Metal Detecting GPS App for Android: track every sweep, log finds, and overlay historical maps.

GPS tracking for metal detecting.Map your sweep. Log every find.

A metal detecting app for Android. Your GPS path draws on the map as you walk. Log every find with photo, depth, and your machine's settings. Overlay century-old USGS maps. Offline maps included.

60+ detector presets14 languages0 ads

Android · now in open testing

SweepTrack Pro metal detecting app showing GPS satellite map with real-time tracking
GPS LOCK · 9 SATS+1 find · Coin · 18 cmScore 96 · GOBoundary 6 m · turn back
Simulated session log

Old-Map Overlay

Today's satellite view. The 1900s map underneath.

Slide between today's satellite view and the century-old USGS survey beneath it. Old homesteads, schoolhouses, and wagon roads that appeared on the historical map but not on current maps become visible.

USGS historical topographic map overlay
USGS Historical Topo
Modern satellite aerial view
Modern Satellite View

This is the USGS Historical overlay. One tap in the app, adjustable opacity, downloadable for offline use.

How it works

Plan. Track. Review.

SweepTrack covers the full detecting day: planning the trip, recording the session, and keeping the results.

Before

Plan

Check the Detecting Forecast for soil moisture, wind, and the daily score. Use the USGS historical overlay to spot old homesteads and structures, then drop a waypoint on the spot you want to detect.

During

Track

Your GPS path draws on the map as you walk, so covered ground stays visible. Perimeter Guard vibrates near the boundary you set. Pin each find with photo, depth, and your machine's settings.

After

Review

Overlay past sessions on one map to see uncovered ground. View session stats, generate a share card, and save an encrypted backup to Google Drive.

~/sweeptrack/note-from-the-founder.txt

What sets it apart

Five tools built for detecting.

Detecting needs tools a generic tracker does not have. These five are built for it. Each one is demonstrated below, exactly as it behaves in the field.

Permission boundary alerts

Alerts you before you cross the boundary.

Draw the boundary you agreed with the landowner. The phone checks your position every 2 seconds and escalates from a vibration at 15 meters to a full alarm at the line, even through Do Not Disturb.

  • 4 escalating zones: 15 m, 8 m, 3 m, crossed
  • Vibration tuned to reach a pocket through field clothing
  • Alarm punches through Do Not Disturb
  • Any measured polygon becomes a Guard in one tap
Live demo

Permission, in writing

Turn a verbal yes into a signed PDF.

A permission letter with a satellite map of exactly where you'll detect, signed by the landowner on your screen, stored encrypted, with a calendar reminder before it expires.

  • A4 request letter + thank-you letter, generated in-app
  • On-screen signature, drawn by the landowner
  • Encrypted at rest; screenshots blocked
  • Expiry reminders 14 days ahead
Live demo
12.06.2026
Site map47°41′N 23°35′E
APPROVED
Signed in the fieldExpires in 14 days

Plan the right day

Know if it's even worth the drive.

Check it the night before. One number tells you GO or stay home, scored from the soil and weather on the exact field you have permission for. No more burning a Saturday on ground that turns out frozen or soaked.

  • 0-100 score: soil 40, wind 25, temp 20, rain 15
  • 7-day outlook with an hourly timeline
  • Moon phase and nearest tide, computed on-device
  • GO requires an active permit in your Vault
47°41′N 23°34′E · +24 HLive demo
0Detecting Score
Soil moisture
38/40Wind
22/25Temperature
18/20Rain
14/15
Live demo

Scan to import preset

SweepTrack · v2 · 412 B

Less fiddling in the field

Every setting from the manual, in your pocket.

Browse the factory settings for 60+ detectors the way the manual lays them out, so you set up by hand without thumbing through a PDF at the car. Save your own go-to setups and pass one to a buddy by QR, right there in the field. It's your reference and your notebook, not a remote.

  • 60+ models across 12 brands, no hardware lock-in
  • Up to 22 real controls listed per detector
  • 10 preset slots · QR and JSON sharing
  • Unpublished specs marked Beta, never faked

Tracks you can trust

Your whole dig is saved, even if your phone dies.

Fitness apps draw a scribble when you sweep slow, then lose the whole session the moment Android kills them. SweepTrack keeps a clean line from the first step and autosaves the entire time, so a reboot or a dead battery never costs you the dig.

