Basic Setup & Permissions

Why do I need "Always" location permission? Will it drain the battery?

MeTrail relies on iOS background Visits and geofencing to auto-record your trips. Only with "Always" plus "Precise Location" can iOS keep delivering events while the app is closed or the screen is locked. Key scenarios:

  • Auto log arrivals, departures, and dwell time even after you swipe the app away
  • Fill the previous stop's departure while you move between places, so Today summary and stats stay complete
  • Keep geofence matching accurate and avoid merging nearby but different places

All wake-ups are scheduled by iOS and only happen briefly when cellular or Wi‑Fi conditions change. On iPhone 15 (iOS 18.1) our day-long tests keep power use under 5%.

Configuration steps:

  1. Go to iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > MeTrail, set it to Always, and enable Precise Location.
  2. Inside the app, More > Settings provides a one-tap shortcut to the same system page.
  3. To inspect actual consumption, open iOS Settings > Battery > Battery Usage by App and verify the stats.

Why aren't notifications showing? How do I keep reminders reliable?

Reminders depend on the system push service plus the in-app notification panel. Check in this order:

  1. iOS Settings > MeTrail > Notifications: enable Allow Notifications, pick alert styles, and enable sounds.
  2. Focus Mode: add MeTrail to the allowed list so it isn't silenced.
  3. In-app More > Settings > Notification Settings: switch on Arrival/Departure. You can customize tones on the same page.
  4. Confirm iOS Settings > General > Background App Refresh stays on for MeTrail and avoid extreme power modes. Low Power Mode delays reminder delivery.

Automation hooks: prerequisites and Background App Refresh

Automation hooks rely on iOS to deliver visit events in the background and schedule network sends. Make sure:

  • iOS Settings > General > Background App Refresh is on for MeTrail.
  • Location permission is set to "Always" with Precise enabled so visit events wake the app.
  • Cellular/Wi‑Fi access stays allowed so requests don't sit in the queue when data is blocked.
  • Low Power Mode may delay delivery; once disabled, pending tasks resend automatically.

Common uses: notify family when leaving work, push to Bark/Feishu on arrival, or post visits to an enterprise webhook/custom HTTP service. MeTrail only consumes visit events (no continuous GPS); payloads follow templates, are written to local logs, and can be exported or cleared anytime.

How do I set up and manage automation hooks?

  • Entry: More > Settings > Tools > Hook Automation. Turn on the master switch, then tap Add Channel to pick a template. Built-in templates cover Bark, PushPlus, Telegram, WxPusher, Feishu, WeCom, DingTalk, Ntfy, Gotify, ServerChan³, PushDeer, plus custom HTTP; the form adapts to the chosen service.
  • Each field shows an example (Bark endpoint/device key, Telegram chatID, WxPusher uids, etc.). Secrets are stored in Keychain; HTTPS is enforced by default, with optional signatures and custom methods.
  • Scope & bindings: choose Global, Single Location, or Multiple Locations. Multi-location mode lets you toggle each place, override events, and set per-place time windows.
  • Conditions: pick arrival/departure events, limit weekdays and time windows, set minimum dwell minutes, and optionally trigger only for favorites/frequent places. Rate limiting prevents rapid repeats.
  • Payload & headers: switch between default and custom body, edit HTTP method and headers (duplicate keys allowed), and configure signatures/HMAC in Advanced.
  • Placeholder bar: quick-insert tokens for location.*, visit.*, event.*, app.*, parameter.*, including new {{location.coordinate}}, {{location.appleMapsURL}}, {{visit.arrivalLocal}}, {{visit.departureLocal}}, {{visit.durationLabel}}, {{visit.sequenceAtLocation}} for readable coordinates and local times.
  • Quick actions: channel cards offer Clone/Split Copy to apply settings to multiple locations; Test sends a sample event with the current configuration and optional location to verify formatting.

