Question

What is the difference between a Contact's Expected Location and Last known Location on the Universe map?

Answer

A Contact's Expected Location is where the Contact will be while a Contact's Last known Location is where the contact was most recently.

Last Known Location

Each time an Everbridge organization receives geolocation data from the Everbridge Mobile App (from Solicited Messages, Unsolicited Messages, SOS, Safe Corridor, Check-In, and Emergency Call), the Contact's Last Known Location is updated. The Last Known Location can also be updated via the Upload Dynamic Locations sub-tab under the Contacts tab by uploading a CSV file with the location name, date range, country, and address. The latitude and longitude of a location can also be used.

Dynamic location data can also come from access control systems (for example, badge swipes from CCURE). These systems send dynamic location files to Everbridge on a regular schedule (often hourly). When this data is received, it creates or updates a Dynamic Last Known Location (LKL) for the associated Contact so their current, badged-in location is reflected on the Universe map. If a Contact does not have a Dynamic LKL, their badge-in location will not appear until such dynamic location data is assigned.

Last Known Locations (LKLs) have a start time (Arrival) and an end time (Expiration) based on when dynamic location data is received (for example, when an employee badges in and out of a location). If an LKL is expired when uploaded, it is ignored, and the existing LKL of the same source is deleted. LKLs are designed to track an employee's most recent location, with a typical expiration period of 24 hours. You can adjust the Location Expiration Time (for example, to match a standard workday such as 9 hours) under Settings → Organization → Contacts/Assets → Location Sources so that Dynamic Locations only show Contacts who have been in the office within the chosen timeframe.

Note: The Dynamic location CSV file is only for populating Last Known Locations and cannot be used to populate Expected Locations.

Expected Location

A Contact's Expected Location represents where the system believes a Dynamic Contact (also known as a traveler) should be located based on their travel plans or schedule, rather than where they were last detected. Methods for updating Expected Locations for Contacts are manually, via an OOB (Out of the Box) connector, API integration, Travel Protector, or the Outlook 365 integration.

Note: Expected Locations are kept up to 12 months in the past and 12 months into the future.

Both Last Known and Expected dynamic location data are important for Everbridge because they enable targeted notifications to people in specific locations during emergencies. If reliable dynamic location data is not available, organizations may need to send broader broadcast notifications instead, which can increase notification volume and reduce efficiency for location-specific response.