How to use Polarsteps? Ultimate Polarsteps Tutorial
Polarsteps is potentially the most complete travel tracking app right now! Since it was founded in 2015, it has spread through travel and backpacking communities gaining popularity.
But it hasn’t always been like that! I was first introduced to the app in 2019 while backpacking through Thailand. Not many people had heard of it, and I had to figure out how to use Polarsteps while on the road! I got there eventually, and now I’m incredibly grateful to have somewhere I can relive past trips with my photos and thoughts from the road (my Polarsteps thoughts don’t make it to the blog)!
While many new developments have made the app easier, there are more features/options than ever to wrap your head around. So whether you’re new to the app or are trying to figure out how to use Polarsteps for your first trip, this Polarsteps tutorial will cover everything you need to know so you can track your travels and solve any problems you’re having.
What can you use Polarsteps for?
Firstly, it’s important to know the main things you can do using Polarsteps:
- Visually tracking your travels around the world
- Keeping notes from the road
- Sharing your travels with family and friends
- Researching future travel destinations
- Getting inspiration from other people’s journeys
- Reliving your past trips
Getting started on Polarsteps
Download and Install the Polarsteps App. Visit the App Store or Google Play Store and search for ‘Polarsteps’. Then Download and install the app on your device. Don’t worry, it’s FREE!
Create an Account or Log In. Open the Polarsteps app. Select “Create a new account” to sign up if you’re new to Polarsteps; otherwise “Log In” to access an existing account. Enter your email address or login using a social media profile.
Once you’ve made an account you can also log in on the Polarsteps website should you prefer using your laptop.
Set up your profile. Add a profile picture, fill in your bio and other personal details, and customise your profile settings. You can update your Polarsteps profile at any time by clicking on your profile and this window will open. You can also find this by clicking the Settings cog, then ‘Profile.
How to create a new trip on Polarsteps?
On the main screen (“Me” tab), click the “+Add Trip” option (pictured above).
Select the kind of trip. A window will appear where you can select whether you’re tracking a past, present, or future trip. This is how you start a trip in advance and record older trips on Polarsteps.
Add your destination(s). A window will appear asking where you are going. You can skip this section if you’re unsure. Search for your destination by typing into the search bar. It’s better to be more specific and provide a city name if you want the map to be more accurate.
Customise your trip details. Select the start and end dates for your trip. If you are going on an open-ended trip, you don’t need to select the end date. Add a name for your trip (e.g. Backpacking Southeast Asia or Overlanding Europe) and add a summary.
You can add travel buddies who also use the Polarsteps app. This means that other people will be able to see this trip on their profiles. This is perfect if you are travelling with a friend or as a group.
Set the trip’s privacy level. ‘Only me’ means that the trip is private. ‘Follower’ means that it will just be the friends that follow you and can see what you post. ‘Everyone’ means that the trip is public and can be found in the discovery section of the app. If you intend to plot your route in advance, you can also toggle the bar to show or hide your planned steps. I prefer to keep this off for safety reasons.
Once you are done, press ‘Create trip’. This will take you to the trip you have created.
Polarsteps will automatically track your location from the day the trip starts until it ends.
NOTE: You can edit the details of your trip at any time by clicking on the menu bar in the top right and clicking ‘Trip Settings’.
How to add a step in Polarsteps?
Firstly, what is a step? – A step is simply a location you’ve visited that you want to add to your trip.
Therefore, to add a step, open up the relevant trip from your homepage.
Click the plus arrow on your map timeline within the trip (at the bottom of the page) to create a new step.
On the window that appears, fill in the step name, date, arrival time, description, photos and activities. Most people use the location as their step name (e.g. London), but you don’t have to do this. Once you have filled in the details, click ‘Publish’ (top right) or ‘Save as a draft’ (bottom).
NOTE: As you travel, Polarsteps will automatically suggest locations for you to create a step.
Once published, your new step will appear in a timeline at the bottom of your map. You can scroll through your steps and click on them to view them in more detail.
You can update past steps by clicking on the image on the timeline, then clicking ‘Edit step’. This could mean adding more notes, updating images, changing dates, or deleting the step altogether.
As you continue adding new steps, each one should link to the next creating a fun, interlinked map to visualise where you have travelled.
How to share Polarsteps with friends?
Follow friends with Polarsteps. The easiest way to share Polarsteps with friends is if they already use it. You can find friends on Polarsteps by syncing or contacts or by searching for names and adding them.
