Frequently Asked Questions

Basic Setup & Permissions

Why do I need "Always" location permission and Background App Refresh?

If you want MeTrail to keep completing your timeline after the screen is locked, the app is in the background, or you reopen it later, you need both "Always" location access and Background App Refresh. The app mainly relies on iOS visit events and geofencing to fill in arrivals, departures, and stay duration.

Steps:

  1. Open iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > MeTrail, set permission to Always, and turn on Precise Location.
  2. Open iOS Settings > General > Background App Refresh and keep MeTrail enabled.
  3. Return to the app and check Today > Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Permission.

Notes:

  • MeTrail is not a turn-by-turn navigation app. It mainly fills in records from system events.
  • If you only allow While Using the App, background records and reminders will be incomplete.

Why aren't notifications showing, and how do I restore permissions after denying them?

Arrival and departure reminders need both system notification permission and the in-app switch. After you decline once, iOS stops showing the same prompt repeatedly, so recovery must be done in Settings.

Steps:

  1. Open iOS Settings > MeTrail > Notifications and enable Allow Notifications.
  2. Open Today > Settings > Notifications and turn on Enable Notifications.
  3. Configure Arrival Sound, Departure Sound, Notify arrival at the same location, and Keep only the latest visit notification as needed.
  4. If you denied location access earlier, return to iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > MeTrail and restore permission there.

Notes:

  • Reminders are triggered by location events and never go through a server. Focus modes and Low Power Mode can delay them.
  • If one place notifies you too often, turn off Notify arrival at the same location first.

How do I change arrival and departure messages?

Open Today > Settings > Notifications > Arrival and Departure Reminders. Under Message Content, open Arrival Message or Departure Message to preview and select a style for future notifications.

Styles are Standard, Concise, and Narrative, and you can also turn on Show Areas and Show City. Areas come from the place memberships you manage, so leaving a place does not mean leaving its whole area, and area notes are never included. Missing details are simply omitted.

Messages use the recorded event time. Same-day events show only the time, other days include a date, and departure messages add stay duration when it is available. Previews do not send a notification, and changing a style does not resend past reminders.

How do I turn on Review Reminders?

Review Reminders can remind you to revisit the weekly and monthly reviews on the Review tab after each period ends. They run on the device using local time, not a server schedule.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > Notifications > Review Reminders.
  2. Turn on Weekly Review Reminder or Monthly Review Reminder.
  3. Set the weekday, day, and time you want.
  4. You can also turn on or manage reminders from the bottom of a weekly or monthly review on the Review tab.

Notes:

  • Review Reminders also need system notification permission and the in-app Enable Notifications switch.
  • Notifications show a summary only, never specific places.

Location Recording Accuracy

Why doesn't a visit appear in real time, and why can departure time show up later?

This is normal. MeTrail uses Apple's visit-recording model rather than second-by-second navigation tracking. In most cases it records the arrival first, then fills in departure time and dwell time after iOS confirms you have actually left or reached the next stop.

Steps:

  1. Open the Today tab, or open Activities from the menu in the top-right of the Review tab, to check the latest records for the day.
  2. If you just left a place, wait for the next visit event to arrive from iOS.
  3. If nothing updates for a long time, recheck permissions in Today > Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Permission and in the system background settings.
  4. If arrival and departure times are consistently too late, open Today > Settings > General > Tracking and switch Tracking Mode from Power Saving to Balanced or Precise.

Notes:

  • Reopening the app can flush pending visit events that were still waiting in the background.
  • If you only see an arrival time, iOS is usually still waiting for a later departure signal.
  • Power Saving is the default and uses only the system's built-in visit detection, so arrivals and departures are usually recorded ten minutes to half an hour late. Balanced and Precise shorten that delay. All three modes need Always location permission and work in the background, so you don't need to keep MeTrail open.

How do I make location matching more accurate and reduce duplicate visits?

You can adjust the default place matching radius or add extra range for one place. Use Adjust Location when the place coordinates need correcting.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > General > Place matching range and choose a matching radius.
  2. Open a location detail page and use More actions > Expand Matching Range, Adjust Location, or Refresh Address.
  3. If you already have a chain of near-duplicate records, check that Today > Settings > General > Logic > Automatically merge nearby visits at the same place is on (on by default for new installs; upgrades keep your existing choice), or open Today > Settings > Maintenance Tools and tap Run Merge Now.

Notes:

  • Choose 300, 600, 800, or 1200 meters, or enter a custom radius from 100 to 2000 meters and tap Done. Going back discards an unconfirmed custom value.
  • Power Saving and Balanced suggest 800 meters; Precise offers 300 meters to try. Switching modes automatically applies the suggested radius for the new mode. You can adjust it afterward; pausing or resuming tracking keeps your radius.
  • A larger range allows more location drift but can group nearby places together. A small range may split one place into multiple places.
  • Use Expand Matching Range to add room for a large site. It cannot reduce the range below the default.
  • Place matching range does not improve location accuracy. Matching also accounts for location uncertainty and extra range for a place. Changes apply to incoming records and do not rematch saved history.

