Geo-sensing and location tracking is the ability to track a device’s whereabouts using GPS, cell phone towers, WiFi access points, or a combination of these. Since devices are used by individuals, geolocation uses positioning systems to track an individual’s whereabouts down to latitude and longitude coordinates, or more practically, a physical address. Both mobile and desktop devices can use geolocation.

Geolocation has a broad variety of uses and methods. IP addresses may be used to determine a country, region, state, city, or postal code. Geolocation can be used to determine time zones and exact positioning coordinates, such as for tracking wildlife or cargo shipments. Users who shopped online and wanted to find an item in a nearby store, ordered food online after searching for a local restaurant, or sought out the closest ATM would have all used geolocation services.

The process of determining or estimating the geographic position of an object can also be called “geo-positioning” “geo-tracking,” “geo-localization,” “geo-location,” or “geo-position fixing” in the industry.