SpotVault

What is SpotVault?

SpotVault is a private, offline journal for tracking mushroom and wild harvest spots. It lets you record where you found plants and fungi, what species you saw, and supporting details like photos and weather conditions.

The app’s core purpose is to help foragers build knowledge about their favorite locations over time by combining map-based spot logging with visit records and season-to-season charts.

Key Features

• Pin spots on an interactive map: Long-press to drop a pin at a location, then add species, habitat notes, and photos so each spot has context.
• Log every visit with yield ratings: Record what you found and rate your yield; the app also captures visit conditions automatically.
• Automatic environmental capture: For each logged visit, SpotVault automatically records temperature, humidity, and moon phase to help you compare outcomes across trips.
• Year-over-year charts and seasonal insights: View monthly visit frequency and yield distribution with color-coded charts.
• Photo journal by spot and visit: Attach photos to spots and visits, and browse your full gallery from each spot’s detail page.
• Privacy first (on-device data): The app states that all data stays on your device, with no accounts, no cloud sync, and no tracking; it can be locked with Face ID or Touch ID.
• Encrypted export and backup: Create encrypted backups of your data whenever you want.

How to Use SpotVault

1. Install SpotVault and open it on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Create your first spot by long-pressing on the interactive map, then add any species information, habitat notes, and photos.
3. When you revisit, log a new visit for that spot and record what you found and your yield rating—environmental details are captured automatically.
4. Review seasonal patterns using the built-in charts, and revisit the spot detail pages to browse the associated photo journal.
5. Periodically create an encrypted backup so you have a recoverable copy of your data.

Use Cases

• Mushroom foraging tracking across seasons: Log each mushroom hunting trip by spot and compare yield ratings over months using the seasonal charts.
• Remembering productive locations: Pin locations that you’ve harvested before, add species and habitat notes, and attach photos so you can identify patterns quickly on later visits.
• Building a weather-and-moon “what worked” record: Use the automatic temperature, humidity, and moon phase data captured for each visit to correlate conditions with your observed yield.
• Wild food spot documentation: Maintain a photo journal for wild harvest sites, with visit entries that capture what you found and how successful the outing was.
• Data control for personal field notes: Use the on-device approach (no accounts, no cloud sync) and lock the app with Face ID/Touch ID to keep your journal private.

FAQ

Is SpotVault an online service or an offline journal?
SpotVault is described as a secure, offline journal, and it states that all data stays on your device.

Does SpotVault require an account?
No accounts are required, based on the app’s stated privacy approach.

What data does SpotVault capture automatically during a visit?
It automatically records weather-related conditions for each visit, including temperature, humidity, and moon phase.

Can I lock the app?
Yes. SpotVault supports locking with Face ID or Touch ID.

How can I back up my data?
The app provides encrypted backups, which you can create whenever you want.

Alternatives

• Offline journaling apps with local storage: Similar for keeping personal notes and photos on-device, but they may not include spot pinning, visit logging, or automated weather/moon capture tailored to foraging.
• Map-based field logging apps: Apps focused on collecting locations and notes on a map can support tracking visits, though they may differ in whether they provide yield ratings, species/habitat fields, and automatic environmental capture.
• Photo-first collection apps for field documentation: Useful for organizing images by location, but they may require more manual work to structure species data, yield ratings, and visit conditions.
• General-purpose habit or tracker apps: These can track repeated outings and ratings, but they typically don’t offer an interactive map workflow or foraging-specific fields like species, habitat notes, and yield distributions.