Data Management & Security

How do I enable iCloud Sync and Sync Drive?

The sync page has separate switches for database sync and file sync. The first sends visit data to your iCloud database. The second syncs photos and files and shows backup and restore actions after it is enabled.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > iCloud Sync.
  2. Turn on iCloud Sync.
  3. If you also want photos and files to follow across devices, turn on Sync Drive.
  4. After file sync is enabled, use the backup and restore buttons on the same page.

Notes:

  • Every device must be signed in with the same Apple ID.
  • Sync is asynchronous, so the first pass can take some time after you enable it.

How do I turn on App Lock and use Face ID or Touch ID for faster unlock?

App Lock shows a full-screen lock gate on cold launch, after the configured timeout when returning to the foreground, or whenever you need to re-authenticate. It also covers the app switcher snapshot when the app moves to the background.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > Privacy & Security.
  2. Turn on App Lock and create a 6-digit app passcode.
  3. If your device supports it, turn on Face ID or Touch ID for faster unlock and adjust Lock Timing as needed.
  4. Return to the same page when you want to change the passcode, turn App Lock off, or reset it after owner verification.

Notes:

  • App Lock is configured per device and does not sync through iCloud.
  • Resetting a forgotten passcode does not delete visit data, but it does require system owner verification before you set a new app passcode.

How do I export visit data, and which formats are available?

Advanced Export can export visits as CSV, JSON, TXT, GPX, and KML. You can filter by date range, favorite status, and archived status, then decide whether to include notes and whether to compress the output as a zip file. When you export JSON only, MeTrail generates a single JSON package that is the recommended path for Web Viewer. If you need multiple formats together, ZIP is the better archive format.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > Advanced Export.
  2. Choose a date range, then enable Favorites only or Archived only if needed.
  3. Select one or more export formats.
  4. Turn on Include notes or Compress to zip when needed.
  5. Tap Export in the top-right corner, then save or send the file through the system share sheet.

Notes:

  • GPX and KML require heavier path generation and usually take longer than text formats.
  • CSV is usually the easiest format to sort and review in a spreadsheet.
  • If the current build does not have a configured Web Viewer entry yet, the completion screen shows the local-viewing explanation without clickable Viewer links.

Core Feature Guide

How do Today Overview, Memory Capsule, and visit sharing work together?

Today Overview is the daily control center for the map, timeline, and summary metrics. Memory Capsule lets you quickly write down a thought for the latest visit. Sharing generates either a map image or a map image plus a text summary.

Steps:

  1. Open the Today tab. The card below the map is the daily overview.
  2. Review the daily summary for location count, stay duration, and route on the map.
  3. When Memory Capsule appears, tap Capture Note to save a quick text memory.
  4. Tap the share button on the Today card and choose Image Only or Image with Text.

Notes:

  • Memory Capsule auto-dismiss timing can be adjusted in Today > Settings > Interface > Home Screen > Memory Capsule.
  • Visit sharing uses the system share sheet and does not generate external app links.

How do I search places, cities, tags, and past visits?

The Places tab and the Search tab serve different jobs. Places is better for places, cities, and tags. Search is better for recalling a specific experience and regrouping results by date or place type.

Steps:

  1. Open the Places tab, search for a place, city, or tag from the search field at the top, then narrow results with Favorites, Frequent, With Notes, Tagged, Long Stay, and Recent.
  2. Open the Search tab, then either type a place name, tag, or note keyword, or start with the Has Photo / Has Note quick filters to browse memories without a keyword.
  3. On the Search tab, combine keywords with Has Photo / Has Note when needed, clear filters to return to a broader list, and switch grouping between Date and Place Type.
  4. Both search pages keep Recent Searches so you can rerun common queries quickly.

Notes:

  • The Places tab can also switch results by city.
  • Search is better for replaying a story, while Places is better for managing your place library.

Advanced Features

Can I change the bottom tabs, and how do I adjust the Memory Capsule and Summary Capsule?

The five bottom tabs (Today, Footprints, Review, Places, Search) are fixed and cannot be hidden or reordered. The two capsules on the home screens can be adjusted: the Memory Capsule on Today, and the Summary Capsule on Footprints.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > Interface.
  2. In the Home Screen group, set the Memory Capsule auto-dismiss interval.
  3. In the same group, toggle Summary Capsule to control the summary on the Footprints page.
  4. Tap Widgets in the same group to adjust home screen widgets.
  5. On iPhone you can also turn on Navigation > Automatically minimize the tab bar to free up room for content when scrolling down.

Notes:

  • Settings are saved on this device and take effect immediately.
  • Visit Archives and Tags are in the Records group of Settings, Activities is in the menu at the top-right of the Review tab, and Country Insights is on the Places tab.

How do Tag Management, Visit Archives, notes, and photos work best together?

These four features form a practical long-term review workflow. Tags organize the data, archives temporarily hide visits from the main timeline, and notes or photos preserve the context behind each visit.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > Tags to create and reorder the tags you use most.
  2. In a visit detail page, open More actions and use Visit Notes, Add Photos, or Edit Tags.
  3. In a location detail page, open More actions and use Edit Location Name, Edit Notes, Add Location Photos, or View All Photos to keep place-level photos separate from visit memories.
  4. Open Today > Settings > Visit Archives to review hidden visits, tap Restore to bring one back to the main timeline, and use Delete Permanently or Empty Archive only when you are sure.

