Yes, there are lots of reasons to share your location with family and friends, but nobody has to do it. You don't want to be tracked, fine. I am not interested in "localization advertising", so my phone doesn't track me. Sure almost nobody had tracking years ago, but people used to go out and not come back, too. I am not saying whether it is good or bad to have more of us survive, but I personally would like to increase the odds that I am found in good shape. Reading other's experiences here on TBN, a number of us head out into the wild blue yonder for work or play, or both.
Locally, there is no cell service, optimistic maps from providers not withstanding.
We horseback ride, sometimes alone, over trails that can have no one over them for a week or more. We can do 35-40 miles in a day. If we have time, we will pick up a county radio before heading out, but we don't always do it because the sign out procedure is cumbersome. Then of course, the radio stays on the horse because of the weight. If the horse goes off trail before an accident, we could easily be in deep brush, and the radio might not be with the rider.
Because it is such a challenging terrain, search and rescue regularly trains where we ride. There was a local ride a few years ago where a horse ran off at lunch. An initial search on the day it ran off came up with nothing. As it ran off with all of its gear on, there was more than a little concern that it might get tangled in the reins and saddle and get itself in trouble. The next day, we rode out to see what we could find. We managed to find some tracks and track the lost horse (after fifty other horses had come through, twice). By the time we were tracking it, the horse had wandered into the neighboring quarter million acre ranch (due to a downed barb wire fence), where we found it tucked under some low branches of an oak tree napping, where it was almost invisible. (one of our horse flinched seeing it- it took us a little bit to see what the horse had seen. A dark brown horse, wearing a black saddle, in deep shade, against a dark brown and green background) We felt extremely lucky to have found it, and lucky neither the horse nor rider were injured. The search area around here gets big rather quickly because it is so rural.
So for us, it seemed prudent to turn on satellite tracking when we ride solo. Personally, we would rather be found sooner rather than later if there is an issue, like the guy snowmobiling with
@blee03. Being in a snowdrift in the middle of nowhere gets time sensitive rather quickly. Being off trail with a snakebite gets time sensitive quickly...yesterday, I just about stuck my hand on a six foot rattlesnake reaching for a ground squirrel trap, and leapt back when I saw the snake heading down the ground squirrel tunnel. I have never been bit, and I want to keep it that way. Rattlesnakes are out on the trails around here, too.
It seems to me whether you share your location or not has personal reasons, for many of us probably well thought out and nuanced reasons for why. Does it matter if someone else does or doesn't?
The OP wanted advice on tracking apps, not whether tracking was good or bad.
And, yes, I like the Apple system, even though I almost never use it because the cell coverage seems spotty where I need it. I have used the Android version and it was just clunkier, though it still worked fine.
All the best,
Peter
