Affiliate Disclosure: Bouncie sent us this unit free of charge. We were not compensated by the company for this product review, although we were allowed to keep it. As an Amazon Associate, Automoblog earns from qualifying purchases, including the unit featured here.

Bouncie is a GPS vehicle tracking device designed to help you stay safe and aware. The device plugs into the OBD2 (on-board diagnostics) port in your vehicle and gives real-time updates and driving data. You can see your car’s location and trip details like speed, driving habits, and accident notifications.

For parents, it may give you peace of mind when your teenager drives home late at night; for business owners, Bouncie can provide helpful insight when it comes to managing your fleet. In this review, we will share our firsthand experience and explain the features in more detail.

Brief History of Bouncie

Bouncie was launched in 2017 by Tail Light LLC, a tech company in Plano, Texas. Since the launch, several new and important features have been added.

• 2019: The company expanded its service area to Mexico and Canada, sped up notifications, and allowed users to view trips in progress.

• 2020: Accident detection and notifications were added.

• 2023: After the planned phase-out of 3G cellular networks, older devices will stop working and will require a replacement with a 4G unit, expected to last at least four years. The monthly data subscription does not change with a 4G device.

What Does Bouncie Cost?

As of this writing, there’s a one-time payment of $77 for the device and an $8 per month subscription. There are also discounts available if you decide to get multiple devices.

Installation & Setup

The setup process took us around 15 minutes from opening the box until we started driving. You can access everything from Bouncie.com, but we recommend getting the Bouncie app from the App Store or Google Play. When you create an account, it will ask you to enter information about your vehicle, like your make and model, VIN, and current mileage. 

Everything is straightforward, and there’s a “Chat With Bouncie” button you can click to connect to a support chat. During the setup, you’ll need to plug the device into the OBD2 port. Typically the OBD2 is near the driver-side door panel, underneath the steering wheel, but check your owner’s manual if you need help.

After it’s installed, you’ll need to drive around for at least 10 minutes for the device to connect and calibrate. After the first drive, you’ll begin getting live info and stats about your trips.

Bouncie has many features and settings you can adjust. Some, like accident notifications, will need to be activated before they start working. The first drive won’t be recorded, but you will get all of the basic stats after the first 10-minute drive without adjusting any settings.

Bouncie offers useful insights whether you’re a parent concerned about the safety of your kids, a business owner tracking expenses, or even a regular driver who wants to keep track of things for fun. Some features will be more or less helpful depending on what you’re using it for. Here is a list of each feature, with a brief description of how they work.

Features for Parents

As a parent, letting your kids drive can cause a great deal of stress and even more gray hair! Here is what Bouncie offers:

Live Location

The unit detects your teen’s location during a drive and uses accelerometers to track speed continuously. During a drive, you can get up-to-date info every 15 seconds. The device will show you an overlay on Google maps of the car’s location, when the trip started, and how fast your kids are moving.

You can also set up a geo-zone. When your car enters or leaves a geo-zone, you’ll get a notification. This is helpful when you don’t want your kids leaving a particular area or to know when they get to their destination.

The only problem we found with this is it’s limited to a circle, rather than a straight line from point A to B, but you can make it as big or small as necessary. You can put a geo-circle around your neighborhood if you want your kids to stay close by, or around a specific house or address if you need to know when your kids arrive.

Accident Detection

We didn’t test how well this works for obvious reasons! However, the device can detect an impact or a sudden decrease in speed and send a notification. You will get a notification and have the option to call 911. You can add a setting that sends a text message if an accident is detected.

Roadside Assistance

Bouncie can send help your way, and the cost is included in your subscription. If your teenage driver runs out of gas, needs a jump start, or has a flat tire, you can take advantage of a network of roadside assistance providers. This is available to use three times in any 12-month period and can be a big help when you need it.

Unsafe Driving Notifications

These notifications let you monitor how your kids are driving. In the settings, you can adjust the sensitivity of things like hard braking and rapid acceleration, while also setting speed notifications.

During our test drives, we adjusted the sensitivity settings from low to high. With high sensitivity, we received notifications for hard braking and rapid acceleration of over eight mph per second. Low sensitivity notified us of incidents over 14 mph per second. During normal driving conditions, we didn’t get any notifications.

Based on our tests, we’d say that parents shouldn’t be concerned about one or two notifications per week, but more than a few may be a safety concern, especially for new drivers. The device gives you details of each incident and where it happened once the trip is completed. You can also set a curfew and get a notification if the car is being driven after your set hours.

