I built NerdTracker because I wanted a real, privacy-first way to track my travels. No big tech, no data leaks, just my own database and code. If you want to own your location data and geek out on travel analytics, this is for you. It’s built entirely on free-tier services, costing nothing to run, proving sophisticated tracking doesn’t require big budgets or big tech.

🚀 Open Source Project

NerdTracker is a fully working open-source solution you can set up today. Full install guide and code are on GitHub.

Start Tracking Your Travels

Overview

NerdTracker was born from real-world needs during extensive overland travel throughout the Americas. As a digital nomad driving from Alaska to Ushuaia and exploring South America multiple times, I needed a better way to:

  • Track new vs. previously driven roads
  • Remember and return to favorite spots
  • Share real-time location with trusted contacts during remote travel
  • Maintain a comprehensive database of my movements for analysis

Unlike temporary location sharing in messaging apps, it continuously records your movements and provides both real-time location and detailed movement history — all while maintaining complete privacy and data ownership.

NerdTracker Web Interface NerdTracker’s web interface showing comprehensive location tracking data

Target Audience

  • Overlanders & Adventurers exploring remote areas who need reliable tracking and safety features
  • Digital Nomads wanting to maintain detailed travel logs and avoid repeated routes
  • Remote Travelers needing to share location with trusted contacts for safety
  • Privacy-Conscious Users who want full control over their location data
  • Data Enthusiasts interested in analyzing their movement patterns

Key Benefits

  • Safety First — Share a URL with trusted contacts for emergency location monitoring
  • Comprehensive Data — Track locations, speeds, WiFi connections, and more
  • Offline Ready — Queues updates during poor connectivity
  • Zero Cost — Built entirely on free tiers of Supabase and Cloudflare
  • Complete Data Ownership & Privacy — Your data stays in your own database
  • Data Analysis Ready — SQL-queryable database for custom analysis

System Architecture

NerdTracker combines several components to create a robust, privacy-first tracking solution:

  1. Mobile App (OwnTracks) — Handles GPS tracking with configurable parameters
  2. Location Inserter — Serverless function that processes and stores location updates
  3. Database (Supabase) — Stores all location data in your own PostgreSQL database
  4. Web Interface — Visualizes your location history and provides sharing capabilities
  5. Smart Algorithms — Optimizes data storage with intelligent stationary detection

Technical Implementation

Key Features

  • 24/7 smartphone location tracking via OwnTracks
  • Personal data ownership with Supabase storage
  • Real-time location sharing with friends
  • Detailed tracking data (altitude, WiFi, speed)
  • Trip tagging and categorization
  • Customizable tracking parameters
  • Fast, serverless architecture
  • Completely free to run

Smart Stationary Mode

The system includes an intelligent “hangout” detection algorithm to prevent database clutter:

  • Automatically detects when you’re stationary
  • Prevents database clutter by updating existing records instead of creating new ones
  • Configurable distance threshold (default: 100m)
  • Considers the last N locations (default: 10)

This is particularly useful for:

  • Reducing database size and costs
  • Creating cleaner location history
  • Improving performance in the web interface

Scaling Considerations

With the recommended settings (30-second location updates):

  • ~2,000-3,000 location-inserter function requests per day
  • ~4.24 MB of new location data per month (based on actual usage)
  • At current usage rates, the 500 MB free tier limit would support ~9.45 years of tracking
  • Each location record uses approximately 0.5 KB of storage

The free tier limits comfortably support personal tracking needs, with cloud services using only a small percentage of their daily limits.

Technologies

  • JavaScript/Node.js for serverless functions
  • Supabase (PostgreSQL) for data storage
  • Cloudflare Workers for serverless processing
  • OwnTracks mobile app for GPS tracking

View on GitHub