# Location Vault: private location history for iPhone and iPad

> Location Vault is a private location history app for iPhone and iPad. It records where you go automatically in the background and shows every day on a map, so you can see exactly where you were on any date - and nobody else can. No account, no ads, no analytics and no tracking: your history stays on your devices and in your own private iCloud.

Canonical page: https://daveellis.dev/location-vault/
Made by Dave Ellis (Edinburgh, Scotland). Published on the App Store by The Racing Line Software Limited.
Last updated: 3 October 2026

## What is Location Vault?

Location Vault is a private location history app for iPhone and iPad. It works as an automatic travel diary and GPS logger: it drops a pin every few minutes while you're moving, sleeps with location off when you're still, and turns the result into routes, places, cities and countries you can search and export. There's no account to make and no server behind it: your history stays on your devices and in your own private iCloud.

## Key facts

| | |
|---|---|
| What it is | A private location history app: automatic GPS logger, travel diary and map of every day |
| Works on | iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later |
| Price | Free to download. Location Vault Pro is £0.99 a month, £9.99 a year or £19.99 once (US: $0.99, $9.99 or $19.99) |
| Free version | Logs everything; shows your last 30 days, with the Face ID lock |
| Account needed | No |
| Where your history lives | On your devices and in your private iCloud database |
| Ads, analytics, tracking | None, and no third-party code |
| App lock | Face ID, Touch ID or passcode (free) |
| Export | GPX, KML, CSV and GeoJSON (Pro) |
| Widgets | Home Screen and Lock Screen (Pro) |
| Family Sharing | Yes, on every plan |
| Made by | Dave Ellis, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Published by | The Racing Line Software Limited |
| App Store category | Travel |

## Private by design

A record of where you go is about as personal as data gets. Location Vault keeps yours on your devices and in your own iCloud - never on the developer's servers. There aren't any.

- **Nothing to sign up for:** no account, no email address, no profile. Install it, allow location access and it starts logging.
- **Nobody watching:** no ads, no analytics, no tracking and no third-party code. Nothing in the app reports on you.
- **The developer can't see it:** there's no Location Vault server. Your pins sync through your private iCloud database, which only your Apple Account can open.
- **Locked with Face ID:** lock the app with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode - free, in Settings. Pins keep logging while it's locked.
- **Hidden at a glance:** with the lock on, your map is hidden in the app switcher.
- **Photos stay put:** photos are read on your device to place them on the map. They're never uploaded, copied or stored.

Maps, place names and place search come from Apple Maps, so those lookups go to Apple. Purchases are handled by Apple. Full privacy policy: https://daveellis.dev/location-vault/privacy/

## What it does

1. **Logs itself:** drops a pin every few minutes while you're moving, even with the app closed. When you stop, it sleeps with location off until you set off again.
2. **Any day, or several:** pick the days you want and see each route drawn in its own colour, with your pins along the way.
3. **Photos where you took them:** turn on Photos and the pictures from the days you're viewing appear on the map where you took them.
4. **Search by place:** search for a place and find every day you were nearby.
5. **Places, cities and countries:** where you spend your time, and every city and country you've been to - for your last 30 days, or any dates with Pro.
6. **Heat map (Pro):** the places you go most, across all your history.
7. **Widgets (Pro):** today's map, distance and places on your Home Screen, plus Lock Screen widgets.
8. **Export (Pro):** save any date range as GPX, KML, CSV or GeoJSON.
9. **Make it yours (Pro):** nine colours for the app, its map and widgets, each with a matching app icon.

Logging never depends on your plan: Free and Pro both record everything, always. Free shows your last 30 days; Pro shows all of it, straight away.

## How to see everywhere you've been on iPhone

1. **Install and allow location.** Choose Allow While Using App, then Always, so Location Vault can log in the background. There's no account to make.
2. **It logs itself.** While you move, it drops a pin every few minutes - every 5 minutes on Free, every 1 to 10 minutes on Pro. When you stop, it sleeps with location off.
3. **Look back on any day.** Pick days on the calendar to see each route, search a place to find the days you were there, and see your places, cities and countries.
4. **Keep it yours.** Lock the app with Face ID, export whenever you like, and keep your iPhone and iPad in step through your own iCloud.

## A private alternative to Google Maps Timeline

If you used Google Maps Timeline to look back on where you'd been, Location Vault does the same job on iPhone and iPad - without an account, and without your history ever leaving your devices and your own iCloud. It records your days automatically, so there's nothing to check in to, and adds search by place, the cities and countries you've visited, a heat map, and export to standard formats.