Notes:

  • Archiving only hides a visit from the main timeline. It stays in Visit Archives until you restore it or delete it permanently.
  • Visit notes support Markdown, which is useful for timestamps, short lists, and quick memories.
  • Photo notes stay with the related visit and make later review easier.

How do I notify another app when I arrive or leave?

Hook Automation sends an HTTP request to your own service on arrival or departure. Fifteen built-in templates cover Bark Push, DingTalk, Feishu, WeWork, Telegram Bot, Discord, Slack, IFTTT, PushPlus, WxPusher, Ntfy, Gotify, ServerChan³, PushDeer, and Custom HTTP.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > Hook Automation and turn on Enable Hook Automation.
  2. Tap Add Channel, pick a template, then fill in the channel name and the parameters it asks for.
  3. Under Events choose arrival, departure, or both, and under Scope pick All Locations or specific ones.
  4. To narrow when it fires, use Time Windows for hours of the day, and Minimum Dwell and Minimum Interval to filter brief passes and repeat triggers.
  5. Tap Send Test to confirm delivery, then check each request in Automation Logs.

Notes:

  • Requests are sent when the event is produced, so they inherit the same background delivery delay as visits.
  • Custom HTTP lets you edit the payload template and custom headers, and can sign requests with HMAC. The secret is stored in the Keychain and never leaves with an export.
  • Disable hooks when Low Power Mode is on is on by default, so requests wait until the battery recovers when Low Power Mode is active or the battery is below 20%.

Performance & Battery

Why doesn't MeTrail consume battery like a navigation app?

Usually, no. In the default Power Saving mode MeTrail depends only on iOS visit events, and Balanced adds geofences around the places you already visit. Neither keeps the GPS running at navigation frequency all day, so MeTrail is designed for long-term life logging rather than live navigation. The optional Precise mode does sample your location while you are moving and uses noticeably more battery.

Notes:

  • All three modes need Always location permission so iOS can deliver background events.
  • Precise still records stays rather than a continuous route. It pauses in Low Power Mode or when the battery is low, and resumes once the battery recovers; Power Saving and Balanced keep running.
  • Leaving Background App Refresh off, or staying in Low Power Mode, slows down event delivery.

How do I save battery for a while without losing my trail?

The … menu on the Today bottom sheet separates two different needs: lowering precision, and stopping recording. Lowering precision keeps the timeline complete. Pausing stops recording until you resume.

Steps:

  1. Open the Today tab and tap … in the bottom sheet header.
  2. Tap Switch to Power Saving to keep recording with the lowest-power signals, and Switch back to Balanced or Switch back to Precise when you want the shorter delay again.
  3. For a full stop, tap Pause for 30 minutes, Pause for 1 hour, Pause for 2 hours, Pause for 3 hours, or Pause Until Resumed.
  4. While tracking is paused the same menu offers only Resume Tracking.

Notes:

  • Switch to Power Saving still records stays. Only geofences and continuous sampling stop, so arrivals and departures go back to the system delay.
  • A pause stops every mode, so nothing is recorded until it ends. Today > Settings > General > Tracking shows a line saying tracking is paused for as long as it lasts.
  • A timed pause ends on its own. Pause Until Resumed waits for you.

Troubleshooting

How do I fix time conflicts, shifted locations, or wrong place names?

The app already includes repair entries for common issues. Start with a single location fix, then move to batch repair only if you still need it.

Steps:

  1. For one shifted location, open a location detail page and use More actions > Adjust Location, Expand Matching Range, or Refresh Address.
  2. For visit time conflicts or missing departure time, open Today > Settings > Maintenance Tools > Trajectory Repair.
  3. To batch merge near-duplicate records, open Today > Settings > Maintenance Tools and tap Run Merge Now.
  4. If many place names need to be refreshed, use Today > Settings > Maintenance Tools > Refresh Saved Place Names.

Notes:

  • Reset Preferences only restores settings. It does not delete visit data.
  • Fixing one place first and then running batch repair is usually easier to verify.

Where should I check when sync looks wrong, search results are off, or the app keeps failing?

Start with sync switches and active filters first. In many cases that already explains the problem. If it still looks wrong, move on to logs. Many "missing" results come from old search filters that are still active or from data that has not finished syncing yet.

Steps:

  1. Open Today > Settings > iCloud Sync and confirm that iCloud Sync or Sync Drive is still enabled.
  2. On the Places or Search tab, clear the current keyword, city, and filters, then run the search again.
  3. Open Today > Settings > Logs to inspect recent errors and share the log file when needed.
  4. If you need help from the developer, use Today > Settings > Send Feedback or Today > Settings > Report a Problem.

Notes:

  • Archived visits do not appear in the main lists. Check Visit Archives when something seems to be missing.
  • If the issue is only sync delay, reopening the app and waiting for a while is often more effective than changing settings immediately.