The short answer
Gaffr Live uses your location only with the app open: on the way to a shift, on shift, and in single readings while you're live. It doesn't read your position in the background. The client sees you on a map from when you leave. That stops when the booked hours, and any extra time agreed, are up. Gaffr reads a client's location only when they tap "Use my current location".
When does Gaffr Live use my location?
Only with the app open, at these points:
- On the way and on shift. From when you tap "Leave now" until the shift ends, Gaffr Live sends your position to Gaffr. It only does that while one of those screens is open.
- When you go live. Pressing Go live takes one reading. While you're live, opening the app takes a fresh one, at most every 10 minutes. "Update where I am" takes one whenever you ask.
- When you start a shift. "I'm here" takes one reading.
Gaffr Live doesn't ask for background location. Nothing is read between shifts or with the app closed.
The go-live reading decides where that day's offers are measured from: going live, and where your offers are measured from.
What does the client see?
Before you set off, nothing. Clients never see where you live, whether you're live, or where you went live.
Once you tap "Leave now", the client's tracking screen shows you on a map beside the meeting point. It shows how far you are and an ETA, such as "12 min by road". Until your first reading arrives, it says "Waiting for their position". If readings stop, it shows the last one and its age, such as "Position from 6 min ago".
On shift, it says "On site since 18:27" and how far into the shift you are, with no ETA. The map stops showing you once the booked hours, and any extra time agreed, are up.
A site contact with the tracking link Gaffr emails them sees the same.
What does Gaffr's team see?
Gaffr's team has a live map. While you're on the way or on shift, it shows where your phone put you in the last 15 minutes. Otherwise it shows where you went live that day, with the time, or your home area. Both are rounded to about 1 kilometre.
When you start a shift, Gaffr records when you pressed it and the reading your phone had. It also records how far that was from the meeting point. It can settle a "Crew didn't show" question (when crew don't turn up). It can also check a shift before it's paid. It's never used to rank you or choose your offers.
How long does Gaffr keep it?
- Your position on the way, on shift and when you start: 180 days after the shift. Longer only while a card dispute or no-show claim or review on it is open.
- Where you went live: rounded to about 100 metres, kept 30 days after that day.
- A client's "Use my current location" reading: not kept.
Deleting your account removes it sooner: your data.
What if GPS or signal fails when I start a shift?
From 15 minutes before the start time, Gaffr Live can let you start without a good reading. If it can't get a usable position within 30 seconds, it says "No GPS here." and offers a hold: "I'm at the meeting point". The client sees your location wasn't confirmed, and can confirm you're there. Earlier, the screen says when you can start from.
With no signal, the start waits on your phone and sends once you're back online with Gaffr Live open: "Started 18:02 — sending when you're back online".
A setting you've switched off isn't a GPS failure. If location is off for Gaffr Live or for the whole phone, or Precise Location is off, the screen says: "Turn it on to start your shift. It's only used while this screen or the shift screen is open."
A fake location app has to be switched off before you can start. A phone reporting one is flagged for a person to look at.
When does the Gaffr app use a client's location?
Only when a client taps "Use my current location" while choosing a venue. It takes one reading, and Gaffr asks Mapbox for the nearest street address, without storing or logging the reading. Booked with the pin still there, that spot becomes the meeting point.
Does anyone else see it?
Both apps' maps come from Mapbox. Mapbox's map software can send Mapbox its own usage data. That can include your phone's location, if you've let the app use it. Tap the ⓘ in the corner of a map to turn that off.
How do I switch location off, and what stops working?
Location access is under the app's name in your phone's Settings. Switch it off whenever you like.
- Going live still works for crew. That day's offers are measured from your home, and Gaffr Live says so.
- On the way, the client's map gets no new position.
- Starting a shift needs it back on.
- A client can't fill in the venue with "Use my current location", and searches for it instead.
GOV.UK explains your data rights, and the privacy notice has the detail. Unhappy with how Gaffr handled yours? Email hello@gaffr.uk, or complain to the ICO.