Location Trigger

Define geofence zones and get notified when you cross their boundaries, or track your route by sending GPS coordinates at regular distance intervals.

Location view
  • Distance tracking — send your GPS coordinates every X meters traveled (minimum 50 meters). Ideal for route logging, fitness tracking, and fleet monitoring.
  • Area monitoring — define up to 10 geofence zones with ENTER, EXIT, or both events. Get notified when you arrive at or leave specific locations.
  • Both modes run simultaneously on a single trigger for complete location-based automation.
  • Runs in background — no need to keep FlowTrigger open. The trigger continues monitoring and firing webhooks automatically.
  • Offline support — when you lose internet connection, FlowTrigger caches all location requests locally and resends them automatically when connectivity returns. No data is lost.
  • Premium feature with a 7-day free trial.

What is the difference between distance-based and area-based triggers?

Distance-based triggers send your coordinates at regular intervals as you move. Area-based triggers fire only when you enter or leave a defined zone. Here’s how they differ:

Distance tracking sends your GPS coordinates every X meters traveled. You set a distance interval (minimum 50 meters), and each time you move that distance from the last reported position, FlowTrigger sends a request with your current coordinates and a timestamp. Use cases:

  • Route logging and travel tracking
  • Fitness and outdoor activity recording
  • Fleet or delivery tracking
  • Building a location history in a spreadsheet or database

Area monitoring lets you define up to 10 geographic zones, each with a name, center coordinates, radius, and trigger events (ENTER, EXIT, or both). When you cross a zone boundary, FlowTrigger fires the webhook with the zone name and transition type. Use cases:

  • Arrival and departure notifications (“I’m home”, “Left the office”)
  • Automatic time tracking (log when you arrive at and leave a location)
  • Smart home automation (turn on lights when you arrive)
  • Safety alerts (notify when someone enters or leaves a defined area)

You can enable both modes on the same trigger. For example, track your route every 200 meters AND get notified when you arrive at or leave specific locations — all sent to the same n8n, Make, or Zapier workflow.

What does the JSON payload look like for a location trigger?

Location triggers send requests with Content-Type: application/json. Every request includes 11 fields covering your location, the event type, zone details, and device metadata.

Area monitoring event (ENTER/EXIT):

{
  "latitude": "52.5200",
  "longitude": "13.4050",
  "transition": "ENTER",
  "dateTime": "2026-03-18T09:15:32.000+01:00",
  "accuracyMeters": "12.5",
  "zoneName": "Office",
  "zoneLat": "52.5200",
  "zoneLng": "13.4050",
  "zoneRadiusMeters": "150",
  "deviceName": "Pixel 8",
  "executionId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
}

Distance tracking event:

{
  "latitude": "52.5234",
  "longitude": "13.4115",
  "transition": "DISTANCE",
  "dateTime": "2026-03-18T09:22:10.000+01:00",
  "accuracyMeters": "8.2",
  "zoneName": "",
  "zoneLat": "",
  "zoneLng": "",
  "zoneRadiusMeters": "",
  "deviceName": "Pixel 8",
  "executionId": "f9e8d7c6-b5a4-3210-fedc-ba9876543210"
}
FieldDescription
latitudeYour GPS latitude at the time of the event
longitudeYour GPS longitude at the time of the event
transitionEvent type: "ENTER", "EXIT", or "DISTANCE"
dateTimeISO 8601 timestamp of the location reading
accuracyMetersGPS accuracy in meters — lower values mean more precise positioning
zoneNameName of the geofence zone (populated for ENTER/EXIT, empty for DISTANCE)
zoneLatCenter latitude of the triggered zone
zoneLngCenter longitude of the triggered zone
zoneRadiusMetersRadius of the triggered zone in meters
deviceNameYour device’s name — useful for multi-device setups
executionIdUnique identifier for this location event — useful for deduplication

All field names are customizable in the Advanced settings tab. The Advanced tab also provides the same HTTP configuration options as other trigger types: authentication, custom headers, and User JSON Fields.

How do I visualize my location data on a map?

FlowTrigger provides a free, interactive map visualization tool at flowtrigger.app/map designed for location data collected by location triggers:

  1. Set up your n8n, Make, or Zapier workflow to log location trigger data to Google Sheets (or any CSV source). Each row should contain at least dateTime, latitude, and longitude columns.
  2. In Google Sheets, publish the sheet as a CSV: File > Share > Publish to web > select CSV format > copy the URL.
  3. Open flowtrigger.app/map and paste the published CSV URL.

The map tool draws route polylines between your location points, shows geofence zone circles for ENTER/EXIT events, displays directional arrows along routes, and provides filtering by date, device, and event type. It supports multiple devices with color-coded routes and includes a timeline sidebar showing your location history.

For the full CSV schema and all map features, see the Map page. For a complete end-to-end walkthrough — from setting up the trigger to viewing routes on the map — see the Location Tracking use case guide.

Other trigger types in FlowTrigger

FlowTrigger offers four trigger types to connect your Android phone with your automation workflows:

  • Manual Triggers — press a button to send text, photos, audio, and voice-to-text to your webhook. Free to use.
  • Chat Triggers — a conversational interface that communicates with an LLM running inside your workflow. Free to use.
  • Notification Triggers — automatically forward notifications from selected apps to your webhook endpoint. Premium feature.