A little help for your next search.

Set up your first search

1. Choose Road or Off road. Road estimates mapped-road coverage. Off road shades an assumed width around the original GPS trail.
2. Set your boundary. Choose a circle, square or rectangle and position it on the map or find a place. Tap More to adjust shape, size, rotation and off-road width. Tap Less to give the map more space.
3. Start with a recent usable GPS fix. An armed search outside the boundary waits for entry. Leaving the boundary pauses capture; re-entering resumes it. Manual Pause remains under your control.
4. Finish and save. Give the record a name or notes. Review it later in Saved, export the trail, or reuse its boundary for a fresh search.

Mode and assumed off-road width stay fixed once the search is started or waiting for entry. Reusing a saved boundary begins with no old trail or credited coverage.

Understand the trail and coverage

In Road mode, solid red sections are confidently matched to mapped roads. Dashed red sections retain recorded GPS positions where the available evidence does not support a confident match. A dashed section does not, by itself, mean your GPS points were lost.

In Off-road mode, the red trail follows original GPS positions. Shading represents the assumed total width you choose: 10 metres total means 5 metres on each side. Overlapping passes count once, within your selected boundary.

The shaded width is an assumption about what you searched, rather than measured visibility or GPS accuracy. Ground coverage requires GPS accuracy of half the selected width or better, capped at 25 metres. Poor fixes do not widen the strip or earn ground coverage.

Pauses, boundary exits, reception gaps and rejected GPS fixes break the trail and coverage. Estimated coverage, including 100%, does not prove that every part of the area was observed. Choose Finish when you are done.

GPS, maps and connectivity

Check that AreaSearch has location access and that Precise Location is enabled in iPhone Settings. Buildings, foliage, reception gaps and uncertain fixes can affect recording and road matching.

New map tiles, place searches and road geometry can need internet access. Usable GPS recording and off-road estimates can continue without mobile data, but AreaSearch does not include downloaded offline basemaps. If road data is unavailable, a GPS trail can still be recorded without a road estimate.

Road data currently covers Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is not included. Planned UK App Store availability does not add Northern Ireland road data.

Screen lock and interruptions

Enable Record with screen locked to request background location during an active or waiting search. iOS shows its location indicator and controls delivery. If this setting is off, leaving the app or locking the screen pauses capture.

Do not force-quit while recording. If an interrupted search is recovered, it returns paused so you can review it before continuing. Background recording and battery use depend on your iPhone, permissions and conditions.

If a search cannot be saved

1. Keep AreaSearch installed and keep the search open. Do not choose Reset, New search, delete records or uninstall as a troubleshooting step.
2. Unlock the iPhone and retry where offered. Read the visible error and check available device storage in iPhone Settings.
3. If the error continues, keep the record intact. Note the app version, iOS version and exact message for support. Recovery of local encrypted data cannot be guaranteed.

A reset or deletion may remove the record you want to keep. Exporting a trail, if available, makes a GPX copy; it does not provide a complete backup of the boundary, coverage and search state.

Saved searches and exports

The Saved library lets you review records, filter them by mode or date, search names and notes, edit names and notes, and reuse a boundary. A reused boundary starts a new search without copying the previous trail or coverage.

Deleting a Saved library record removes that library record. A matching current search and its recovery record remain until you choose New search; the current trail can be saved again. Exported copies remain with their recipients.

Records are encrypted on this iPhone and excluded from device backups. They do not sync or restore to another phone. Export important trails before deleting AreaSearch or changing devices.

GPX contains the original GPS trail, name, notes, start time and available point times. It is unencrypted, excludes the boundary and coverage shading, and cannot be imported to restore an AreaSearch search. Trails and GPX retain the latest 20,000 GPS points; cumulative distance and coverage can include earlier travel.

Contact support

Email support@areasearch.app. Helpful information to include:

• App version and build from Settings, iPhone model and iOS version.
• What you were doing and the exact error or visible status.
• Road or Off-road mode, assumed width if relevant, background-recording setting and any connectivity changes.
• For trail issues: accuracy while the affected section was recorded, approximate speed, and any pause, boundary exit or reception gap. Accuracy displayed later may differ.

Share screenshots or trails only if you choose. Check them for private addresses, GPS positions, notes and notifications. A description is often enough initially. Support does not need your Apple Account password or payment-card details.

Availability and purchase

AreaSearch is a separate solo-search app for iPhone with iOS 17 or later. It does not require a PatrolGrid account or include PatrolGrid’s team and grid features.

The planned UK launch price is £4.99 as a one-off, paid-upfront App Store purchase, with no subscription. Public availability and the final configured price remain to be confirmed. The App Store download will be added when AreaSearch is released.

Read Privacy & data for location, storage and sharing details, or visit the frequently asked questions.