Dawarich: The Self-Hosted Location Tracker

Location tracking has become integral to our digital lives. Yet most popular platforms—Google Maps Timeline, Apple's Find My, Life360—trade your privacy for convenience, lock your location data behind proprietary walls, and charge recurring fees for features that should be standard. Dawarich is here to change that. This open-source, self-hosted location tracking solution puts you back in control, offering a beautifully modern, lightning-fast, and privacy-first way to map your journeys—on your terms.

Website: https://dawarich.app/

Why Choose Dawarich?

In a landscape dominated by closed-source, cloud-based location services, Dawarich stands out with a radically different approach:

• Privacy First All your location data is stored locally, never sent to corporate servers unless you choose. Your movements remain yours—no data mining, no third-party analytics, no risk of surveillance.
• Complete Location History Unlike limited cloud services, Dawarich provides unlimited storage for your location history with rich visualization options including heatmaps, tracks, and fog-of-war mapping.
• Lightning-Fast & Comprehensive Built with Ruby on Rails and modern JavaScript, Dawarich delivers instant performance with comprehensive mapping features. Visualize years of location data in seconds.
• Multi-Source Integration Import from Google Takeout, OwnTracks, Strava, GPX files, and photo EXIF data. Connect with Immich or Photoprism for automatic photo geotagging.
• Advanced Analytics Detailed statistics on countries visited, cities explored, distances traveled, and time analysis—all computed locally without external dependencies.
• Open Source & Forever Free No subscriptions, no paywalls, no feature gating. All code is available under the AGPL-3.0 license, with a thriving community of privacy-focused contributors.
• Effortless Self-Hosting Spin up your own Dawarich instance in minutes with Docker, complete with web interface and mobile app support.

Spotlight on Key Features

1. Rich Location Visualization

• Interactive maps with multiple visualization layers • Heatmap overlay showing frequency of visits • Point and line displays for detailed route tracking • Fog of War feature revealing explored areas

2. Privacy & Data Sovereignty

• All data stored locally on your infrastructure • No external tracking or analytics services • Complete control over your location history • GDPR-compliant self-hosted architecture

3. Comprehensive Trip Management

• Create and manage trips between specific dates • Automatic route calculation and distance tracking • Trip notes and photo integration • Export capabilities for sharing and backup

4. Smart Areas & Visits Detection

• Draw custom areas on the map for visit tracking • Automatic visit suggestion and confirmation system • Location-based insights and pattern recognition • Customizable visit detection parameters

5. Multi-Platform Data Import

• Google Maps Timeline (Takeout) import • OwnTracks and Overland integration • Strava activities and GPX file support • Photo EXIF data extraction and mapping • Immich and Photoprism automatic integration

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Dawarich vs. Closed-Source Alternatives

How does Dawarich compare to the big names in location tracking? Here's a side-by-side look:

Beyond the Feature Matrix

• No Data Expiration: Unlike Google's 18-month retention limit, Dawarich stores your complete location history indefinitely.
• No Advertising: Your location data is never used for targeted advertising or sold to third parties.
• No Platform Lock-In: Export your data anytime in standard formats, no proprietary restrictions.
• No Service Dependencies: Self-hosted means no risk of service shutdown or policy changes.
• Complete Transparency: Open-source code allows security auditing and community verification.

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Getting Started in Minutes

Dawarich is designed for effortless deployment with enterprise-grade privacy:

🐳 Docker Installation (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Freika/dawarich.git
cd dawarich

# Start with Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:3000

💻 Local Development

# Prerequisites: Ruby, Node.js, PostgreSQL
git clone https://github.com/Freika/dawarich.git
cd dawarich

# Install dependencies
bundle install
npm install

# Setup database
rails db:create db:migrate

# Start the server
rails server

🌐 Default Access

• URL: http://localhost:3000
• Username: [email protected]
• Password: password

📱 Mobile Tracking Setup

Configure OwnTracks, Overland, or GPSLogger apps to send location data to your Dawarich instance.

