You can measure walking distance on your phone without an app-store download. A browser walking tracker uses location readings to record where you move. Here is how to get started, and what to check before a longer walk.
Start a live walk in your browser
- Open TrackMyDistance on your phone. You can try three activities as a guest, then continue with a free email account.
- Choose Walk. If asked for weight, enter it for the calorie estimate or use the default. Weight does not change GPS distance.
- Read the location and screen-on notice. Allow the website to use your location when your browser asks.
- Wait for a usable location reading outdoors. Walk a short familiar stretch to check that the route and distance update.
- Keep the tracking page visible. Pause for a break, resume when ready, then finish and save your walk.
Set up location access on your phone
Your phone’s location services and the browser’s website permission both need to allow location. Open the site directly in a normal browser rather than inside an email or social-media preview.
On Android, check location access for your browser and for this website if the permission prompt does not appear. On iPhone, use Safari and review its website location permission. Exact settings labels vary by browser and operating-system version.
Browser geolocation needs a secure connection and your permission. See MDN’s browser location documentation for the underlying API requirements.
Keep the screen on while tracking
Browsers may suspend GPS updates when they are in the background or the phone is locked. Adding the website to your home screen does not remove those restrictions. Keep the page in front, keep your screen awake, and check it safely when stopped. Test your own phone before depending on a longer recording.
You need connectivity to open the tracker, load maps and sync activities. Some route points may be queued locally during a connection interruption, but this is not a guarantee of uninterrupted offline tracking.
What if distance stays at zero or jumps?
- No location: check that location is enabled for both the phone and the browser. If denied earlier, change the website permission and reload before starting again.
- Slow updates: step outside with a clearer view of the sky. Buildings, indoor use and phone power saving can affect readings.
- A little movement while standing still: location readings can drift. The tracker filters noisy points, but this cannot eliminate every error.
- A gap after switching apps: foreground the tracker again. Missing location readings cannot reliably reconstruct the path you took.
How to measure a walk you already finished
If you did not record it, use a known step count in the steps-to-distance calculator, or a time and speed estimate in the walking distance calculator. A browser cannot look back and discover your unrecorded GPS route.
If you know the route but have no measurements, you need a separate mapping tool to trace it. TrackMyDistance currently records live walks; it does not provide point-and-click route planning. Read more about outdoor routes, laps and GPS limitations.