Automation logs and troubleshooting

  • In Hook Automation, tap View Logs to open the log center. Filter by channel, status (success/retry/failed/skipped), location, and date range.
  • Open an entry to see request/response previews, duration, and errors; failed items support one-tap retry. The list can be exported as CSV or JSON for auditing.
  • If the network is offline or Background App Refresh is off, sends queue up and replay when connectivity or foreground returns. Low power or high temperature pauses dispatch and records a skipped status to save battery.
  • When Background App Refresh is detected as off, a reminder card appears with a shortcut to Settings > General > Background App Refresh to re-enable it.

Does Low Power Mode affect recording?

Low Power Mode primarily affects system-level background activities and may impact recording in the following ways:

  • iOS may reduce the frequency of background location updates, leading to decreased real-time accuracy of visit recording
  • Basic geofence functionality remains active but response times may be delayed
  • Notification delivery may be postponed by the system to conserve battery

For accurate recording during important periods:

  • Maintain sufficient battery level or carry a power bank
  • Temporarily disable Low Power Mode for optimal recording precision
  • Periodically open the app manually to ensure timely data synchronization

How do I recover after denying permissions?

After declining once, iOS will not prompt again, so restoration is manual:

  1. iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > MeTrail: switch to Always and enable Precise Location.
  2. iOS Settings > MeTrail > Notifications: re-allow alerts and sounds.
  3. Open MeTrail More > Settings, then tap the location-permission card at the top to jump straight to the system screen.
  4. Re-enable Background App Refresh or Cellular Data if they were disabled, otherwise the system still cannot wake the app.

Location Recording Accuracy

Why are location records inaccurate? How do I calibrate them?

Use location details plus maintenance tools for precise corrections:

  1. In Locations > Location Details > …, choose Adjust Location, drag the pin to the right coordinate, then save.
  2. For wide areas, open the long-press context menu on the Locations list (or the same … menu inside Location Details) and use Set Flexible Boundary to enlarge the radius so the geofence matches reality; the sheet now previews your global radius preference plus the typed flexible boundary so you can see the final meters before saving.
  3. When you need refreshed addresses, run Reverse Geocoding and the system retrieves the street and city again.
  4. If an entire batch is offset, open More > Settings > Tools > Maintenance Tools > Refresh Geolocation to recalculate everything in bulk.

What geofence radius should I use?

The global radius lives in More > Settings > General Settings > Region > Geofence Radius and can be set between 500–2000 meters:

  • 700–900 meters suits daily urban use, balancing accuracy and power.
  • Rural or high-speed travel can temporarily go above 1200 meters to avoid constant enter/exit events.
  • Observe results for at least 48 hours before fixing the setting so you know nothing is missed.

Why do I see consecutive identical location entries?

iOS adds the stay duration only after you leave, so poor connectivity or lengthy stays can generate repeated records. This is also common when moving within large venues:

Common Scenarios:

  • Amusement Parks: Moving between different areas may be recorded as multiple arrivals at the same location
  • Shopping Malls: Moving between different stores can trigger multiple entry/exit records
  • Tourist Attractions: Visiting various spots within a scenic area easily generates consecutive identical location records
  • Campuses or Business Parks: Moving between buildings like lecture halls, cafeterias, and dormitories

Solutions:

  1. In Visits > Details > More, tap Merge Similar Visits to combine adjacent entries
  2. If the extra entry is redundant, delete one copy and totals recalculate automatically
  3. For large venues, use Location Details > … > Set Flexible Boundary to expand the geofence radius and reduce frequent entry/exit records
  4. When Low Power Mode or Airplane Mode is active, the system writes multiple pending events at once—this is normal

Why does the log show delays? How long do I wait?

The visit-recording pipeline is "arrival saved immediately, stay duration filled in after departure".

