September 13, 2015
Traccar Client 3.6 for Android is now available on the Google Play. There were a couple of minor releases since 3.3 with some bug fixes, but this release is a very important milestone for Traccar Client project.
There are no new features in the app, but there are two versions of the Traccar Client for Android now. One is a standard app that goes to Goolge Play store. The other one is a special hidden version of the app. It's not available on the Play store, but it can be downloaded as an APK file and installed on a device manually. Hidden version includes some modifications to make the app less visible to the phone’s owner. Name is changed from “Traccar Client” to “Device Settings”. Default Android settings icon is used as an app icon. After first start, the app removes itself from the launcher. To open it again you need to dial 8722227 (TRACCAR) or enable it from app management.
Functionality-wise both versions of Traccar Client are identical. As both apps share the code, in future they will be released together and have same version numbers.
Release 3.6 of the app also include required modifications for Android Marshmallow. From now on tracking service will always be running in foreground mode to avoid being suspended. I found a way to hide status notification, so it's not a problem any more. Traccar Client app now asks for special permissions only when required (on Android Marshmallow).
Instead of IMEI number the app now uses randomly generated 6-digit number same as Traccar Client for iOS. The reason for that is to avoid requiring phone permission (needed to get IMEI) which potentially can be used to make calls and therefore can look very suspicions to the end user. It's still possible to change unique id manually, so if you prefer IMEI number, you can set it from the app's main screen.
Subscribe to the project newsletter to get latest news and updates.
Discuss it on the forum.