Group ETAs
Share a live arrival time with a group while traveling, including automatic ETA updates, notes, and arrival status.
Group ETAs let a traveler share an estimated arrival time with a Lightpost group. Group members can see who is traveling, the destination, the estimated arrival time, the remaining travel time and distance, and important updates such as a pause, note, delay, or arrival.
Group ETAs are useful when a group is waiting for someone to arrive at a church building, event, pickup location, or other destination.
Enable Group ETAs
An administrator must enable ETAs at both the account and group levels.
Group ETAs must be activated at the account level first. Until Groups - Enable ETAs is enabled in Account Settings > Features, the ETA options will not appear in an individual group's settings.
1. Enable ETAs for the Account
Go to Admin > Account Settings > Features.
Enable Groups - Enable ETAs.
Click Save Changes.
2. Enable ETAs for a Group
Go to Admin > Groups and select the group.
Open the group's Settings page.
Enable ETAs.
Choose whether to enable Allow members to create ETAs.
Save the group.
When Allow members to create ETAs is enabled, any member of the group can start an ETA. When it is disabled, only group admins and administrators with permission to manage groups can start one. All group members can still view the active ETA.
Start an ETA
The mobile app is the best option for sharing location updates during a trip.
Open Groups in the Lightpost mobile app and select the group.
Tap ETAs.
Tap Create.
Enter the destination. You can also add an optional destination name and trip label.
Tap Use my location & start and allow Lightpost to use your location.
If the congregation address is available, it appears as a quick destination option.
Keep Location Updates Running
Lightpost periodically uses the traveler's location to recalculate the arrival time and remaining distance. Location updates are not continuous, so the displayed ETA may briefly lag behind the traveler's actual progress.
To keep updates running while the mobile app is in the background:
Open the main Lightpost Settings screen.
Under ETA Sharing, select Background ETA updates.
Complete the location-permission setup and allow Always location access.
If background ETA updates are off, keep Lightpost open while traveling. Device power settings, location permissions, and network availability can affect how frequently the ETA updates.
Manage an Active ETA
The traveler can manage the ETA from the group's ETAs screen:
Pause stops location and arrival-time updates until the ETA is resumed.
Resume restarts an ETA that was paused.
I've arrived completes the ETA immediately. Lightpost may also mark the ETA as arrived after a location update places the traveler near the destination.
Cancel ends the ETA without marking the traveler as arrived.
Post a note to the group shares information such as traffic, a stop, or a change of plans.
Set arrival time manually replaces the calculated arrival time. The traveler can revert to the calculated time later.
View updates opens the ETA timeline, including status changes and notes.
An ETA that is not updated for an extended period expires automatically.
Share an ETA Outside the Group
The traveler can select Create a public link and share the link with someone who does not have access to the Lightpost group. Anyone with the link can view the traveler's live status, destination, arrival estimate, remaining time and distance, and latest note.
The public link does not include precise live coordinates or location history. The traveler can select Disable public link at any time to make the link unavailable.
A public link does not require a Lightpost login. Share it only with people who should be able to follow the ETA.
Follow a Group ETA
When a group has an ETA, members see a live ETA summary on the group's page. Open ETAs to see the full status and update timeline. The arrival time and countdown refresh as Lightpost receives new information from the traveler.
Group admins and administrators with permission to manage groups can cancel another member's active ETA if needed.
ETA Notifications
Each group member can decide whether to receive mobile notifications for ETA activity:
Open the group.
Open the group's Settings page.
Under ETAs, turn ETA updates on or off.
Notifications cover important activity such as an ETA starting, pausing, resuming, running late, receiving a note, or arriving. Routine location updates are silent.
Location and Privacy
Lightpost sends the traveler's precise location to Lightpost's servers and the routing provider while the ETA is active so it can calculate and update the arrival time. The current live location is cleared when the ETA arrives, is cancelled, or expires; the ETA's status history and notes are retained.
Only members of the selected group can open the ETA inside Lightpost. Creating a public link is optional and does not expose precise location data.
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