Google is set to shut down the company's own fitness tracking app My Tracks, which originally launched back in 2009. Much like various fitness apps on the market, My Tracks is responsible for tracking speed, distance travelled, as well as elevation while the user walks, cycles or runs. From April 30, My Tracks will no longer be available.
Here's the official announcement from the My Tracks support website:
"After April 30, 2016, My Tracks will no longer be available. We apologize for the inconvenience this might cause My Tracks users. We've made the tough decision to invest our efforts into other, more wide-reaching, mapping projects"
Luckily, for those who relied on the app, there are alternatives available including Google Fit as well as various third-party solutions like Endomondo. Interestingly, the app being pulled will mean only a select few apps remain available (including RunKeeper) for Sony's Smartwatch 3 that makes use of the on-board GPS.
As noted already, Google will pull My Tracks on April 30. Be sure to check out the support site for more details on exporting your data.
Reader comments
Google will shut down My Tracks on April 30
I am using this to track my cycling which then gets synced with Google fit automatically. To use, I simply pasted my track widget on home screen. To start cycling, just hit record and you are done. Nothing to open. Please suggest if there is any app which can do the same thing.
Have been very happy using google's My-Tracks. Mostly to record via GPS (android phone) of my trek trails. Recently, downloaded Google Fit but it doesn't seem to have the features of Google My-Tracks, as yet. So using Run-Keeper ( https://runkeeper.com/home ) for now. Seems to have most features of My-Tracks in the Free (non-upgrade) version! Hope Google Fit or some other App in future has exact features of My-Tracks.
Trekking in Nepal
https://www.themountaintrails.com/
This is disappointing
Well it works well and does not require too much effort. The interface and options are sufficiently different from the original to make it an original IMHO.
Daniel Qin. Can't edit my message.
Search for "my tracks" in the play store. There is surprisingly another one with the same name -published by Daniel Qin. Seems more like what I want. Trying it out in a few minutes.
Try GeoTracker as an alternative: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ilyabogdanovich.geotra...
I've created it for personal use few years ago, as My Tracks didn't fit to all my needs.
I used My Tracks to record my Kitting stats. Tried out a couple of different apps. GeoTracker was the one that was most similar to what I loved with My Tracks. I's also possible to export from My Tracks and import to GeoTracker (with the help of a file browser). This get my recommendations.
I spent all weekend trying at 7 other alternatives. Basically they all suck.
Pages of useless unneeded info, Ads that pop up, hard to read, crash, Buggy etc,
Google Just cant leave well enough alone, They want us all using the Childish Google Fit, with the pretty , hard to read colors, animations And the always on, Battery Killing Tracking, so they can get more info out of us to sell.
How about just charging those of us who want to keep My Tracks, Google Best performing app to date, A reasonable fee, Or put Ads in it,
They want us to believe they can't afford to keep both, Yet they constantly Blow Billions on Worthless ****, So they can pretend they are Apple
Make Both Google Fit and My Tracks Pay Apps and let Googles customers decide which is better.
Personally After this fiasco, the countless ones before and now this **** of a phone the nexus 6P, that you cant even make a phone call with - ( People You call, Can't hear you. I am on my 4th Unit and counting) . I've had it with google
Free is Good, But if they keep producing Garbage or Taking away features, apps, services etc, Once you get used to using them, Whats the point of staying Loyal?
They aren;t loyal to us!
that is just great google, amazing work
my tracks was the only non bloated google app, it just worked,
perfect? no, but almost
it was simple, worked fine, and was fine with battery, easy to put markers, pictures, edit routes, exporting, share, it was so cool
and yes, there are 100 apps which does the same, but they sucks, like endomondo, bloated, annoying, you need an account, and to export a kmz kml gpx you need to open pc browser, log into endomondo, search your track, export, come on
If they are shutting it down, why is there an update for it as of today?
Thats because it's Google = One hand Doesn't know what the others doing.
One of the worlds biggest companies, Run like its a garage startup
My dad will be upset. Since I gave him my Nexus 4 6 months ago he's been using it to track his afternoon walks and holidays. He even proudly showed me a route he did that looked like a penis and balls . He really likes that app.
This is very frustrating. I just checked, I have six year of tracks from this app. I use it to record my hikes, and when I'm going to an unfamiliar trail I can find a GPS track from local hiking websites, import into My Tracks, and use it for wayfinding. I've tried a few other tracking apps but never found one that is as easy to use and gives me the data that My Tracks does.
Posted via Moto Turbo
This is bad, My Tracks works simply using GPS to track your route, see the distance, speed etc. Google fit, last time I tried to do anything with it, required location reporting to be turned on which drains the battery, unless they change the app I won't use it to record any routes like in My Tracks.
Damm I use that app all the time. I guess I will check out Google fit.