How Departure Notifications Work:

  • Departure notifications generally require you to arrive at another location and stay briefly before the previous location's departure is recorded
  • After leaving location A, if you're continuously moving, you typically won't receive an immediate departure notification
  • This is because the system needs to confirm you've actually left an area, not just experiencing temporary location fluctuations

Typical Timing:

  • Arrival Records: Arrival events within 1–2 minutes after you arrive
  • Departure Records: Stay duration roughly 10–15 minutes after leaving (requires arriving at new location and brief stay)
  • Batch Writing: If the device sleeps for a long time, opening MeTrail forces the backlog to flush immediately

Important Note: Even though departure notifications may arrive late, the departure time is recorded based on the actual departure time and won't affect time accuracy due to notification delays. Keeping "Always Location" enabled in More > Settings lets these steps finish in the background.

Data Management & Security

Is my data safe? Will anything leak?

All visits, locations, and attachments stay inside the device's encrypted sandbox. Nobody, including the developer, can read them unless you explicitly share. When you enable iCloud sync in More > Settings > Sync Settings, the payload is written to your personal iCloud private space via end-to-end encryption. Logs auto-clean according to your preferences to avoid long-term storage of sensitive content.

How do I back up data? Will I lose it when switching phones?

Use built-in export or iCloud Drive backup:

  1. Open More > Settings > Advanced Export; the system bundles every visit.
  2. Pick a format (CSV/TXT/JSON/GPX/KML) in the action sheet, then use the iOS Share Sheet to save to Files, AirDrop, or email.
  3. With iCloud Drive Sync enabled, you can also tap "Backup to iCloud Drive" on the same page to sync attachments and export bundles to personal cloud storage. On a new device, import the latest export file or sign into the same iCloud account and enable sync to restore automatically.

What's the difference between cloud sync and local storage?

  • Local storage: All visits stay on this device and keep recording offline, perfect for single-device usage.
  • iCloud Sync: Enable iCloud Sync in More > Settings > Sync Settings; new visits push to your iCloud private database and other devices pull updates within about 10 seconds.
  • iCloud Drive Sync: Syncs photos, attachments, and export archives; trigger manual Backup/Restore from the same page. Stick with local mode if you only use one iPhone. Turn on sync once you need multi-device continuity.

Which export formats are available? How do I use them?

Supported export formats:

  1. CSV: Table format with headers for visit ID, arrival/departure times, stay length, location name, address, country code, coordinates, favorite/frequent flags, notes, and device info—ideal for Excel, Numbers, or Notion.
  2. TXT: Plain text mirror of the CSV content for quick backup or messaging with no table structure.
  3. JSON: Fully structured data with all visit and related location fields for scripting or custom workflows.
  4. GPX: GPS Exchange Format containing waypoints, altitude, and timestamps for tools like Google Earth or GPS Track Editor.
  5. KML: Keyhole Markup Language with track segments and coordinates for Google Earth or any KML-compatible map app.

Export path: More > Settings > Advanced Export. Files are written to a temporary directory and immediately passed to the system share sheet; MeTrail does not keep extra copies, so archive or delete them promptly. Selecting multiple formats or including attachments automatically produces a ZIP bundle.

Visit Data Maintenance

How does automatic visit data repair work?

MeTrail includes built-in visit integrity monitoring that automatically detects and repairs common data issues:

  1. Visit integrity monitoring regularly checks the completeness of visit records, detecting missing timestamps, location information, and other problems.
  2. When repairable issues are detected, the system automatically attempts to fill missing data, such as calculating stay duration from timestamps.
  3. You can manually trigger "Data Repair" in More > Settings > Tools > Maintenance Tools to immediately run integrity checks and repairs.
  4. For severe issues that cannot be auto-repaired, the system logs them and recommends exporting data and re-importing.

What maintenance tools are available?