To do this, click on the ‘Activity’ tab. Here you can search for friends by clicking the ‘Add friends’ icon (top right) or ‘Search for friends’ (bottom).
To sync contacts, click on ‘Connect Contacts’. You will need to give the app permission to access your contacts in your phone settings. Once done, a list of your contacts who have already downloaded Polarsteps will appear. It’s your choice if you want to follow or not! 😆
NOTE: If you follow someone, they will appear in your following list and any steps they place that are visible to you will appear in your Notification center within the app for you to check out.
If you don’t have friends who use Polarsteps, there are still alternative ways to share your trip!
Share your Polarsteps trip with a link. By creating a link to your Polarsteps trip, you can share privately with individual people, or you can share directly to social media like Facebook.
The easiest way to do this is from the main Polarsteps screen. Long press on the trip you want to share until the option for ‘Share Trip’ appears. Click ‘Share Trip’. A link will be generated which you can share with friends and family.
NOTE: If privacy settings for the individual trip aren’t set up appropriately for sharing, a pop-up will appear.
Similarly, you can go into the trip itself. Click the top right burger icon and click the share button on the right-hand side.
You can share directly to social media, such as Facebook, to reach a wider audience or privately through messaging apps. It’s a great way for my family to stay updated on what I’m doing without bombarding them with messages!
Create a travel book. If you want to be more old-school, you can order the Polarsteps Travel book to share with your friends (or keep it for yourself). Prices vary depending on the number of pages (length or trip and the number of steps/photos).
Polarsteps FAQs
How do you end a trip on Polarsteps?
Ending a trip on Polarsteps is as simple as setting the end date. The tracking will automatically stop at the end date you have set.
How to use Polarsteps offline
Depending on where you travel, it’s likely that there will be some occasions where you don’t have internet while you want to document your trip.
To use Polarsteps offline, first ensure that you have downloaded the app and set up your trip while you have internet access. Before going offline, enable GPS on your device so that the app can track your location. Polarsteps will store your travel data locally on your device while you are without internet connectivity.
Continue using the app as usual by adding photos, notes and new locations. When you regain internet access, Polarsteps will automatically sync your stored data with the cloud, updating your trip with all the offline information you recorded.
How to log an old trip on Polarsteps
To record a past trip on Polarsteps, open the app and tap the “+Add trip” button, just as you would for any trip. Enter the trip name and set the start and end dates to match your past journey. Manually add each location you visited by entering place names and dates, and upload photos and notes for each stop to enrich your travel log. Customize your trip details with a cover photo and description, and set the privacy level as desired.
Since the trip is already complete you won’t be able to have the exact GPS paths you took, but each of your steps will link with a straight line on the map.
How to plan a future trip on Polarsteps
Once again, tap the “+Add trip” button on the home screen. This time, put the start date in the future. Tracking of your trip will automatically begin when the date states.
Search for your stops so they appear on the map in advance. You can toggle on and off whether you want these stops to appear.
How to change syncing accuracy on Polarsteps
If you are having GPS or tracking issues, firstly ensure that your device’s location services are enabled and that Polarsteps has permission to access your location.
Beyond this, there is no longer a way to change the syncing accuracy in Polarsteps. All you can do is toggle the switch to turn Travel Tracker on or off in your trip settings.
NOTE: You used to be able to select the GPS accuracy by going to Settings-Travel Log Settings. Selecting high accuracy or low accuracy would alter the frequency of updates and thus battery and data usage. Recent updates have taken this away.
Travel stats in Polarsteps
Your Polarsteps profile will reveal a lot of data. Firstly a map which colours in places you’ve been. Then a long list of stats including the countries you’ve visited (and logged on Polarsteps), flags collected, number of trips, kilometers covered, furthest distance from home, and more!
If you’re anything like me, it’s a fun place to nerd out!
If you want to look at stats for an individual trip, you can either look at the thumbnail for the particular trip. Or, within the trip, you can click on the menu icon and any stats will appear on the right-hand side of your screen.
Before you go
Thank you for reading my guide on how to use Polarteps. I hope this has taught you everything you could need to use Polarsteps or answered a specific question! If guides, itineraries, and travel content like this interest you, head over to my blog page to find out more.
If you are new to Matt’s Next Steps, check out the About Me page to find out a bit more about who I am, my travel adventures, and why I wanted to become a travel writer.
Please comment below and let me know your thoughts and experiences, or if there is anything more you want to know about how to use Polarsteps.
Happy travelling.
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