OpenFamily
OpenFamily is a self-hosted family GPS tracker for households that want to share locations.
What OpenFamily is
OpenFamily is a self-hosted family GPS tracker for households that want to share locations. Its live map places family members on OpenStreetMap and shows photo avatars, battery levels, last-seen times, and movement states, with updates over WebSocket. Saved places can trigger arrival and departure alerts. Safety options include SOS with a ten-second countdown, check-ins with notes, and non-emergency requests for family help. Location history includes map trails, stays at places, stops, and in-transit segments; detailed history is retained for 90 days. People join by invite code and can have admin, member, or child roles. The web admin panel manages families and accounts, creates invites, configures optional SMS, downloads the Android APK, and displays the live map. OpenFamily runs as a Docker Compose stack on a VPS, Synology NAS, home server, or LAN machine. It is free and open source, with Android, iOS, web, API, and self-hosted options. Coordinates and other account data are stored in PostgreSQL on the operator’s server.
Good
- Free and open source.
- Arrival and departure alerts for saved places.
- SOS, check-ins, and family help flows.
- No Google Play Services requirement on Android.
- Location data stays on the operator’s server.
Watch out
- Requires someone to run a Docker stack.
- Detailed location history lasts 90 days.
- Database rows are not encrypted by the app.
- Default map tile hosts can see viewed areas.
Who it suits
It suits households whose member can run a small Docker stack and who want shared location and safety tools. It is not designed for fleets or public tracking.
Verdict
OpenFamily combines household location sharing with alerts, history, and safety check-ins, while keeping its stored data on the operator’s server. It is a fit for households comfortable managing their own deployment and its security responsibilities.
Plans and prices
From OpenFamily's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Open source self-hosted | Free | Self-hosted deployment · AGPL-3.0 |
| Self-hosted OpenFamily | Free | Requires your own Docker server · 90-day detailed history · household use · free |
The facts
Each one read from OpenFamily's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Analytics
- The software states that it contains no analytics SDK, crash reporter or advertising identifier.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API
- The public Go API documents health, configuration, authentication, family, place, device, location and alert endpoints plus a WebSocket stream.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API examples
- The quick start shows curl calls for health checking and account registration and login.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data custody
- Accounts, coordinates, places and history are stored in PostgreSQL on the operator's machine rather than a vendor location cloud.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The product runs as a Docker Compose stack on a VPS, Synology NAS, home server, or LAN machine.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Deployment stack
- Docker Compose bundles Caddy, a Go REST and WebSocket API, PostgreSQL with PostGIS and TimescaleDB, and ntfy.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- Documentation covers Docker installation, production environment variables, TLS, push setup, tile configuration, backups, encryption and custom domains.checked 15 Oct 2026
- External services
- Default map tile hosts can see the viewed area, iOS push uses APNs, and optional SMS uses Twilio.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Family access
- People can join by invite code and have admin, member, or child roles.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Family roles
- Invite codes support admin, member and child roles within a family.checked 15 Oct 2026
- History
- History includes trails, named-place stays, stops and transit segments, with detailed records retained for 90 days.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent alternatives
- AlternativeTo names Life360 Family Locator and OwnTracks as listed alternatives.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent listing
- AlternativeTo lists the product as free, open source under AGPL-3.0, and developed by Frank Johnette.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent positioning
- AlternativeTo marks the product as privacy-focused and categorizes it under Development, Home & Family, and Travel & Location.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent store coverage
- AlternativeTo links the project to GitHub rather than Apple, Google, Chrome or Microsoft app stores.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Android notifications use UnifiedPush through ntfy, and the app does not require Google Play Services.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- OpenFamily is designed for households with a member comfortable running a small Docker stack, rather than fleets or public tracking.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Licence
- OpenFamily is released under the GNU Affero General Public License 3.0.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: database encryption
- The application does not encrypt database rows itself, so operators are told to use host or volume encryption.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: external visibility
- Default OSM and Esri tile hosts can see the viewed map area unless the operator configures another tile server.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: operational burden
- The product is intended for households with someone comfortable operating a small Docker stack and maintaining backups and TLS.checked 15 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Android notifications
- Android push uses UnifiedPush through ntfy and does not require Google Play Services or a Google account.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent platforms
- AlternativeTo lists Android, iPhone, self-hosted and Docker support.checked 15 Oct 2026
- iOS notifications
- iOS push depends on Apple APNs; payloads contain no coordinates and the app fetches alert details from the server over TLS.checked 15 Oct 2026
Alternatives to OpenFamily
- 1
BuddySOS
Free planAndroidiOS7.6From $19.99 a year - 2
Findmykids
Free planAndroidiOSWeb7.2From €3.58 a month - 3
Family Locator
Free planAndroidiOSmacOS7.1From $19.99 a month - 4
Glympse
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.1From $15 a month - 5
CircleUs
Free planAndroidiOS6.9From $9 a month - 6
Family Safety: GPS Locator
Free planAndroidiOS6.9$1.99 one-time