Maintenance tools provide various data management functions:

  • Data Repair: Automatically detects and fixes incomplete or incorrect information in visit data
  • Delete Unused Locations: Removes location data that isn't referenced by any visit records
  • Refresh Geolocation: Recalculates geolocation information and addresses for all locations
  • Delete All Attachments: Batch removes photos, audio, and other attachment files from visits
  • Reset App Settings: Restores app settings to defaults without affecting visit data

Feature Usage Best Practices

What's the best way to configure frequently visited locations?

  1. Open the Locations tab (or More > Data > Location Search) and tap + to add or edit locations.
  2. Inside More on the location detail page, set Custom Name, Tags, and Flexible Boundary so filtering and fencing stay accurate.
  3. Split large zones such as stations or campuses into sublocations with distinct tags to make grouped searches easier.
  4. Use Tag Management to color-code or prefix favorites with emoji so they stand out in lists and on the map.

What is Memory Capsule and when does it show up?

Memory Capsule is a one-tap quick note in the Home tab summary, text only:

  1. When the latest visit is more than 15 minutes old and Show Summary is enabled, the Home top banner displays a "Memory Capsule" prompt.
  2. Tap Capture note to open the Memory Capsule popup, type a short note, and attach it to that visit.
  3. In More > Settings > Interface Settings > Home Tabs > Today Home Tab, adjust the auto-dismiss duration or disable the feature entirely. Memory Capsule doesn't support media yet; add photos inside the visit detail instead.
  1. Open the Footprints tab and ensure More > Settings > Interface Settings > Home Tabs > Footprints Home Tab > Summary Capsule is enabled. When the bottom sheet is collapsed, a titled capsule shows the most frequent recent location above the map.
  2. To view longer-term stats, open the … menu in the lower-right corner of Footprints and enable Trends to see stay duration rankings, city heat, and visit trend charts.
  3. You can expand the window between 1–14 days and keep capsules/trend cards synced to the chosen range.
  4. Turn the switches off in the same settings page whenever you prefer the default bottom drawer again—the base recording workflow is unaffected.

How does visit sharing work? Who can view it?

Built-in visit sharing outputs a high-resolution map plus optional text summary:

  1. Tap the share icon inside a Today card.
  2. Choose Image Only or Image + Text; the app draws the route, stops, and key metrics.
  3. Send the generated content via the system share sheet to Messages, social apps, or elsewhere.
  4. Shared data includes arrival/departure times, stay length, location count, total distance, and other stats. Confirm the recipient before sharing.

Visits > Search supports comprehensive search and filtering:

Usage tips:

  • Type location names, tags, or note keywords; use #tag for exact tag matches.
  • Filters combine date range, device, favorites, frequent, has photos, has attachments, and has notes.
  • Switch grouping between "Date" and "Location Type" and toggle Latest/Oldest sorting instantly.
  • The suggestion list records recent queries; tap to rerun or swipe left to delete.
  • To reuse location searches, open Locations > Search, expand history, filter keywords, then tap an entry.

Battery Optimization & Performance

Will long-term use drain the battery?

MeTrail depends on Apple's visit service, so passive wake-ups are far fewer than continuous GPS. For extra savings:

  1. In More > Settings > General Settings > Accuracy, pick the "10 meters" or "100 meters" tier to avoid oversampling.
  2. In More > Settings > Interface Settings > Home Tabs > Today Home Tab, disable summary/capsule cards you never read to reduce foreground refreshes.
  3. From Visits > Map Menu, hide geofences or POI layers to lighten rendering costs.
  4. In More > Settings > Interface Settings > Map, disable "Show activity map" to focus on the list and skip drawing the top map. Monitor your battery chart for a day or two and tweak again as needed.

Will large histories make the app lag?

Both visit lists and maps use pagination plus lazy loading:

  • The visit list only loads the currently requested days (3 days by default) instead of pulling thousands of entries.
  • Periodically run "Data Repair" or "Delete Unused Locations" under More > Settings > Tools > Maintenance Tools to keep indexes lean.
  • On older devices, hide photo thumbnails in visit cards via Visits > … > Display Content if scrolling still feels choppy.

