One tracking number, four different companies
A parcel from another country typically passes through four organisations: the seller's warehouse courier, an export handler, the destination country's postal service or a contracted carrier, and finally the person in the van. Each of them has its own tracking system, and the number you were given may only be recognised by one of them. This is why tracking appears to stop for six days and then resumes in a different format, and it is why a single app that reads all of them is worth having.
What is actually happening while nothing updates
Silence in tracking almost never means the parcel is lost. It usually means it is in a container, on a plane, or sitting in a customs queue where nobody scans anything. Scans happen at handovers, so a long gap with no events is a long stretch with no handovers. The two moments that genuinely matter are the first scan in your own country and the message that it is out for delivery.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No events for several days | In transit between countries | Nothing. This is normal on a slow service |
| Held at customs | Duty or paperwork outstanding | Wait for the letter or message; pay only through the official site |
| Handed to local carrier | Tracking moves to a new number | Track that number with the local carrier |
| Delivery attempted | Often nobody knocked | Arrange redelivery in the carrier's own app |
| Delivered, but not to you | Left with a neighbour or in a safe place | Check the photograph in the carrier's app first |
| Returned to sender | Address failure or unpaid duty | Contact the seller, not the courier |
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The universal trackers
An aggregator recognises the format of a tracking number, works out which carriers it could belong to, and queries them for you. It is the right first app because it removes the question of which company you are dealing with. What it cannot do is act: rescheduling, changing the address and giving delivery instructions all happen inside the carrier's own system.
The broadest coverage of the lot, particularly for parcels from Asia, and the one most likely to recognise an odd number format. Advertising supported.
Cleaner and better rated, with good notification handling. Coverage is wide, though slightly less deep on small regional carriers.
A simple list of your orders with a plain timeline. Fewer features and less clutter, which is the point of it.
Long established, with a widget and a focus on notifying you the moment a status changes rather than on browsing.
- One app for every parcel
- Recognises the number format for you
- Follows a handover to a new carrier
- Notifications in one place
- Reschedule and redirect a delivery
- Leave instructions for the driver
- See the proof of delivery photograph
- Pay duty through the official route
The ones that have to be the real app
Install the carrier app only for the carriers that actually deliver to your door, which is usually two or three. These are the apps that let you change the day, redirect to a pickup point or see where the driver is. Ratings in this category are mediocre across the board, and that is a fair reflection of the apps rather than of the users.
Tracking, delivery instructions and holding a parcel at a location. Functional rather than pleasant, and necessary for anything shipped with them.
The better of the big two international apps, with a delivery preferences service that is genuinely useful if you are out during the day.
United States postal tracking, with informed delivery of what is arriving. The official app, so the place to do anything that involves paying or rescheduling.
UK postal tracking, redelivery and a parcel collection booking. Widely criticised and still the only route to those functions.
Australian postal tracking with a parcel locker network attached, which is the part worth setting up before you need it.
Canadian postal tracking and the flexible delivery options, including redirecting to a post office.
The Dutch postal app, with pickup point selection and a clear delivery window on the day.
UK deliveries with a one hour window and live driver tracking on the day, which is the single most useful feature any of these apps has.
The Polish version, separately published and better rated than the British one.
Parcel lockers in Poland, where an enormous share of online orders arrive. Opening a locker from the app is the normal way to collect.
The same locker network in the UK, smaller but growing, and the app is how you open the door.
Tracking and delivery options across much of continental Europe, where this carrier handles a large share of parcels.
Indonesian tracking for one of the largest carriers in Southeast Asian e-commerce.
The Vietnamese arm of the same carrier, for orders from the big regional marketplaces.
What these apps want in return
- Read what the aggregator asks to access Some offer to scan your email or read notifications to find tracking numbers automatically. That is a broad permission for a small convenience; typing the number is free.
- Refuse background location unless you use a live map Tracking a parcel does not need to know where you are. A driver map on the day does, briefly.
- Turn notifications down to the events you care about Most of these apps will tell you about every scan. Out for delivery and delivered are the two that change what you do.
- Delete the tracking number when it arrives Aggregator histories build up, and the number is a key to the delivery address for as long as the carrier keeps the record.
- Use the carrier's own app for anything involving money Duty, redelivery fees and customs charges. Never through a link, always through the app or an address you typed.
One aggregator for everything, the app of the two carriers that actually knock on your door, and never a payment link that arrived by text.
Frequently asked questions
Why has my tracking not updated for a week?
Because nothing has scanned it. International legs and customs queues produce long silences that are entirely normal, especially on the cheapest services.
Do I need the courier's app at all?
Only for the carriers that reach your door, and only if you want to reschedule, redirect or see proof of delivery. For watching progress, an aggregator is enough.
Are these tracking apps safe?
The established ones are ordinary commercial apps supported by advertising. The thing to watch is what they ask for: email access and notification reading are far more than tracking requires.
What do I do about a customs charge message?
Assume a message with a payment link is fraudulent. Open the carrier's own app or type its address and check there. Genuine charges appear in your tracking record.
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