Posted via the Android Central App
Huh, I use a basic navigatior app to track my runs, works well, not half as intrusive as Google! Never use google maps either, Here from Nokia is just as good... I used it off line all over Europe last year
What a "HUGE" mistake the Geniuses at Google are making!
First off? Why the update today? Was that so on a predetermined date the app will stop functioning?
Pay attention Google decision makers, all you Over Paid Millionaires might learn something - Not everything can or needs to be Monetized or "Improved". If you can't afford My Tracks as you claim and want us to believe - start charging for it. Let the market Decide.
My Tracks is an On Demand, Battery Sipping, perfectly Functioning, well designed, easy to read app, It just works. It has the far superior and battery friendly White on Black Graphics. All the stats I want are on one page. The map page has the splits info. It even has a Functioning share feature Should I decide to Fall into the All things "Social" environment google wants us all to. And all those relevant stats will be included in the share,
In NO way is Google Fit a replacement for My Tracks. It is the exact opposite. All it is, is a GPS enabled FitBit. Packed with useless info, animations, pretty pictures and then smothered under a HUGE Dose of the Childish Google Material Design with its infuriating, battery killing Light Grey, or Pale Pastels SMALL Fonts on bright White Backgrounds, that full of wasted space.
We get it, Some iPhone using Google millionaire with to much influence thinks Material Design is great - But it isn't. Seriously!
Google fit is a set it and forget it, Battery Killing app. While it may be perfectly fine for the Typical Android user / Google Employee, A GPS tracker it is NOT.
With Google Fit, Android Children can Say "Aw how Pretty" While they show their make pretend Social Friends How many steps they took, Waddlling to the bathroom or Kitchen during commercials.
My Tracks on the other hand is Passive and only Records what you want it to, Google Fit MUST be given free reign so it can record everything.
With My Tracks if I want to record a track its simple. I turn on GPS, Open the app and Hit record - DONE! Simple, intuitive, Battery Friendly, reliable and Fully Functional. During the recording it calls out and records all the pertinent and useful split info. When im done, I hit stop, , Send a Copy to google Sheets, disable GPS and that's it. Again, Simple effective, No tracking my every step 24/7 etc.
Weird I have an update that says it adds a data layer on the map or something.
Perhaps it is still going to be updated, but integrated with fit?
Posted via the Android Central App
This is a shame, I have been using My Tracks for years. It syncs everything with Google Drive. I tried Runtastic Pro(got on a ¢25 sale they use to have) a year or so ago and it wasn't as accurate so I went back to My Tracks. I guess I will have to see if they have improved it over the years.
Posted via the Android Central App
Boo! I use MyTracks as a backup to my Garmin (which uploaded to Stava). There are times my Garmin fails to upload and I export the file from MyTracks. I also use MyTracks to "bread-crumb" a hike or ride if I'm exploring a new area.
Posted via the Android Central App
I will miss this massively. It tracks my ride routes clearly on a Google map, along with loads of useful data. I've not found anything else to be as informative and user friendly. Gutted
Posted via the Android Central App
Question, if I keep My Tracks on my phone (I have an older version because I use it with my Pebble Classic), what will still work? I don't care about saving or exporting data. Will it still track my run. I like to know my pace and speed. I also like hearing my pace at each mile. I love the simplicity of My Tracks
I kept an early version of My Tracks so I could export KML files to geotag photos from my DSLR. I had to be really careful not to upgrade to the more recent versions after Google removed KML exports in 2.x. So the damn thing had already been heading downhill for years.
I never tried MyTracks and only just started using Google Fit.
Damn. It. Google can be so frustrating! I use My Tracks for logging walks, hikes, and runs, for fitness, and it is perfect. Simple, accurate, and light on resources.
I guess I'll end up back with Backpacker GPS Trails Pro. I switched to My Tracks when tracking became erratically inaccurate under that app, but it may be the best alternative after 4/30.
I keep posting this here, but I love love this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendhak.gpslogger
The author is pretty responsive too. And he's optimized it very well for battery.
Thanks, I'll give it a whirl! I will probably try the Backpacker (actually made by Trimble) app again, too. I liked it a lot, because it was the only one I found to use USGS topo quads as base layer. Pretty nice for hiking!
Since you've posted this same thing over half a dozen times on the same article, I'm assuming you're the author. I won't be checking this out because you're spamming it way too much.
... another app/service Google abandoned. I'm an avid Google fan, but this is becoming a sh*ty trend with the company. I'm worried Google voice, Hangouts, and G+ are to follow in the coming years; it deters me from investing time into their services.
That's the first thing I thought when I saw this. Sooooo many services that have been shut off, downgraded, functionality stripped from Google over the past few years that I'm no longer the avid vocal supporter of even the ones I like anymore... I feel that if I recommend something to a friend or co-worker that I have to include the caveat: "As long as Google keeps it around."
Tracks was the one I've used since the OG Droid. Simple, synced easily with Google, could export the log-file easily to sync with Lightroom or other Photo Geo-tagging software.
