A logbook is a record of everywhere you drove for twelve weeks, tied to dates, times, and a named purpose. It is one of the more revealing datasets an ordinary person creates, and most logbook apps upload it by default.
This page is about the two questions that follow from that, which pull in opposite directions. Who can see it, and will it still exist in five years.
Who can see your location history
The answer depends on the architecture, and there are broadly two.
Server-based apps upload your trips to the vendor’s infrastructure. That is what makes web dashboards, team features, and cross-device sync possible, and those are real benefits. It also means the vendor holds your location history, their staff can generally access it under their own controls, it is subject to whatever jurisdiction they operate in, and it is included in the blast radius if they are breached.
Local-first apps keep the record on the device. There is nothing on a server because there is no server.
LogSprint is the second kind. Your trips, odometer readings, purposes, vehicle details, receipts, and edit history live in a database on your iPhone. There is no LogSprint account and no login, because there is nothing to log in to. Location is used only to record trips: auto-tracking wakes when you drive away from where you parked, records while you are driving, and stops when the trip ends. It does not run between trips. Details are in the privacy policy.
The practical consequence is narrow and worth stating plainly: we cannot show you your trips on a website, we cannot recover your logbook for you, and we cannot hand it to anyone else either.
Can your employer see it
Not through LogSprint. There is no account, no fleet view, and no administrator role, so there is no mechanism by which an employer could be given access to your record.
This is a genuine difference from fleet and team products, where employer visibility is a designed feature rather than an accident. If you are using a logbook app your employer pays for, it is worth understanding what they can see. If you are keeping a personal deduction record, an app with no server side cannot expose it to them.
Can the ATO see it
Not directly, and not from us, because we do not have it.
This is sometimes mistaken for an advantage. It is not. If the ATO asks you to substantiate a claim, you produce the record yourself, which is exactly what would happen with a paper logbook in the glovebox. The obligation to be able to produce it is yours either way. What local-first changes is that nobody can hand over your record without you, including us.
What happens if the app shuts down
This is the question that should be asked of every logbook app and almost never is.
If a server-based vendor shuts down, is acquired, or drops your plan, your record is on infrastructure you do not control. Whether you get an export depends on whether they choose to provide one and whether you notice in time.
With a local-first app, the database is already on your phone. If LogSprint disappeared tomorrow, the app on your device would keep working, and your records would still be exportable for as long as the app runs. That is not a promise about the company; it is a property of where the file is.
What happens if you stop paying
LogSprint’s free tier keeps manual logging and one vehicle available permanently. Auto-tracking, expenses, multiple vehicles, and PDF and CSV export are the paid features.
What does not happen is your existing records becoming inaccessible. Data you have already recorded stays in the database on your phone, and it stays readable in the app. Export before a subscription lapses if you want the PDF and CSV out, and keep the export somewhere durable.
The part local-first makes harder
Being honest about this is the point of the page.
A record that lives only on one device is a record that goes when the device goes. Phones are lost, dropped, and stolen, and the ATO requires you to keep logbook records for years after you last relied on them. A privacy-first app has to answer for durability, not just for confidentiality.
LogSprint’s answer has two parts:
Backup to your own iCloud Drive. The app can write a backup under your own Apple ID, protected by Apple’s iCloud encryption. It is your storage, subject to Apple’s terms, and it is not accessible to us. Turn it on. A local-first logbook with no backup is one dropped phone away from a lost deduction, and the ATO says the same thing in its own words: you can use any electronic device or app to keep records, and it recommends backing them up regularly. Source: ATO, records you need to keep.
Export the record. When a logbook period is finished, export the PDF and CSV and keep them where you keep your other tax records. That file is the thing you would produce to substantiate a claim, and unlike an app it does not depend on a device, an operating system version, or a company continuing to exist.
The retention periods are longer than most people expect, and the clock does not start when you think. See how long to keep your logbook and receipts.
Does an electronic record satisfy the ATO
Yes. The ATO’s position is that you can use any electronic device or app to keep your electronic records, provided the records contain what is required and can be produced when asked. Records must be a true and clear copy, in English, and kept for the required period. Source: ATO, keeping records.
There is no list of approved logbook apps, and no app can be approved, because no approval process exists. What matters is whether the record contains the required fields and whether you can produce it. See what a logbook has to contain.
Questions worth asking of any logbook app
Whichever one you use, including this one:
- Where is the record stored, and who else can read it
- Is location recorded only during trips, or continuously
- What happens to my records if I stop paying
- Can I export the full record, in a format that is readable without the app
- What happens if the company shuts down
- How does my record survive losing this phone
The last one is the one people skip, and it is the one that actually costs money.