Fast does not automatically mean false

A train can cover much more ground between observations than a walk. Rejecting a leg solely because it exceeds a small distance or elapsed-time threshold can cut a legitimate journey into fragments. The newer Nowhop policy removes the earlier fixed speed, two-kilometer and two-minute continuity cuts for new records.

That does not mean accepting every jump. The recorder considers observation intervals, reported uncertainty, speed evidence and subsequent coherent fixes. A plausible sequence matters more than calling all movement above walking pace an error.

Expect transport to change signal conditions

Different vehicles and surroundings affect the observations available to the phone. Apple notes that vehicle roofs, buildings and other obstructions can interfere with satellite visibility. A railway tunnel is therefore a data problem, not a reason to infer the missing train track from your ticket.

If good observations resume afterward, recording can resume too. The unobserved section should not be filled with a confident path. A saved destination or a planned transfer is not evidence of the exact journey inside that gap.

Check permission without demanding constant screen use

Review the app’s Location Services access and Precise Location setting. Background permission enables a category of access; it does not compel iOS to deliver every point under every condition. Force-quitting, restrictions and device conditions can affect continuity.

The app uses adaptive collection and bounded processing rather than rebuilding decorative terrain in the background for every location update. Do not keep an animated map open as a supposed requirement for recording. Actual battery behavior still needs physical-device measurement.

Review the journey as recorded distance

The distance label should not call a train ride walking or exercise. Nowhop uses Recorded distance for accepted ground movement and keeps planned routes separate. Selecting Bike or Drive for a discovery search does not classify every later GPS point.

For permissions see Apple’s Location Services controls; for signal limits see Apple’s GPS explanation. This guide describes development logic, not a completed field trial of every bicycle, railway or handset.

Questions this guide answers

Is there still a fixed maximum speed cutoff?

The newer ground-movement policy does not use the earlier fixed speed ceiling as its continuity rule. It still evaluates uncertain or inconsistent observations; removing that ceiling does not mean accepting arbitrary jumps.

Will a subway tunnel be drawn from the rail map?

No. An unobserved interval stays unobserved. Drawing a known rail line would infer a journey that the phone did not record, even if you expected to take that train.

Will the new rules repair previous journeys?

No automatic rewrite is promised. Historical records retain their coordinates, times and prior interpretation. The versioned recording policy changes how new observations are handled.

Does removing the old time cutoff mean any gap is connected?

No. The current policy starts a new segment after a genuinely unobserved interval longer than five minutes. Coherent sparse observations and an absence of usable observations are different situations.

Sources & scope

Official pages reviewed for this guide on October 31, 2026. Features and availability can change; check the linked provider before choosing.

Nowhop behavior is based on our implementation specification. Public demos use samples. Read our editorial approach.

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