Privacy
A mileage log is a map of your life. It should stay with you.
Where you sleep, where you work, who you visit and when. That is what a mileage tracker collects. Odie is built so that nobody, including us, gets that map.
What the app does not have
- An account, a login or a password
- A server of ours
- Analytics, crash reporting or advertising SDKs from any third party
- Any network code of its own
- A way to see, sell or share your data
How you can check
- The privacy manifest Apple requires,
PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy, declares no tracking and no collected data types. - The App Store privacy label, once the app is listed, will be generated from the same facts.
- Settings in the app shows a diagnostics log and a battery and accuracy readout, so you can see what it did.
- Export everything as CSV or JSON at any time and read it yourself.
Permissions, and why each one is asked for
| Permission | Why | Optional? |
|---|---|---|
| Location, Always | Wake on a location change and measure distance while your car is connected. GPS stays off otherwise. | Needed for automatic trips. While Using still works for manual trips. |
| Motion and fitness | Confirm that you are driving before a trip starts, so a walk to the car does not count. | Needed for automatic trips. |
| Bluetooth | Only for the low-energy scan fallback when your car’s hands-free name is not visible. The normal hands-free check does not need this permission. | Yes |
| Camera and photos | Attach a receipt to an expense. | Yes |
| Notifications | Ask Work or Personal when a trip ends, and the reminders you switch on. | Yes, though classification is slower without it. |
Where things are stored
Trips, places, odometer readings, expenses, vehicles and settings are in a local database on the phone. Receipt photos are files next to it. Route points are simplified to about ten metres and kept on the phone. Widgets read a short summary from a container shared between the app and its widget, still on the device.
iCloud sync is on by default and can be turned off in Backup settings. It uses your private CloudKit database. Apple encrypts it for your account; Odie cannot read it from anywhere but your own devices.
What Apple services receive
When you search for an address, the text goes to Apple Maps. When you ask for a route, the two endpoints go to Apple Maps. When a route thumbnail is drawn, the simplified route goes to Apple’s map snapshot service. When a trip ends, its endpoints go to Apple’s geocoder to become a street name. These are the same services Apple Maps uses, covered by Apple’s privacy policy, and none of them involve us.
The website
This site is static files. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads nothing from third parties. The only font is served from the same place as the page.
The full privacy policy says the same things in the form the law expects.
Questions
Can you see my trips?
No. There is no Odie server and no account. If iCloud sync is on, your records are in your private iCloud database, encrypted by Apple for your Apple account. We have no way to query it.
Does the app send anything anywhere?
The app contains no network code of its own. It calls Apple services for specific jobs: Maps search and directions when you log a trip by hand, map snapshots for route thumbnails, reverse geocoding to turn coordinates into place names, and CloudKit for sync. Those requests go to Apple under Apple’s privacy policy.
Why does it need Always location?
So trips can start while the app is closed. iOS only lets an app wake on a location change if it has the Always permission. Odie keeps GPS off until your car is connected and you are moving.
How do I delete everything?
Delete the app. If iCloud sync was on, also remove Odie’s data from iCloud in Settings on your iPhone. A JSON backup you exported is a file you control.
Your next work trip can log itself.
Odie is in the final stretch before launch. Leave your email on the support page and you will hear when it ships, nothing else.