Their mapping team has REALLY let me down over the last few years. They finally just added back other features like ability in Maps for Android to simply DRIVE without setting a location... and they act like its a new thing. No... its not new... and it was BETTER back when they did it before.
They can't make a decision to save their lives on their photo platform: is it Picasa? Google Photos? How about the abandonment of My Views community who shared our 360 degree photospheres with Google Maps to enhance their product? All that and they still can't make a decent book reader that compares in a meaningful way to iBooks! Many other examples, and My Tracks or any other single service may be minor to many... but its another example of something to tick off that adds frustration and complexity to users.
I really agree with this. Google can't leave well enough alone or get out of its own way. And I swear they focus on all the wrong things (well from my perspective) when "improving" things. I get that most decisions probably come down to money somehow but It does get very frustrating as a user. I've moved over almost entirely to Google apps and services for the convenience of having things sync (not that even that is always an option) and the lack of in app ads. But I'm thinking it might be time to go back into the 3rd party world.
iBooks is HORRIBLE. Ther's NO margin control so on some books you can only see a thin column of text.
Moon+ reader is the best for Android. Gerty is at least better than iBooks on iOS.
This stinks. They could just stop on new development for it, and leave it working.
Try Ghostracer. You can export a GPX file from it. Good support for SW3.
Well that sucks, specially that Fit n My Tracks are not the same thing, neither the Maps timeline. Lucky My Tracks was open source https://github.com/jgillich/mytracks so I'll probably just make a build of it and upload to Google Play again.
Posted via the Android Central App
Tell us if you do. I'd support it.
If you do, I'd love to try it. Would you put it in the Play Store?
My wife and I love to get in the car and start driving, no destination, just go and get lost on old country back roads. We'd use My Tracks to keep track of where we'd go. Sure, it's designed for fitness, but I've found other uses for apps in the past. This was no different.
I know there's an Open GPS Tracker app that can export to KZM format. Haven't tried it yet, but next time we go exploring, I'll have to try it...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.sogeti.android.gpstracker
This one is amazing:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendhak.gpslogger
MyTracks used to be open source. Google stopped releasing code for it, but there are still versions on Github that use the old code.
Can you link us to it? Will the old versions work past April?
But doesn't Google Maps already do that? :-) There's this "Timeline" thingy in Google maps + fitness stuff in Fit :-)
I does, but isn't always accurate, you can't edit it to add something it didn't pickup itself such as a stop along your route and you can't export the track to some other program like Google Earth.
I too used Google tracks to map hikes and bike rides. So much more info than what's provided on fit.
Bummer, I love My Tracks. I have tried alternatives, but keep going back to My Tracks, simple and does a great job.
I turned off Google fit on my gear live because I only used My Tracks. I guessed they merged the functionality, but it will still take some getting used to. I should be fine though.
Wish I would have seen it coming.
Posted via the Android Central App
I usually use My Tracks to log my ski runs. Works great for it. Granted there are other apps that probably work just as good/better that are specific to skiing but it was the first I used so I stuck with it.
I use My Tracks to sync my hikes with Google Fit. It seems with out it, Google Fit doesn't show a detailed map of your walk/run/hike. I looked at some of their suggested replacements and I don't want to have to sign up with another site just to record my track. Some of the other apps are really not up to par with My Tracks. I will have to experiment with Google Fit and hope to find a happy medium. Maybe they will roll the GPS tracking function into to Google Fit and that's why it's not going away until April.
Try starting an Activity manually in Google Fit. It ensures better tracking than the normal passive. Also try enabling "High Accuracy Mode" in its settings.
Posted via the Android Central App
My guess is that the My Tracks functionality is being rolled into Google Fit.
Do you know what My Tracks does? Fit and Edmondo aren't even close to being the same. I'll miss this tool for tracking hikes and bike rides and then mapping them onto Google Maps. Not sure if there is an alternative but I'm off to look for one.
Let us know what you find please
Posted via the Android Central App
I agree....they aren't the same thing really. But there are alternatives. Check out Ultra GPS Logger which is a souped up version of the same thing and will export to kml files (and many other formats) much like My Tracks. A more robust option is Locus Map Pro which has a super cool tracking widget for starting/stopping tracking and leaving point markers along the way. It will also export to kml.
Do either one of those allow you to embed picture markers like My Tracks?
Ultra GPS Logger only leaves points with text, but Locus can leave a text, photo, video or audio point.
Exactly, this a tracking app not a "fitness" app. Even if Fit did this, I don't need the bloat of all the other stuff. I want my rides and hikes tracked, that's it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendhak.gpslogger
I just started using Strava. You can import and export (use gpx or tcx, not kml), and it aggregates everyone's data in the global heat map, which shows you where everyone rides. You should google "strava heatmap" to see it.
Try: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/home.do
I use Google Fit on my Sony Smartwatch 3, so I'm good with this decision.