Is Pawnec a GPS tracker?

No, it's not a 24/7 GPS tracker. Pawnec’s scanned location tracking is distinct from a 24/7 location tracker.

But let’s talk about the location-tracking devices first. Location-tracking devices generally use either cellular data or Bluetooth. While Pawnec's software is ready to integrate any GPS location-tracking device, the prevailing hardware technology still does not meet our minimum requirements for practical pet wear. These are:

1. Size
2. Weight
3. Power consumption
4. Cellular/Mobile data usage

The benefits of existing GPS location tracking devices do not outweigh the high cost and discomfort of pets who will wear them on a daily basis. On the other hand, location tracking via Bluetooth may be compact, but logic tells us any pet within Bluetooth range is not a “missing pet range”. Other Bluetooth-tracking devices only work because of a vast, largely covert tracking network. But that’s another topic on personal privacy.

Device-based vs. community-based tracking

Location-tracking collars and devices cannot prevent or find stolen pets. What makes you think a thief who steals your dog or cat will happily keep the stolen pet's tracker around their neck?

By 2024, the Pawnec ecosystem will introduce a holistic approach to pet tracking with its utilization of QR technology and a public tracking page for its tech-enabled community. This innovative feature streamlines the process of obtaining location updates from anyone sighting your lost pet with or without the smart tag. This is a tech-enabled community system that no GPS trackers can beat for stolen pets or lost devices.

How GPS tracker works

A GPS-tracking device will not work without a nearby cell tower, its own SIM card, and a subscription to a telecommunications network provider to transmit its location data, hence it consumes power and cellular/mobile data, and then that cellular tower sends the device’s location data to another connected device (GSM/LTE), that is you, the tracking pet owner.

A Bluetooth-tracking device, on the other hand, is not a GPS tracker, strictly speaking. It will only work if there are nearby participating (with or without consent) Bluetooth-enabled smartphones to which the Bluetooth-tracking device can transmit its approximate distance. How that smartphone unwittingly sends approximated location data to your own smartphone is still contentiously undisclosed under the scrutiny of data privacy regulators.

How Apple AirTag works

For those unfamiliar, AirTags aren’t GPS trackers, and it doesn’t have their own internet connection. Instead, it sends out a Bluetooth signal that gets picked up by other Apple devices. Those devices then ping the “lost” AirTag’s location to Apple’s iCloud servers and let you see its last-known position on a map. Its tracking only works when there is a nearby (Bluetooth-range) Apple device to send its signal to.

Specifically, AirTags utilize ultrawideband technology offered via Apple’s U1 chip, which allows for Precision Finding. This feature uses a combination of Apple's ARKit software and the phone's camera, accelerometer, and gyroscope to guide users toward the precise location of their AirTag. Users can also expect to receive helpful notes, including how many feet away their AirTag is while approaching the lost item. While ultrawideband technology allows for the convenient transmission of ultra-precise, real-time location data, we are also now aware of how it can be leveraged with nefarious intent.

Interestingly, these reasons are why Apple never officially marketed or endorsed its use on toddlers and pets. It is only intended for inanimate objects.

Imagine you receive a ping to a specific location, you arrive 15 minutes later and your pet is gone and wandering somewhere else to find the way back home. You can expect to find your valuable things such as a bag or a key staying put in the exact same location 15 or so minutes later, but you can not expect the same for a dog who can walk an average of 1 kilometer every 15 minutes (1 mile every 25 minutes) in any other direction. You choose to follow the wrong or opposite direction and you're farther away from each other than you originally were.

Pawnec's marked locations w/ instant alert

You can follow your pet’s scanned and last known location by reviewing it in your Pawnec account. Notably, where Pawnec's scanned location tracking differs, is its location history logs the GPS location, IP address, date, and time to investigate the whereabouts of your pet.

Pawnec does this for you without any subscription fee. It is an affordable technology designed specifically for pets that is indiscriminate to any breed or species.

Sometimes the best response to a complex problem is the simplest solution. Pawnec is not the only solution to the larger problem of missing and stray pets. But it’s the most accessible and practical technology available to all pet parents.