Abstract: Tracking devices can be associated with safe zones, smart zones, and high risk zones. Safe zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the safe zone is lower than outside the safe zone. High risk zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the high risk zone is higher than outside the high risk zone. Smart zones correspond to an expected tracking device, mobile device, or user behavior. Home areas are geographic regions in which a user resides, and travel areas are geographic regions in which a user does not reside. A tracking device can be configured to operate in a mode selected based on a presence of the tracking device within a safe zone, a smart zone, a high risk zone, a home area, or a travel area.

Abstract: A lost tracking device associated with a tracking system can be located by leveraging one or more community members by inviting these members to join a search party. Search party criteria can be identified and candidate search party members can be selected and invited based on the search party criteria. When invited candidate search party members accept the invitations, they are added to the search party. A last known location of the tracking device can be provided to the search party members, and the search party can remain in effect until the lost tracking device is located. The location of the lost tracking device is provided to the tracking system, which forwards it to the owner of the lost tracking device. A reward can be provided by the owner of the lost tracking device to the tracking system, which releases the reward to the search party member that located the lost tracking device.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a tracking system server, an instruction from a first computing device relating to a feature of a second computing device having a tracking component and a functional component. The method includes receiving a notification from a third computing device that the second computing device has received a tracking signal from the tracking component. The method includes, in response to receiving the instruction and the notification, transmitting, by the tracking system server to the third computing device, an instruction for the second computing device relating to the feature, the third computing device configured to provide the instruction to the tracking component of the second computing device.

Abstract: A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.

Abstract: A tracking device broadcasts beacon signals that are separated in time by broadcast intervals. The tracking device determines the broadcast intervals based on a behavior model. The behavior model specifies one or more conditions, such as times of day within a 24-hour day, and associates a usage probability with each condition. A higher usage probability causes the tracking device to broadcast beacon signals at shorter broadcast intervals. A mobile device in communication with the tracking device can reconfigure the behavior model, either by modifying portions of the behavior model or by replacing the behavior model with a different behavior model. This allows the behavior model to adapt to different circumstances, such as different usage patterns during weekdays, weekends, and vacations.

Abstract: A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or is in a predicted state. The tracking system may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or in a predicted state based on a number of factors, including: a proximity of a tracking device to other tracking devices or a user's mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or other tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a geographic location or to geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, or information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user's mobile.

Abstract: A tracking system determines a location of a tracking device associated with a user using one or more access points at the location. Each access point at the location is configured to detect and couple with the tracking device when the tracking device is within a communicative range of the access point. An access point provides updates on the tracking device's presence, as well as the tracking device's arrival to and departure from the communicative range of the access point, to a tracking server. The tracking server determines, from these updates, whether the tracking device is at the location. The user may be notified, via a mobile device, of the tracking device's location.

Abstract: A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a tracking server, tracking device diagnostic information and user device diagnostic information. The method includes retrieving, by the tracking server, a power consumption model for a tracking device based on the tracking device diagnostic information. The method includes revising, by the tracking server, the power consumption model for the tracking device based on the tracking device diagnostic information and the user device diagnostic information. The method includes determining, by the tracking server, reconfiguration instructions for the tracking device based on the revised power consumption model. The reconfiguration instructions are selected to cause the tracking device to satisfy one or more power conditions. The method includes providing, by the tracking server, the reconfiguration instructions to the tracking device.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for preserving battery power in a tracking device including a communication module and a location determination unit, includes, when the tracking device is configured to operate in a first mode, enabling, by the tracking device, the communication module and the location determination unit. The method includes determining, by the tracking device, a location of the tracking device based on location information received from the location determination unit. The method includes transmitting, by the tracking device, the determined location of the tracking device via the communication module to a tracking system configured to inform a user associated with the tracking device of the determined location. The method includes in response to determining that a location status of the tracking device has changed, configuring the tracking device to operate in a second mode and disable the communication module and the location determination unit.

Abstract: A tracking device can securely communicate with a secondary device by generating a hash value based on the identity of the tracking device. If the secondary device cannot resolve the hash value, the hash value can be provided to a tracking server, such as a cloud server, for resolving the hash value. Upon resolving the hash value, the tracking server can store a location of the tracking device in association with the identity of the tracking device. To preserve power, the secondary device can activate location-detection functionality (such as a GPS receive) only in response to the detection of movement of the tracking device, can obtain location information, and can de-activate the location-detection functionality upon providing the location information to the tracking server. The tracking server can associate one or both of a previous location and the current location information based on movement of the tracking device.

Abstract: A set of tracking devices can be placed within a geographic area as part of a scavenger hunt. A user with a mobile device can traverse the area, and when the user moves within a threshold proximity or communicative range of a tracking device, the mobile device can receive a communication from the tracking device identifying the tracking device. In response to determining that the tracking device is part of the set of tracking devices and thus part of the scavenger hunt, the mobile device can modify a tracking device interface displaying a representation of the tracking device to indicate that the tracking device has been found. In response to each tracking device being found, the mobile device can modify the tracking device interface to indicate that the scavenger hunt has been completed.