How Accurate Are Mileage Tracking Apps?

GPS mileage is an estimate. Tunnels, downtown canyons, a phone in a bag, and a missed clock-in all move the number. Treat it as a working total, then edit the session if you know it is wrong.

GigMeter records a mileage total on the session, not a map of the route. Download on the App Store.

When GigMeter counts distance

GPS runs only while you are clocked in, not paused, and Pro is active. Location permission is While Using the App. Background updates can continue for that session if you switch to another app; iOS shows the indicator. Pause, clock out, or a force-quit stops updates.

The filter is there to ignore junk points, not to survey a road like a department of transportation. Persist happens on a debounce, when you background the app, pause, or clock out, not on every raw tick.

IRS “compliance”

No consumer app can promise the IRS will accept a file. The IRS cares that you have a contemporaneous record of business use. A session with clock times, a mile total, a note, and payouts is stronger than a blank memory in April. It is still your record. See mileage deductions.

Battery

Always-on trip detection is what usually kills a phone. GigMeter does not run GPS on the home screen while you are clocked out. The clock on the active session is the thing that ticks; miles update from location while that session is live. We do not publish a hours-per-charge comparison against other apps. If battery is tight, clock out when you are done and do not leave a forgotten session running overnight. There is a local reminder after eight hours of work if you allow notifications.

Fixing a bad total

Edit the session: clock in, clock out, distance, note. If auto gas was written and the miles changed enough, Recalculate estimate appears. GigMeter will not invent last year’s missing miles from your carrier.