Android application that can send an alert when the Android device is outside a predefined area

Question

I am looking for an Android application that can send an alert (email/SMS/etc.) when the Android device is located outside a predefined area . Free is better.

Answer 1

IFTTT (if this then that) is perfect for things like this.

This app works by making recipes, in which you create actions which are completed when a trigger happens.

This is a free iOS and Android app.

To set up this recipe, click the '+' button at the top right of the screen. On the next screen, click the blue '+' icon, and find the 'Android location' icon, click the 'you exit an area', and find the location by searching, or finding it on the map. Next click the second '+' sign, and select an action (email or text or anything). Finally click finish.

Advantages:

• free
• huge range of triggers and actions
• very easy to use
• can search for and use other people's recipes

^{IFTTT (click images for larger variants)}

Answer 2

LLama

I use Llama. It's a Location Aware Mobile App that allows you to set up events and actions based on your location. It can detect the location based on the proximity to cell towers, Wi-Fi access points, or a point on the map (experimental Add-on).

To set an alert when leaving an area, simply create an event with a condition and an action:

^{Llama (click image for larger variant)}

Answer 3

What you describe is called Geofencing, and can also be done with Tasker and, for better results, the AutoLocation addon:

^{AutoLocation (click images for larger variants)}

As usual with Tasker (see the tasker tag-wiki at Android.SE for details), you create profiles, which are a combination of a condition (here: the geofence area) and a task (the actions you want to perform when the condition is met), plus optionally an exit-task (actions to perform whenever the condition stops to be met). Tasker can send mails, SMS, and do a lot more things.

For more details, you can take a look at the following articles:

• AutoLocation geofence vs Tasker net-only location (a discussion of whether to use AutoLocation, or stick with the Tasker built-in location features)
• AutoLocation Tasker plug-in brings new Google location features to Tasker (a description of the AutoLocation features)
• AutoLocation tutorial (Youtube video)
• My collection of Tasker resources

Answer 4

Protag

This app requires you to buy cetain bluetooth tags and alerts you (ringing phone and beeping tags) whenever your phone gets out of range of one or more tags. It also has a Wi-Fi-Zone option which disables the alerts while connected to a user-defined Wi-Fi network. So if you need alerts whenever the phone leaves a fixed area, then you can use these tags to define the perimeter. This app is not as configurable as Llama, but it has the advantage that you're able to define any area using these tags regardless of cell towers or Wi-Fi access points:

^{Protag (click image for larger variant)}