CairnGPS – GPS Tools & Tracks

Matthieu Tinnes

About this app

CairnGPS turns your phone into a real GNSS receiver.

Watch the satellites that locate you in real time — GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, IRNSS — on a 3D globe, a sky plot and a detailed list. Record your hikes, drop waypoints, unlock achievements.

No account, no trackers, works fully offline.

■ REAL-TIME POSITION
Coordinates in decimal degrees or DMS, geoid-corrected altitude using the EGM96 model, speed in km/h and m/s, horizontal and vertical accuracy with a colour indicator. You always know how much to trust your fix.

■ FULL SATELLITE VIEW
Every visible satellite listed, constellation by constellation. An azimuth and elevation sky plot. And a custom-built 3D globe showing the real geometry of the constellation above you: you finally see where your GNSS signals are coming from.

■ COMPASS
Heading dial referenced to magnetic or true north, your choice. Point-to-point navigation with arrow, distance and bearing to any waypoint you pick.

■ TRACK RECORDING
Start a session and put the phone back in your pocket. Distance covered, average and maximum speed, elevation gain and loss, minimum and maximum altitude.

■ WAYPOINTS
Mark what matters — water source, campsite, trailhead, parking — with customisable icons. Every waypoint stays linked to the session it was dropped in.

■ TRIP LOG
Browse all your past sessions with elevation profile, route trace and full statistics. GPX export so you can open your tracks anywhere.

■ ACHIEVEMENTS AND LEVELS
Over 25 achievements across families: altitude, from your first summit to Kilimanjaro. Speed. Simultaneous satellites. Total distance. Number of trips. Plus a few special ones: cross the 45th parallel north, get tracked on both sides of the equator, drop a waypoint before 6 a.m. Every achievement earns XP and levels you up, and your personal records carry over from trip to trip.

■ BUILT FOR THE OUTDOORS
Readable in direct sunlight, light and dark themes, controlled battery use, metric or imperial units, backup and restore of your data.

CairnGPS reads your device's raw GPS rather than going through fused location services. That is what lets it access the detailed satellite data most apps simply cannot show.

■ PLEASE NOTE
CairnGPS is a GNSS tool and a trip log, not a mapping app: it does not display a base map and does not calculate routes. It complements your map app rather than replacing it.

■ PRIVACY
No data collected, no account, no ads, no trackers. Your positions, tracks and waypoints stay on your phone. The app works fully offline.

CairnGPS needs precise location access to work, including in the background while a session is recording, so it can keep following your route with the screen off.

What’s new

New features :
- Add an onboarding at start of the app
- Scroll to achievement when last acquired achievement is opened