Location data and privacy

A GPS pet tracker is not a CCTV camera, and this site will not pretend the ICO has published a pet-tracker code. What the ICO has published, and what Tractive says its own sharing features do, are enough to decide whether to turn sharing on.

What the tracker is reporting

Tractive says the tracker shows where the pet is on a map, including an alert when the pet leaves an area you have set, which it calls a virtual fence. That fence is an alert. It is not a wall. The pet can still leave. The position is the tracker's position. Tractive also says the tracker can fall off with the collar, after which the map is no longer the pet.

The subscription FAQ says one subscription can be signed in on more than one phone, and it lists the mobile app, the web app at my.tractive.com, public sharing, and family sharing. Family sharing is listed as Premium only. Public sharing is named as its own item. Before you enable either, read who can open the map. A live position that starts and ends at a house is a picture of that house's routine for as long as the person and the animal are together. That is a description of the feature, not a statistic about how often it happens.

We haven't tested this. Figures are as the maker states them (checked 14 November 2026).

The FAQ's history lengths are part of the privacy choice. Basic is described as 24-hour location history. Premium is described as 365-day history, with export. A year of positions is a different thing to keep than a day. Export means a file can leave the account. The page does not say the file is encrypted. Do not add that claim.

The nearest official rules

The ICO's home CCTV guide says images and voices of other people are personal information, and that data protection law applies when a camera captures someone else's property, a public area or a communal space. It says not to capture more than you need, to delete regularly or automatically, to keep footage secure, and to be able to respond to a person who appears in it. It says the guidance is under review because of the Data (Use and Access) Act.

A collar tracker is not that camera. The ICO page does not mention pet GPS. The useful transfer, stated as a reading aid and not as a legal opinion, is this: if information identifies a person, the ICO treats it as personal information in the camera cases it does cover, and it tells people not to collect more than they need or to keep it forever. A 365-day track of walks, shared publicly, is more disclosure than a private 24-hour history. Whether a particular account is personal data about the owner is a question for the ICO's own guidance and, if it matters, for advice. This page is not that advice.

Cameras in the garden remain the ICO's actual subject. They are written up in pet cameras and your neighbours and home cameras and data protection.

If a tracker is lost with the collar, the next person who finds it may have the device, not your account. Tractive's pages opened for this guide do not say the finder can see your address on the device itself. The dog's legal tag, if you have fitted one, does show your name and address, because the Control of Dogs Order requires that inscription. See dog collar, tag and a tracker.

Is a virtual fence a physical boundary?

No. Tractive lists virtual fences as a feature of Basic and Premium, and its how-it-works material describes alerts when a pet leaves a safe area. The animal is not stopped by the alert.

Should I turn on public sharing?

The FAQ names public sharing as a way to view the account. It does not say you must use it. If the map shows your home, public sharing shows your home to whoever the maker's public link allows. Read the current sharing screen before you enable it. We have not tested that screen.

Does the ICO regulate pet trackers?

The home CCTV page we opened regulates cameras, including smart doorbells, and it says images and voices are personal information. It does not mention GPS pet trackers. Do not treat this guide as an ICO decision about trackers.

Sources

• Tractive subscription plans, frequently asked questions — Tractive Help Centre, accessed 14 November 2026.
• How does a Tractive tracker work? — Tractive Help Centre, accessed 14 November 2026.
• Home CCTV systems — Information Commissioner's Office, accessed 14 November 2026.
• The Control of Dogs Order 1992, article 2 — legislation.gov.uk, accessed 14 November 2026.