Should I Tell My Kids We’re Using Bouncie?

If you’re unsure of how to talk to your children about why you’re going to use Bouncie, they wrote this helpful article on the topic. If you don’t tell your kids about the device, it’s unlikely that they’ll notice it. However, it’s best to communicate the benefits and tell them you’re using it for their safety, not because you don’t trust them.

Features for Businesses

Bouncie can be utilized by businesses that have delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, or employees who frequently travel for work. For a few dollars per month, business owners and fleet operators can collect useful data to track productivity and expenses.

Historical Stats

Bouncie tracks and collects data that can be exported into a spreadsheet for later review. You can view the total driving time, miles driven, and idle time for any vehicle for any date range.

Know Your Average Trip

The device records how many trips you’re taking, the average length of those trips, and how much fuel is required for each one. You can track the exact cost per trip and track each vehicle and driver’s productivity.

Features for Personal Use

Even if you’re not using Bouncie for a business or to monitor young drivers, it has some other helpful benefits.

Max Driving Distance

You can set a mileage alert for up to 500 miles with the device. This is excellent if you are currently leasing your vehicle. For example, if your lease is limited to 12,000 miles per year, you can set an alert for 230 miles – the weekly limit for 12,000 per year. The alert can help you avoid hitting the mileage limit before your lease is up.

Care Plan

The Care Plan helps you create reminders for regular maintenance and upkeep. You can set a reminder at certain mileage intervals or a specific date to receive notifications accordingly. This helps when you want a reminder about changing your oil, replacing your windshield wipers, or other things like renewing your registration. Bouncie will also monitor your battery and alert you if a check engine light comes on.

Connect to Smart Devices

You can connect the device to Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and IFTTT (If This, Then That). We asked Alexa, “Ask Bouncie if I need gas.” Alexa answered, “The Honda has 70 percent gas left.” We also asked where our car was, and Alexa gave us the address where we parked. You can set up IFTTT to turn on your smart lights when you get home.

How Bouncie Compares

There are a few other popular options for GPS devices. We compared Bouncie side-by-side with the most popular competitors.

How We Tested Bouncie

Our first drive after installing the device in our 2013 Honda Accord was around 12 minutes. After that, we refreshed the app, and it was ready to start tracking. We drove 200 miles over 24 trips with no issues or signal loss. We tested Bouncie in San Diego, so we cannot say how it would work in a rural area where cell service might be limited.

If the device loses its signal while driving, it will still track the total miles, but the live updates may be delayed. Bouncie also overlays your driving speed, so a temporary loss of signal could cause some missing speed data.

When we used the live tracking, we were at home, and someone else was driving around in our 2013 Honda Accord. However, the device updated every 15 seconds as expected. We saw the current speed, location, and where the trip started.

Overall, we were impressed with the ease of everything and the simplicity of the data. You don’t need to be a tech guru to start using the device or the app, and all of the driving stats are easy to review and understand.

Customer Service

Thankfully, during the setup process and during our drive, we didn’t need any help. It does give us peace of mind that there is help available, including a live chat during business hours, and a Help Center with quick answers and how-to’s available in the app and on the website.

Is Bouncie Right for You?

We can see the benefits of the device, whether you’re a parent, business owner, or enjoy having all of your stuff connected. Once installed, you can set it and forget it, while tracking the driving information that’s most important to you.

Bouncie has a solid rating on TrustPilot with hundreds of good customer reviews, and, based on our research and testing, we give it our stamp of approval. Overall, the device is a cost-efficient and easy-to-use tool to keep your family safe or increase the efficiency of your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Technical Specifications

Physical

• Height: 1.875 in. (4.76 cm)
• Width: 1.75 in. (4.44 cm)
• Depth: 1.0 in. (2.5 cm)
• Weight: 1.13 oz (32.1 g)

GPS

• Receiver: 56-channel GPS receiver and GLONASS Tracking: -162 dBm
• Antenna: Internal built-in
• Accuracy: Position 2.5 m CEP

Accelerometer

• 3-Axis: X, Y, Z output
• Auto-Normalization: Self-Calibrating, Auto-Normalization to the direction of motion.

Wireless

• Cellular: 3G Penta-band 800, 850, 900,1900, 2100
• Antenna: Internal built-in

Certifications

• Carrier: FCC and PTCRB Certified
• CE: CE Certified
• E-Mark: e-Mark E-13
• Environmental: RoHS Compliant

Original article: Bouncie GPS Vehicle Tracker Review: How It Works, Top Safety Features & Cost (2023)