  • Filter tuned for the 0.2 m/s sweep-and-step gait
  • Autosave every 60 s; sessions survive reboots
  • Guides you to your phone's battery setting for background GPS
  • Clean tracks from the first step
Live demo

RAW GPS

5.8 km

SWEEPTRACK

4.2 km

Same walk, two recordings

New in Pro

The free app tracks your detecting. Pro tells you where to dig next.

Two new Pro tools turn your sessions into direction. One reads every find you've logged and points you at productive ground. The other puts your own maps under your tracks.

Know where to dig next

Your finds, turned into a map of where to dig.

Finds Intelligence reads every find you've logged and tells you what's working: finds per hour, your most productive time of day, and a value-weighted hot-zone map where a single gold ring outshines a pile of pull-tabs. It points you at productive ground, not just busy ground.

  • Finds per hour and your best time of day
  • Breakdowns by detector, find type, and site
  • Value-weighted hot-zone map of your best ground
  • Total collection value tracked over time
FIND LOG · 142 findsLive demo
2.4Finds / hr
7–9 AMBest time
North fieldTop site
Collection value$0

Pin your own maps to the ground

Lay your own map over the real one.

Import a scanned old map, a parcel sketch, or an aerial photo and align it onto the live satellite map. Drag to move, pinch to scale, twist to rotate, then detect with your own reference layer right under your tracks.

  • Import a scan, sketch, or aerial photo
  • Drag, pinch, and rotate to align it
  • Adjustable opacity over the live map
  • Free includes 1 overlay; Pro is unlimited
OVERLAY · parcel_1903.jpgLive demo
Opacity
65%
Free
Core app · 10 sessions/month free
14
Day free trial on Pro
4
Offline map types · no signal
1000
Founder's Lifetime spots
0
Ads · Trackers · Data sold

All features

And the other 40+ tools in the metal detecting app.

Every feature listed here ships in the app today. Pick a category and browse.

Finds Intelligence

A Pro dashboard that turns your logged finds into insight: finds per hour, best time of day, breakdowns by detector and site, total value over time, and a value-weighted hot-zone map of your best ground.

Custom Map Overlays

Import your own scanned map, parcel sketch, or aerial photo and align it on the live satellite map: drag to move, pinch to scale, twist to rotate. Free includes 1; Pro is unlimited.

60+ Detector Reference Library

Built-in templates for 60+ detector models across 12 brands (Minelab, XP, Nokta, Garrett, Fisher, Teknetics, Bounty Hunter, Quest, White's, Tesoro, Detech, Rutus) plus a Custom slot you build yourself.

The App

Straight from the app.

Eight screens, captured directly from the Android app, each captioned with what it does.

Your GPS path draws as you walk, so you sweep in lanes.

1 / 8

Radar

See your whole group on one live map

Radar is the live group map built into SweepTrack Pro. It's one of the four buttons on the home screen. Start a group, share a code, and your whole group shows up on the map, updating every 30 seconds or so. Friends without Pro join the same map with the free SweepTrack Radar app.

Live demo: a group sessionLeave by 17:52BaseDig hereDig hereSOS100 m46°46′N · 23°36′E
Built into ProRadar, in SweepTrack Pro

One Pro hosts

Free companion appSweepTrack Radar

Everyone joins free

Radar, in SweepTrack Pro

One of the four buttons on your map. Tap RADAR, start a group, and share the 8-character code. Everyone who joins shows up live, with distance and last-seen, shared waypoints, a base pin, quick pings, and a guide arrow to anyone. Joining is free. Hosting needs Pro.

SweepTrack Radar

The same Radar, as a free standalone app, so friends who don't own Pro can still join your map. No account to set up. The safety tools are free for good. Radar Premium adds hosting and a few extras, and it comes free with a SweepTrack Pro subscription.

Safety stays free

An SOS that pings the whole group with your location. A shared base point, Retrace to your start, and a countdown that tells you when to leave before dark.

Invite in seconds

Share an 8-character code or QR. Anyone can join, no account needed.

Work the site together

Shared waypoints and quick pings (Look here, Regroup, Dig here, Help), plus a compass arrow and live distance to any teammate or pin.

Your group only

Only people who joined with your code can see positions. Nothing's public, and groups expire after about 12 hours.

See SweepTrack RadarFree to join · Pro to host

Your spots stay secret

Your find map is private. It's stored that way.

Your find locations stay private. The app is built around that. These are checkable claims, not policy promises.

On your phone, not our servers

No account. No analytics. No ads. Your finds live on the device.

Backups even Google can't read

AES-256 encryption with a passphrase only you know. Your Drive stores ciphertext.

