Employee App, Legislation, and Location Services
This article provides information about the technology and legalities around mobile apps that use location services (such as the Timegate employee app).
A Guide From TEAM Software
This guide is for organizations and their employees who want to understand more about the technology around mobile apps that use location services (such as TEAM By WorkWave's Employee App). This guide provides an overview of how the technology works.
Section 1
Location Data and Location-Based Technology
A location-based service (LBS) is technology that uses geographical information from a user's device to provide personalized services and information. It works through devices equipped with GPS, Wi-Fi, or cellular data, enabling businesses and apps to customize their offerings based on the user's location. A few common examples of LBS include navigation software, social networking services, or location-based advertising.
Due to these kinds of technological advancements, employers are adopting more advanced ways to perform employee monitoring during working hours. Because data can now be collected and processed much faster and more discreetly than ever before, there are also more stringent legal requirements around the use of these systems. By adhering to these new standards, employers can minimize legal risks and foster a more trusting work environment with their employees.
Purpose of Location Monitoring in the Employee App
Using the TEAM by WorkWave Employee App with location services enabled allows employers to exercise their duty of care while ensuring that working hours are recorded effectively. In the case of lone workers, this is particularly important as no one else may be on-site. Location monitoring provides detailed information to employers enabling them to see if and when everyone arrived to work. It also offers insights into where employees are working and when they leave. Since GPS is built into smartphones and tablets, additional devices to review employee routes or build efficiency into their day are completely unnecessary – they can simply clock in and out while making required check calls.
Usage of the Employee App
TEAM Software takes great care to ensure that the solutions we provide offer the flexibility needed to help our customers remain compliant with the many legislative demands placed upon them. In consideration of ever-changing data privacy laws, great care has been invested into the design and functionality of the TEAM by WorkWave Employee app, which ensures that data is always collected legally and legitimately (i.e., in the needs of the business and the employee). In addition to being limited to information during the user or employee’s working hours, the app also seeks consent to share data.
When installing the TEAM by WorkWave Employee app, the user is required to enable location services and agree to data sharing. This precise process is controlled by the device manufacturer and/or the operating system provider. It is distinct from any process inside TEAM by WorkWave. As previously stated, the TEAM by WorkWave Employee app limits the type of information gathered to the amount of time an employee worked, and data is not shared unnecessarily.
This information is used only when an employee confirms that they are starting work for the day, using the Employee App to clock in, then throughout the day, and ceases when the employee confirms the end of their working day by using the Employee App to clock out.
NOTE: If an employee clocks in, makes a check call, or clocks out but are not where they are meant to be, the interaction shows the employer their precise location instead of their required location.
Section 2
How the Employee App Gets Its Data
The location information is not directly accessible through the app. Instead, it is obtained from the location services technology installed on the mobile device. The Employee App never communicates directly with the hardware that accesses the location services. Instead, it requests the coordinates from the location services technology on the device, which means location services are always communicating directly with the hardware.
Upon registering the app, the employee is asked whether or not the app can use location services. The employee needs to ensure that location services are activated for the app to work correctly. Through this acknowledgement, the employee is giving consent for the app to obtain their location information from the location services technology on their smartphone or tablet. The app only requests the location from location services when an employee clocks in, makes a check call, or clocks out. Upon request, the smartphone or tablet then obtains the last known location of the device using one or more technologies explained in section three of this guide.
Accuracy of Location Services Data in the Employee App
The location information provided by the Employee App is only as accurate as the smartphone or tablet itself. The location-determining services of the smartphone or tablet runs at a suitable time frame set by the specific device. Readings are made at regular intervals as dictated by the device. This may be between 10 to 120 seconds (see Settings | GPS Retrieval Interval within the Employee App settings to set the value). The more frequently a device is used for readings, the greater the accuracy of the location data. Generally, there is very little performance difference between Android and iOS smart devices.
Section 3
Location Finding Technologies
Different smartphones have different ways of establishing a location; however, the most commonly used technologies today are Global Positioning System (GPS) and A-GPS (Assisted-GPS). In simple terms, GPS uses GPS satellites. A-GPS uses GPS satellites assisted by other technologies such as cell tower triangulation (mobile phone towers), Wi-Fi networks, and Bluetooth beacons. The latest Android and iOS-based mobile phones use all of these technologies to track the location of a phone.
GPS
GPS, developed by the United States military, is best known for its outdoor location tracking. It has been widely offered to consumers via mobile phones and automobiles since the 1990s. The technology is based around 24 satellites orbiting the planet in one of six orbits. Each of the satellites sends out a signal that shares its location, status, and the precise time. Using three satellites together, a device receiving the signal can calculate its exact distance from each satellite providing location coordinates. If a fourth satellite is visible, the additional signal received enables the device to calculate elevation. If a direct line of vision fails to be received by at least three satellites, no location can be given.
A-GPS
A-GPS is an enhanced version of GPS. Unlike GPS, it is not solely dependent upon satellite positioning. This can be incredibly useful when a direct line of vision to three satellites has just been made. A-GPS uses information gathered by triangulation of local cell (mobile phone) towers and Wi-Fi networks to secure a location for a device, which can save a significant amount of time.
Cell (Mobile Phone) Towers/Cell ID
This method of location tracking works on the basis that it is easy to calculate how far a mobile phone is being used from various neighboring smartphones or tablets in the network. This is powered by a technology called Cell ID. The smartphone or tablet can link the device’s location to a cell tower. In a network where the cell towers are closer together (as little as a few hundred meters apart), such as towns and cities, it is very easy to accurately pinpoint someone or perform location tracking. If the cell towers are further apart, such as in the countryside, location accuracy is significantly reduced.
Wi-Fi Networks
Public Wi-Fi networks function similarly to Cell ID but with greater precision, as the Wi-Fi access points cover a smaller geographic area. They can determine a location in two ways:
Through Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), which takes the signals the device detects from nearby access points and refers to a database of Wi-Fi networks to search for a location. The strength of the signal being received by the device can be used to measure the distance away from the location.
Through wireless fingerprinting. When a device is used in a given location, its wireless fingerprint is stored the first time the device is used there. These fingerprints can detect an individual device’s location down to a couple of meters.
Bluetooth (Low Energy) Beacons
Bluetooth beacons are small hardware transmitters that can be located anywhere. They are often used by retail locations to perform target advertising based on location; however, the location can also be used for other things such as location tracking. When mobile devices are within the proximity of a Bluetooth beacon, the beacon broadcasts an identification signal to the device. The mobile device is then able to use the identifier to calculate the physical location of the user. The proximity to the device, and therefore the location, can be categorized into three distance tiers: immediate (0.6 meters away), near (1-8 meters) and far (10-40 meters).
Section 4
Troubleshooting Location Services
Android Devices
For information about getting accurate location information using an Android device, the following links provide useful pointers that may help get location services back up and running:
OS DEVICES
For information about getting accurate location information using an iOS (Apple) device, try these useful links:
Note: These links direct to websites unrelated to TEAM Software resources and are provided for convenience. The links were correct at the time of publication.
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