The Life360 app has quickly become a must-have for users across the globe. This tracking application aims to connect family members and keep everyone updated at all times.
So, if you’re looking for something to help connect with family members, going with the Life360 option is a good idea.
It is one of the easiest options to set up, and you don’t need any specialized units or devices to make use of Life360.
Installing and integrating this application will barely take you 10 minutes, and you can ask your family members to do the same.
These features might be a bit intrusive for some teenagers, but there isn’t a better app when it comes to tracking consistency.
What Do the Purple Dots Mean On Life360?
On top of that, it only takes 10 minutes to install the app and set up a family circle with all your members.
A confusion that some users had with this app was with the interpretation of purple dots on the screen.
If you’re also unsure about what to make out of the purple dots or what the purple dots mean on Life360, follow through with the information below.
While the majority of users believe Life360 to be a live location-sharing app, it does keep track of some history when you browse through the circle details.
Depending upon the version of the app you’re using, it is pretty easy to see over 48 hours of activity through the purple dots.
So, these purple dots represent travel history every time the phone was connected to the Life360 app.
After the 48 hours are up, this data is lost, and you can’t recover anything after the month is over.
You can think of purple dots as rest spots where the phone was connected to the internet, and the Life360 was able to ping the location to the server.
On the other hand, if you don’t find as many purple spots, then that points toward internet issues or restricted app permissions.
When the app is not allowed to connect to the internet, you will not be able to access any purple dots, and the distance will be too far apart to form a clear route.
For this reason, you should focus more on streamlining the network connection and keeping the GPS precision features enabled at all times.
That will be all that you need to address these issues, and you won’t have to worry about any missing purple dots down the road.
Each dot can be selected to show further details on time as well as the precise location.
So, if there are multiple dots on the screen, each dot will represent a specific time and location where the Life360 app had a stable internet connection.
These purple marks primarily appear in the daily details, and you can choose between different days even if you are using the free version.
Details for around two days are available to the parents, and they can keep track of all activities without having to put any extra investment into the child’s security.
This history is completely deleted from the application after the month is over.
So, if you’re looking to keep records, make sure to record the screen or take frequent screenshots of the day’s details.
The purple dots are only related to the history of the mobile device. The lines connecting these dots assume the possible path between the two locations.
So, even if the connection is lost between two different locations, you will see a possible path that will connect the two purple dots.
That way, you will have more perspective over the route chosen by your kid to reach a certain location.
Overall, you can think of the purple dots as the history marks that are defined each time a mobile phone connects to a stable network.
When the Life360 app is able to communicate with the server after a brief pause in the connection, you will get an additional purple dot on the day history.
So, think of purple dots as the points in the day when the mobile device had a stable internet connection as your kid was traveling to different spots.
Accuracy Of The Purple Dots On Life360
When you’re talking about the tracking features, keeping track of the accuracy is arguably one of the most crucial things.
However, instead of focusing only on the population, you should shift your focus toward the GPS settings in the mobile device.
If you don’t have a good connection and the GPS features are restricted, then you can’t expect much from the unit.
The updates from the application will be limited, and the routing to the different purple dots will be random.
However, you can still expect a decent level of information here, depending on previous patterns and routers.
It all comes down to the mobile configurations, and the application will only work properly when you’re connected to a stable network and have precision GPS settings.
It is true that minor bugs can often present themselves, and nothing is 100 percent accurate.
However, you can limit these bugs by just cycling in and out of airplane mode and then keeping the cellular data on at all times.
This application will not drain your cellular data by a huge margin, and the impact will be minimal.
So, you don’t have to worry about going out of budget or spending extra on the mobile service just to make use of some basic features.
With that said, if you can’t seem to get through the purple dot updates, then you should suggest the family member with this issue try out a different device.
Reports show that having an older device with an outdated OS will only lead to these errors. So, if you’re in the same boat, just get a new one.
There are no quick methods here, and your only focus should be on making the GPS features more accurate.
Otherwise, your app will show you random purple dots and the location won’t update properly as you’re trying to optimize these features.
Do You Need the Premium Version for The History Feature?
The only difference between the premium and the free version of this feature is that you’re only limited to 2 days of history on the free version.
For most users, two days are more than enough, but if you want to further keep logs of the location history, then there is no harm in going with the paid version.
With the paid option, you will benefit from around 30 days of history from the application.
The premium version of the app is not that expensive, and you won’t have to go over the budget by a huge margin for this purchase.
It all comes down to how much money you’re planning on spending and whether or not you need the extra days of recorded history.
So, there is no harm in testing out the paid version if you’ve never tried it before.
Many users have said great things about the premium features, and you can easily include the purchase in your budget.
On the other hand, most owners find the premium version to be not that useful, and you will get the same level of performance from the free version as well.
So, if you’re not that willing to spend cash on the premium service, going with the free one is not a bad idea.
In most situations, the free version would be more than enough, and you can consistently keep screenshots to add to the monthly log.
For this reason, it is not mandatory to get the premium version, but there is no harm in testing it out.
You can also browse through some of the community posts to figure out whether or not the premium service will fit your budget and tracking requirements.
That way, you won’t have to guess about the right fit for your needs.
Wrapping Up
The purple dots on the Life360 application primarily present the location history that can span around 48 hours.
You can keep track of these purple dots to figure out the routes used by the family members over the past two days, and then this history will disappear from the application.
You have the option of upgrading to the premium version to keep the history stored in the system for about a month.
However, most of the owners don’t really find any value in keeping track of a month-old route when using Life360.
The 48-hour timer with the purple dots is more than enough to help you keep track of the family members and their activity even if you’re on a busy schedule.
So, there is no need to go above the budget and try to include the premium version of the Life360 application in your routine.
Lastly, if you’re having trouble with the purple dots and they are clustered around one spot, then you need to reach out to the official support team.
They will provide you with more perspective on the situation, and you will not have to go through these errors alone.