Is storage enough? How do I clean it up?

The core app is about 80 MB; attachments and exports consume the real space:

  1. In Visit Details > More, remove unused photos or attachments. You can sync them to iCloud Drive first, then delete local copies.
  2. More > Settings > Tools > Maintenance Tools provides "Delete All Attachments" and "Delete Unused Locations" to free space quickly.
  3. After exporting, archive the files in Files or on your computer and delete the temporary copies to avoid duplicates.

How much power do different modes consume?

Feature combinations change background wake frequency:

  • Default mode: local recording + essential notifications, roughly 3–5% per day depending on travel.
  • Cloud-sync mode: enabling iCloud Sync and attachment backup adds a background upload per visit, increasing usage by ~2–4%.
  • Offline mode: disable iCloud Sync and most notifications, keep only local logging for the lowest consumption, but open the app manually to flush records. After experimenting, check iOS Settings > Battery to see which mix works best.

Common Exception Handling

What if the app crashes? Will my data vanish?

Data writes to the local database immediately, so a single crash will not erase it.

  1. Relaunch MeTrail and it resumes any pending export or map job.
  2. If crashes persist, go to More > Settings > Tools > Logs, export the latest log, and send it to support.
  3. Run "Data Repair" or "Reset App Settings" in Maintenance Tools to clear corrupted cache.

How do I resolve sync failures?

  1. Open More > Settings > Sync Settings and ensure iCloud Sync plus iCloud Drive Sync are enabled.
  2. Verify the device is signed into the same Apple ID and that iCloud Settings > iCloud Drive is on.
  3. If storage is insufficient, free space via iOS Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Manage Storage.
  4. Switch networks or reboot, then reopen MeTrail and wait for the queue to drain.

Why does a certain location keep recording inaccurately?

  1. Use Location Details > … > Adjust Location to drag the pin manually; expand the area with Set Flexible Boundary if necessary.
  2. Run Reverse Geocoding to refresh the address so names match coordinates.
  3. When the offset is global, trigger More > Settings > Tools > Maintenance Tools > Refresh Geolocation to rebuild every address.
  4. If nothing helps, add a manual visit in the timeline and delete the incorrect entries.

How do I fix an incorrect visit record?

  1. In Visits > Details > More, use Adjust Location or Custom Name to point it to the correct place.
  2. Need notes or attachments? Use Notes or Add Photos to document the situation.
  3. If the entry is redundant, delete it, or long-press and choose Merge Similar Visits to merge with adjacent ones.
  4. When the error is unrecoverable, delete it and re-enter via Add Manual Visit.

Advanced Features

App Core Features

  • Calendar: Open calendar view to view visit records from any time period, support manual add/edit; use the overflow menu > Jump to Date to open a bottom sheet with quick anchors (This month, -3M, -6M, -1Y, Oldest record), a mode toggle, and a graphical date picker so you can land within 2–3 taps.
  • Record corrections: Everyone can add notes or edit manual visits inside visit details to keep the timeline accurate.
  • Search & Locations: Support comprehensive search and filtering with grouping, sorting, photo/note filters, and city trend charts.
  • Activity/Footprints window: Flexible time window range with support for multiple export formats (CSV/TXT/JSON/GPX/KML).
  • Footprint summary & trends: Support summary capsules, stay trends, heatmaps, and richer stats on the map.

What is the URL Scheme and what can I do with it?

The URL Scheme lets other apps (Shortcuts, scripts, etc.) jump directly into specific MeTrail screens using metrail:// links. Use it to open tabs such as Today, Footprints, Calendar, or to deep-link into visits, locations, searches, statistics, or settings subsections.

Which commands are available?

