tracker
[′trak·ər] (computer science)
An input device used in a virtual environment, which is capable of reporting its location in space and its orientation.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Bluetooth tracker
A small device that is attached to items such as a phone, eyeglass case or keyring, which are often misplaced. Trackers can even locate where a car is parked. A mobile app communicates with the tracker via Bluetooth and records its location the last time it was in range.The Tracker Network Is a Major Benefit
When the tracker is out of range of the mobile app, the assistance of the user community is enlisted behind the scenes. All users with that tracker's app running in the background become part of the network silently picking up the signals from every tracker in the vicinity. The data are sent to the vendor's cloud waiting for a user to report a missing item. See vehicle tracking.
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| Popular Trackers |
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| The Tile (left) popularized the Bluetooth tracker industry; however, there are several others on the market such as the TrackR Bravo (right). Using button cell batteries to keep the units small, trackers can be attached to almost anything. See AirTag, SmartTag and SyncUP Tracker. |
tracking
(1) See Bluetooth tracker, vehicle tracking and child tracking.(2) The recording of an event. See tracking cookie and email tracker.
(3) Synchronizing a reading or writing mechanism with a rotating platter. For example, a stylus must maintain a smooth contact with the groove in a vinyl phonograph record. A laser must align itself precisely to the tracks of a CD.
(4) In desktop publishing, the consistent letterspacing of text. Tracking is used to expand or contract the amount of text on a page by expanding or reducing the amount of space between letters. It differs from kerning in that it is applied to an entire font or to a range of text, whereas kerning refers to certain letter pairs.
tracking cookie
Data stored in the user's computer by a website being visited. Tracking cookies ("trackers") are small files placed there by "third-party" advertisers to monitor the user's Web surfing habits and are generally considered an invasion of privacy. See cookie.Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.