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Real-World Success Stories

"I migrated from Google Timeline to Dawarich and finally have complete control over 8 years of location history. The analytics show travel patterns I never noticed, and I never worry about Google deleting my data again." — Sarah Chen, Digital Nomad

"Dawarich transformed how our research team tracks field work. We can map study sites, analyze travel efficiency, and maintain complete privacy for sensitive research locations." — Dr. Michael Rodriguez, Environmental Scientist

"The photo integration with Immich is incredible. I can see exactly where every photo was taken over the past decade, all self-hosted and private." — Emma Thompson, Travel Photographer

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Practical Applications

Personal Life Mapping

Build a comprehensive record of your travels, daily routines, and significant locations with complete privacy and unlimited retention.

Research & Field Work

Track research expeditions, field study locations, and data collection sites while maintaining sensitive location privacy.

Travel Documentation

Create detailed travel journals with automatic route mapping, photo integration, and exportable trip reports.

Family Safety & Coordination

Monitor family movements and coordinate schedules without exposing location data to commercial tracking services.

Business & Fleet Management

Track company vehicles, delivery routes, and field staff movements while maintaining complete data sovereignty.

Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Document your nomadic journey with comprehensive location analytics, travel statistics, and memorable route visualization.

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Advanced Analytics & Insights

Dawarich provides powerful analytics that rival enterprise location intelligence platforms:

Travel Statistics

• Countries & Cities Visited: Comprehensive geographical analysis
• Distance Tracking: Total kilometers traveled by year/month
• Time Analysis: Time spent in different locations and regions
• Movement Patterns: Identify routine routes and favorite destinations

Visualization Options

• Heatmap Analysis: Understand your most frequented areas
• Route Visualization: See complete travel paths with timing
• Fog of War: Gamified exploration mapping
• Photo Mapping: Integrate location-tagged photos for rich storytelling

Data Export & Sharing

• GeoJSON Export: Standard format for GIS applications
• GPX Export: Compatible with GPS devices and mapping software
• Trip Reports: Shareable travel summaries with statistics
• Photo Integration: Automatic geotagging with Immich/Photoprism

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Privacy & Security Architecture

Dawarich implements comprehensive privacy protections that exceed commercial alternatives:

Data Protection

• Local Storage: All data remains on your infrastructure
• No External Dependencies: Zero third-party tracking or analytics
• Encryption Support: Database encryption options for sensitive deployments
• Access Controls: User management and permission systems

Import Security

• Secure Processing: Location data processed locally without external uploads
• Format Validation: Safe handling of imported GPS and photo data
• Privacy Preservation: Original data timestamps and accuracy maintained

Compliance Ready

• GDPR Compliant: Complete data subject control and portability
• No Data Retention Limits: You decide how long to keep your data
• Audit Trail: Complete logging of data access and modifications

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Join the Dawarich Community

With over 5,300 GitHub stars and active development, Dawarich represents the future of privacy-respecting location tracking:

• Contribute Code: Help enhance mapping features and analytics via GitHub
• Share Use Cases: Document interesting applications and deployment scenarios
• Improve Documentation: Help others deploy and configure Dawarich
• Feature Requests: Influence development with your location tracking needs
• Privacy Advocacy: Help spread awareness about location data sovereignty

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Integration Ecosystem

Dawarich seamlessly integrates with popular self-hosted and privacy-focused services:

Photo Management

• Immich Integration: Automatic photo geotagging and map visualization
• Photoprism Support: Extract location data from existing photo libraries
• EXIF Processing: Import location data from any photo collection

Tracking Applications

• OwnTracks: Privacy-focused mobile location tracking
• Overland: Simple location sharing for iOS
• GPSLogger: Android location logging with customizable intervals

Data Sources

• Google Takeout: Migrate your complete Google Timeline history
• Strava Activities: Import fitness tracking and route data
• GPX Files: Support for any GPS device or tracking application

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Final Thoughts

Your location history is one of your most personal data sets—don't let it be held hostage by closed platforms, advertising algorithms, or arbitrary data retention policies. Dawarich represents a new era of location tracking: open, private, comprehensive, and truly yours. Whether you're a privacy advocate, researcher, traveler, or anyone who values control over their movement data, Dawarich offers a compelling alternative that puts you back in the driver's seat.

Ready to reclaim your location history? Explore dawarich.app or dive into the code on GitHub.