- 3 minutes.
Short movements around the house, garden, shops, or school are usually not saved as walking trips.