Share cards strip coordinates

Share with the club group; the card shows the shape of your session, not the location.

Radar groups auto-expire

Positions are visible only to people with your code, and the group is deleted after about 12 hours.

Pricing

Free to start. Pro for the full feature set.

The free app tracks your detecting. Pro tells you where to dig next, with unlimited sessions and the full toolkit.

First 1,000 only

Founder's Lifetime

One-time purchase. Lifetime access. Founder badge in-app.

Available now in the app on Google Play. One-time purchase, lifetime access, limited to the first 1,000 customers.

First 1,000 onlyCapped at 1,000
Free
$0
Forever. No credit card.
Core GPS tracking with 10 sessions a month, basic find logging, 5 waypoints, 1 detector preset, and 3 themes. Compass, ruler, and measure tool included.
Recommended
Pro
$19.99/year
Save 52% vs monthly ($3.49/mo). 14-day free trial.
Unlimited sessions and the full find record, plus Finds Intelligence, your own map overlays, the USGS historical layer, Perimeter Guard, the 7-day forecast, and every export format.
14-day free trialCancel anytimeNo ads, ever
Feature
Free
Pro
Sessions
10 / month
Unlimited
Find Logging
Basic
Unlimited
Finds Intelligence dashboard
Map Overlays (import your own)
1 overlay
Unlimited
Historical Map Overlay
Perimeter Guard
Detecting Forecast
2 days
7 days
NOAA Tide Table (3 / 7 / 14 day)
GPX / KML / CSV / JSON Export
None
JSON + GPX + KML + CSV
Cloud Backup (Google Drive)

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions?

Will GPS tracking drain my battery?

Active GPS tracking uses approximately 10–15% battery per hour, comparable to Google Maps in navigation mode. A power bank covers a full-day session. On Xiaomi, Samsung, OnePlus, and other devices that aggressively limit background apps, SweepTrack Pro detects the manufacturer and shows the exact battery setting required to keep tracking running with the screen off.

I'm new to metal detecting. Will this work for me?

Yes. The first-launch tutorial covers tracking, map controls, history, statistics, and other features across five slides. The Free tier covers GPS tracking, 10 sessions a month, and basic find logging, which is plenty to learn the app on. The Guides section of this site contains 30+ articles covering both the app and the hobby.

Does it work when I have no cell service?

Yes. Download map tiles in advance. Street, Satellite, Terrain, and USGS Historical Topo are all available for offline use. GPS tracking runs on the phone's hardware and requires no internet connection. The features that do require a connection are the Detecting Forecast, NOAA tide tables, and Radar live positioning.

Is my detecting data private and safe?

All data is stored on the device. No servers, no analytics, no ads, no third-party tracking. The optional Google Drive backup writes an encrypted copy to the user's own Google Drive account; SweepTrack Pro has no access to that data. Export to GPX, KML, CSV, or SweepTrack JSON is available at any time.

What's the difference between Free and Pro?

Free covers the basics: GPS tracking on all 3 base map types (Street, Satellite, Terrain), 10 recorded sessions a month, basic find logging (type, name, notes, and one photo), 5 waypoints, 1 detector preset, 1 Permission Vault entry, 3 themes (Steel, Copper, Tactical), and core field tools (compass, ruler, measure). Pro removes the limits and unlocks the recurring, high-value parts of detecting: unlimited sessions, the full find record (value, depth, weight, signal/VDI, soil type, audio, video, and multiple photos), unlimited waypoints and presets, Finds Intelligence, your own map overlays, the USGS Historical Topo layer, offline maps, Track Overlay, Coverage Heatmap, session comparison, Perimeter Guard, the 7-day Detecting Forecast, NOAA tide tables, advanced statistics, Cloud Backup, Night Vision, 6 more themes, and full GPX/KML/CSV/JSON export. Pricing: $19.99/year or $3.49/month with a 14-day free trial.

Is there an iPhone version?

Not yet. SweepTrack Pro is currently Android-only. iPhone support is being evaluated but isn't on the roadmap with a release date. Join the launch list to be notified if and when an iOS version becomes available.

Can I see my whole detecting group on a live map?

Yes. That's Radar, built into SweepTrack Pro as one of the four buttons on your home map. One person starts a group and shares an 8-character code or QR. Everyone who joins shows up on the same map, with positions updating every 30 seconds or so. You see each member's distance and last-seen time, shared waypoints, a base pin for where the car is, quick pings (Look here, Regroup, Dig here, Help), an SOS that alerts the group with your location, a guide arrow and Retrace to get back to your start, and a countdown for leaving before dark. Joining is free for everyone. Hosting your own group needs Pro. Only people who joined with your code can see positions, nothing is public, and groups expire after about 12 hours.