## Free and Pro

**Free - everything logged, your last 30 days on show:**
- Logs in the background, every day
- Your last 30 days on the map, with your photos
- Search, places, cities and countries from the last 30 days
- Face ID, Touch ID or passcode lock
- Backed up and synced through your iCloud

**Location Vault Pro - your whole history, and more ways to see it:**
- All your history, as far back as it goes
- Heat map of the places you go most
- Places, cities and countries for any dates
- A pin every 1 to 10 minutes - your choice
- Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets
- Export as GPX, KML, CSV or GeoJSON
- Nine colours, each with a matching icon

Pro is £0.99 a month, £9.99 a year or £19.99 once in the UK, and $0.99, $9.99 or $19.99 in the US; other countries see local prices on the App Store. Every plan works with Family Sharing. Subscriptions renew until you cancel, which you can do at any time in your Apple Account settings.

## Questions

### What is Location Vault?
Location Vault is a private location history app for iPhone and iPad. It logs where you go in the background and shows every day on a map, with search, places, cities and countries, and a heat map. Your history stays on your own devices and in your private iCloud. It's made by Dave Ellis in Edinburgh, Scotland.

### Can anyone else see where I've been?
No. There's no account and no Location Vault server. Your pins are stored on your iPhone or iPad and synced through your own private iCloud database, which only your Apple Account can open. I can't see them, and nothing in the app passes them to advertisers or anyone else. Turn on the Face ID lock and nobody can open the app on your phone either.

### Is Location Vault a good alternative to Google Maps Timeline?
If you used Google Maps Timeline to look back at where you'd been, Location Vault does that job on iPhone and iPad: it records your days automatically and maps them, and adds search by place, cities and countries, a heat map and export. The difference is where your history lives: Location Vault has no account and no server, so it stays on your devices and in your own iCloud.

### Doesn't my iPhone already keep track of where I've been?
iPhone's Significant Locations setting keeps a list of places iOS uses for its own suggestions. It isn't a map of each day that you can browse, search or export. Location Vault records a pin every few minutes while you move and turns that into a map of every day.

### Will it drain my battery?
It's built not to. While you're still, Location Vault sleeps with location off and waits for low-power signals from iOS that you've moved. While you're on the move, it turns GPS on for a few seconds at a time to drop a pin every few minutes.

### How much does Location Vault cost?
It's free to download, and the free version shows your last 30 days, Face ID lock included. Location Vault Pro shows your whole history and adds the heat map, stats for any dates, widgets and export. In the UK it's £0.99 a month, £9.99 a year or £19.99 once; in the US, $0.99, $9.99 or $19.99. Every plan works with Family Sharing.

### Which devices does Location Vault work on?
iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later, with Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets on both. There's no Android version.

### Can I export my location history?
Yes, with Pro. Choose any dates and save them as GPX, KML, CSV or GeoJSON, ready for mapping and fitness apps, Google Earth, spreadsheets or GIS tools.

### Does Location Vault work offline?
Logging works without a connection: pins are saved on your phone and sync to your iCloud later. Maps and place names come from Apple Maps, so they need a connection to load.

### Can I lock Location Vault with Face ID?
Yes, for free. Turn on Lock with Face ID in Settings and Location Vault asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode whenever you open it, and hides your map in the app switcher. Pins keep logging while it's locked.

### What happens to my history if I get a new phone?
Sign in to the new phone with the same Apple Account, keep iCloud on, and your pins come back on their own.

### Does Location Vault have ads or sell my data?
No. There are no ads, no analytics and no third-party code, and your location history never reaches me. Location Vault is paid for only by optional Pro purchases.

### Who makes Location Vault?
Dave Ellis, an award-winning web and mobile developer in Edinburgh, Scotland, who also makes the motorsport app The Racing Line. Location Vault is published on the App Store by The Racing Line Software Limited.

## About the developer

Location Vault is designed and built by Dave Ellis, an award-winning web and mobile developer in Edinburgh, Scotland. His motorsport app, The Racing Line (https://theracingline.app/), won Brand of the Year at the 2026 Race Media Awards and is used by more than 100,000 fans.

## Links

- Location Vault: https://daveellis.dev/location-vault/
- Support and FAQ: https://daveellis.dev/location-vault/support/
- Privacy policy: https://daveellis.dev/location-vault/privacy/
- Terms of Use (Apple's standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
- Email: dave@daveellis.dev
- Dave Ellis: https://daveellis.dev/