Page navigation

  • metrail://tab/today – open the Today page.
  • metrail://tab/footprints – open the Footprints map.
  • metrail://tab/activities – open the visits timeline.
  • metrail://tab/calendar – open Calendar.
  • metrail://tab/locations – open Locations.
  • metrail://tab/search – open Visit search.

Detail pages

  • metrail://visit/{visitUUID} – open a visit detail by Core Data UUID (copy via Share > Copy Link).
  • metrail://location/{locationIdentifier} – open a location detail (identifier via More > Share).

Search commands

  • metrail://search?type=visit&q={keyword} – search visits.
  • metrail://search?type=location&q={keyword} – search locations. Keywords include names, tags, and notes.

Utility commands

  • metrail://calendar?date={yyyy-MM-dd} – open Calendar on a specific date.
  • metrail://city/{cityName} – show footprint stats for a specific city (Chinese or English, special characters auto-handled).
  • metrail://settings/{area} – open a settings section such as general, data, appearance, maintenance, permissions, support, about, or url-scheme.

How do I find identifiers?

  • Visit IDs: tap Share > Copy Link in visit details to get the UUID or Core Data URI.
  • Location IDs: tap More > Share in location details to copy the identifier.
  • Settings areas: the More > Settings > URL Scheme page lists every supported area.

What are the URL Scheme limitations?

  • Opening a missing visit or location returns an error tip.
  • Hidden tabs fall back to alternate destinations.
  • Dates must use the yyyy-MM-dd format.

Where can I learn more about the URL Scheme?

Inside More > Settings > URL Scheme you'll find the full list of commands, an interactive builder, and per-parameter descriptions. Enter values, copy the generated link, and test immediately.

What are the core app features?

  • iCloud Sync plus iCloud Drive backups for multi-device visits and attachments.
  • Custom notification sounds: Built-in effects including system, anticipate, choo, descent, minuet, newsflash, noir, silence, technology, and update, plus support for uploading custom audio files (MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG formats). Arrival and departure notifications can use different sounds.
  • Calendar/Locations/Search with grouping, sorting, filters, trend charts, and export shortcuts.
  • Photos and attachments in visit details, city/country share cards, and other capabilities.
  • Theme, appearance, and app icon customization with multiple options.
  • Activity/Footprints history with flexible time ranges plus JSON/GPX/KML exports and extra map layers.

How do I reorder the Home tabs?

  1. Go to More > Settings > Interface Settings > Home Tabs, tap Edit in the top right to enter the native reorder mode.
  2. Drag the handles to rearrange. The preference saves immediately and Home updates at once.
  3. The Tab Display Style toggle on the same page updates live; switch between "Icons only" or "Title + Icon" without leaving the screen.
  4. All tabs are available for easy arrangement and configuration.

How does cloud sync operate?

With iCloud Sync enabled:

  1. Each new visit or location change uploads to your private CloudKit database. Failures auto-retry with logs for eventual delivery.
  2. Other devices load local data first, then fetch cloud deltas—usually within 10 seconds.
  3. Attachments and exports go through the iCloud Drive folder, where you can run manual Backup or Restore.
  4. Turning sync off leaves the cloud copy intact while local recording continues. Delete the CloudKit container via your Apple ID if you need a clean slate.

What can advanced analytics do?

Location Details > … > Trends and Locations > City Distribution surfaces:

  • Stay duration totals, city rankings, and longest/shortest places for a chosen range.
  • Switchable Location/City lists sorted by duration to highlight critical spots.
  • A shortcut in the detail page's Quick actions dock opens the full trend panel instantly.
  • Export screenshots or pair with data exports for monthly reviews; available to all users.

How do I make the most of app features?

  1. Assign distinct arrival/departure sounds in More > Settings > Notifications so important locations stand out.
  2. Enable Sync Settings to view the same visits seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
  3. Add photos or long notes inside Visits > Details for richer sharing with family or teammates.
  4. On the Latest Activity page, tap … > Export Visits to export the currently filtered range instantly instead of building manual filters.