Video Demonstration
Recorded on 29 September 2026 with StepLooper 1.2.5 (Android 15). It shows how StepLooper uses the FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION permission: a foreground service of type location runs only while the user is actively guided along a walk, run or ride, so turn cues keep coming with the screen off or the app in the background.
What the phone video shows
- Plan a walking loop: the user picks a start and taps “Find a loop”; the route is planned on the device.
- User starts guidance: the user taps “Start guidance”. Only now the app starts its foreground service (type
location) and posts an ongoing notification. The position follows the route and the next turn counts down. - App in the background: the user goes to the home screen. The ongoing StepLooper notification keeps showing the next turn, the distance left and the arrival time, updated live, plus a short alert before each turn.
- User ends guidance: the user returns through the notification and taps “End” (the notification also has an “End” action).
- Guidance ended: the foreground service stops at once, location updates are unregistered and the notification disappears.
Foreground service types
FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION(phone app, task: Navigation): turn-by-turn guidance along the route the user started, as shown above.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_HEALTH(Wear OS app only, task: exercise tracking): while the user runs an activity on the watch, it reads the watch's heart rate sensor and shows it on the watch. It starts only with an activity the user started and stops when it ends.
Privacy & data safety
- On-device navigation: guidance and GPS tracks are processed on the phone; the location is not sent to our server during navigation. Loading map data sends an approximate map area. The track of a completed walk is uploaded to the user's account only with explicit opt-in sync (see the privacy policy).
- No auto-start: the service never starts after a reboot or on its own. It runs only while guidance the user started is active.
Wear OS: FOREGROUND_SERVICE_HEALTH
Recorded on 30 September 2026 with StepLooper 1.2.5 on a paired Wear OS 4 watch (emulator; heart rate from Health Services test data). The watch app starts a foreground service of type health only while guidance the user started on the phone is running, reads the watch's heart rate sensor and sends it to the phone.
- User starts guidance on the phone: the watch shows the guidance, starts its health foreground service and measures heart rate; the phone shows it next to the guidance.
- Watch app in the background: on the watch face, heart rate is still measured and reaches the phone.
- User ends guidance on the phone: the health service stops at once, the exercise session ends and the watch returns to idle.