The term geofence or geofencing essentially means monitoring someone within the preset perimeter using GPS technology. Companies widely adopt this model to keep track of their employees and make sure they aren’t breaching the geofence. As soon as they do, you get an alert via SMS or email.
An example would be logistics companies or movers. A boss sets up GPS tracker on a vehicle and is able to track its position at any time. Often employees like to go to different places, take other routes. If an employer has set geofencing zones and the vehicle breaches those, an alert is sent. Another popular use is for handheld GPS devices for children. In order to keep track of your kids at all times, you can set geofence on your local area and get alerts when your kids go to forbidden places. It also works well for tracking teenagers’ cars.
One might definitely argue whether geo-fencing is ethical, moral. Employees usually don’t know they’re being tracked. A thought of being on constant surveillance might be shocking. However, businesses argue that this is one of the most effective methods of spotting slacking employees and improving business performance.