Simple Location Tracking App in Flutter

Simple Location Tracking App in Flutter:

Hello everyone,

This post will help you further enhance your app by creating a simple location tracking app with Flutter, allowing users to explore key features like GPS activation, location permission, and real-time location tracking

First, we will add the necessary packages.

flutter pub add location
flutter pub add permission_handler

Then we will get the permissions.
android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

 <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
 <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" />

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

Let’s add the following methods to check if the user has GPS enabled:

void checkStatus() async {
  bool _permissionGranted = await isPermissionGranted();
  bool _gpsEnabled = await isGpsEnabled();
  setState(() {
    permissionGranted = _permissionGranted;
    gpsEnabled = _gpsEnabled;
  });
}


  Future<bool> isPermissionGranted() async {
    return await Permission.locationWhenInUse.isGranted;
  }

  Future<bool> isGpsEnabled() async {
    return await Permission.location.serviceStatus.isEnabled;
  }

If GPS is not enabled, let’s ask the user to enable it:

  void requestEnableGps() async {
    if (gpsEnabled) {
      log("Already open");
    } else {
      bool isGpsActive = await location.requestService();
      if (!isGpsActive) {
        setState(() {
          gpsEnabled = false;
        });
        log("User did not turn on GPS");
      } else {
        log("gave permission to the user and opened it");
        setState(() {
          gpsEnabled = true;
        });

      }
    }
  }

The application cannot track location without obtaining location permission. If there is no permission, let’s ask the user for permission:

  void requestLocationPermission() async {
    PermissionStatus permissionStatus =
        await Permission.locationWhenInUse.request();
    if (permissionStatus == PermissionStatus.granted) {
      setState(() {
        permissionGranted = true;
      });
    } else {
      setState(() {
        permissionGranted = false;
      });
    }
  }

Once location permission and GPS activation are provided, we can start or stop location tracking:

  void startTracking() async {
    if (!(await isGpsEnabled())) {
      return;
    }
    if (!(await isPermissionGranted())) {
      return;
    }
    subscription = location.onLocationChanged.listen((event) {
      addLocation(event);
    });
    setState(() {
      trackingEnabled = true;
    });
  }

  void stopTracking() {
    subscription.cancel();
    setState(() {
      trackingEnabled = false;
    });
    clearLocation();
  }
}

The application can store instant location settings and offer users the opportunity to display this data.

List<l.LocationData> locations = [];

void addLocation(l.LocationData data) {
  setState(() {
    locations.insert(0, data);
  });
}

void clearLocation() {
  setState(() {
    locations.clear();
  });
}

Finally, let’s create the user interface (Full Code):

import 'dart:async';
import 'dart:developer';

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:get/get_navigation/get_navigation.dart';

import 'package:location/location.dart' as l;
import 'package:permission_handler/permission_handler.dart';

void main() => runApp(const MyApp());

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return const GetMaterialApp(
      themeMode: ThemeMode.system,
      debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false,
      home: HomeScreen(),
    );
  }
}

class HomeScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  const HomeScreen({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

  @override
  State<HomeScreen> createState() => _HomeScreenState();
}

class _HomeScreenState extends State<HomeScreen> {
  bool gpsEnabled = false;
  bool permissionGranted = false;
  l.Location location = l.Location();
  late StreamSubscription subscription;
  bool trackingEnabled = false;

  List<l.LocationData> locations = [];

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    checkStatus();
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    stopTracking();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: const Text('Location App'),
        centerTitle: true,
      ),
      body: Padding(
        padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(horizontal: 12),
        child: Column(
          mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.max,
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.start,
          children: [
            buildListTile(
              "GPS",
              gpsEnabled
                  ? const Text("Okey")
                  : ElevatedButton(
                      onPressed: () {
                        requestEnableGps();
                      },
                      child: const Text("Enable Gps")),
            ),
            buildListTile(
              "Permission",
              permissionGranted
                  ? const Text("Okey")
                  : ElevatedButton(
                      onPressed: () {
                        requestLocationPermission();
                      },
                      child: const Text("Request Permission")),
            ),
            buildListTile(
              "Location",
              trackingEnabled
                  ? ElevatedButton(
                      onPressed: () {
                        stopTracking();
                      },
                      child: const Text("Stop"))
                  : ElevatedButton(
                      onPressed: gpsEnabled && permissionGranted
                          ? () {
                              startTracking();
                            }
                          : null,
                      child: const Text("Start")),
            ),
            Expanded(
                child: ListView.builder(
              itemCount: locations.length,
              itemBuilder: (context, index) {
                return ListTile(
                  title: Text(
                      "${locations[index].latitude} ${locations[index].longitude}"),
                );
              },
            ))
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }

  ListTile buildListTile(
    String title,
    Widget? trailing,
  ) {
    return ListTile(
      dense: true,
      title: Text(title),
      trailing: trailing,
    );
  }

void requestEnableGps() async {
    if (gpsEnabled) {
      log("Already open");
    } else {
      bool isGpsActive = await location.requestService();
      if (!isGpsActive) {
        setState(() {
          gpsEnabled = false;
        });
        log("User did not turn on GPS");
      } else {
        log("gave permission to the user and opened it");
        setState(() {
          gpsEnabled = true;
        });

      }
    }
  }

  void requestLocationPermission() async {
    PermissionStatus permissionStatus =
        await Permission.locationWhenInUse.request();
    if (permissionStatus == PermissionStatus.granted) {
      setState(() {
        permissionGranted = true;
      });
    } else {
      setState(() {
        permissionGranted = false;
      });
    }
  }

  Future<bool> isPermissionGranted() async {
    return await Permission.locationWhenInUse.isGranted;
  }

  Future<bool> isGpsEnabled() async {
    return await Permission.location.serviceStatus.isEnabled;
  }

  checkStatus() async {
    bool _permissionGranted = await isPermissionGranted();
    bool _gpsEnabled = await isGpsEnabled();
    setState(() {
      permissionGranted = _permissionGranted;
      gpsEnabled = _gpsEnabled;
    });
  }

  addLocation(l.LocationData data) {
    setState(() {
      locations.insert(0, data); 
    });
  }

  clearLocation() {
    setState(() {
      locations.clear();
    });
  }

  void startTracking() async {
    if (!(await isGpsEnabled())) {
      return;
    }
    if (!(await isPermissionGranted())) {
      return;
    }
    subscription = location.onLocationChanged.listen((event) {
      addLocation(event);
    });
    setState(() {
      trackingEnabled = true;
    });
  }

  void stopTracking() {
    subscription.cancel();
    setState(() {
      trackingEnabled = false;
    });
    clearLocation();
  }
}

Simple Location Tracking App

Github:

https://github.com/ozgeekaratas/location_tracking_app