What is SweepTrack Radar?

SweepTrack Radar is the free standalone version of Radar, the same live group map that's built into SweepTrack Pro. It's there so friends who don't own Pro can still join your group's map with a code or QR, no account needed. The safety side is free for good: the live map, SOS, the shared base point, Retrace, shared waypoints, pings, and guide arrows. Radar Premium adds hosting, faster updates, unlimited private saved spots, GPX track export, and the full color and marker set. If you already subscribe to SweepTrack Pro, Radar Premium comes free. Just open Pro once on the same phone.

How does the Permission Vault keep me from trespassing?

Each landowner permission stores name, contact, approval status, expiry date, and the site boundary drawn on the map. The Vault shows which permissions are active, expiring, or expired. A PDF permission letter can be generated for any landowner, and expiry dates can be added to the phone's calendar with one tap. Combined with Perimeter Guard, the phone vibrates near the boundary edge and plays an audio alarm when it is crossed.

How do historical maps help me find better spots?

The app overlays genuine historical topographic tiles onto modern satellite imagery. Old homesteads, schools, churches, roads, and settlements that may no longer appear on current maps become visible on the historical layer. Those locations often produce finds because they were inhabited; many are now undeveloped ground. Opacity is adjustable to blend the two layers. Coverage is strongest across the United States, with historical map series for Romania too.

What does the Detecting Forecast actually measure?

The Detecting Forecast pulls weather data and generates a 0-100 Detecting Score with a verdict: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, or Bad. The score factors in soil moisture (wet soil conducts target signals deeper), wind speed, temperature, humidity, and precipitation. Available for any location, up to seven days ahead. Tips explain why conditions favor or hinder detection.

How do I know if I've already covered an area?

Three ways. The Coverage Heatmap renders a color-coded density overlay of the current session: green indicates light coverage, red indicates concentrated coverage, blank indicates none. Track Overlay loads past sessions onto the live map so previously covered ground is visible. Session Comparison stacks 2 to 5 visits to the same area to highlight uncovered ground.

What are Waypoints?

Waypoints are personal pins you save on the map. Free includes 5; Pro makes them unlimited. Long-press anywhere to drop one, or save your current spot. Give it a name, notes, and one of 11 color-coded categories: historical building, old well, bridge, battlefield, homestead, church, foundation, trail, permission reference, investigate later, or other. Each category gets its own color on the map. The Waypoints screen lets you search, filter by category, and manage them in bulk. Open any pin to see its distance and bearing from where you stand, then navigate or share it in a tap. Waypoints export to GPX, KML, or CSV, and they're in your Google Drive backup. They're yours alone, separate from the shared waypoints in a Radar group.

Does the app support my specific detector?

SweepTrack Pro is a GPS tracker and field toolkit, not a detector controller. It works alongside any metal detector. The app includes 60+ preset templates across 12 brands (Minelab, XP, Nokta, Garrett, Fisher, Teknetics, Bounty Hunter, Quest, White's, Tesoro, Detech, Rutus) plus a Custom slot for user-defined settings. Up to 10 configurations can be saved and shared via JSON export or QR code.

What does the Measure tool do?

Tap the map to drop points and measure distance along a path with per-segment labels. Tap point 1 again to close the path into a polygon. Perimeter and area are calculated in hectares or acres using spherical geometry. Vertices are draggable, measurements can be saved to the Library with a reverse-geocoded name, and any polygon converts to a Perimeter Guard boundary in one tap.

How does find logging work?

Tap the Find button to drop a GPS-pinned marker. Free logging covers the type (one of 6: Treasure, Gold, Coin, Relic, Jewelry, Trash), a name, notes, and one photo. Pro adds the full record: value, depth on a 0–40 cm slider, weight, signal/VDI, soil type, audio notes, video, and multiple photos. Every field is editable later. The Media Gallery groups photos, videos, and audio by session, and Find Search filters across sessions by name, type, or notes.

Something else on your mind? Ask in the community. The founder answers. → #community

Available now

Get SweepTrack Pro on Google Play.

SweepTrack Pro is on Google Play now, in open testing. Install it free, then unlock Pro or grab one of the 1,000 Founder's Lifetime spots.

Now in open testing on Google Play

Founder's Lifetime: first 1,000 customers only

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