Frequently Asked Questions

SpeleoMap requires an iPhone running iOS 26 or later. Any iPhone on iOS 26+ can record Map Lines, Hike Lines, photos, notes, and Apple Health workouts. LiDAR scanning requires an iPhone Pro or Pro Max (iPhone 12 Pro or newer). iPad is not currently supported. See Devices for the full list.

SpeleoMap is currently in TestFlight beta. Join at speleomap.com/support/testflight. The App Store release is targeted for early 2027.

At first launch, SpeleoMap requests four permissions:

• Camera — LiDAR and RGB capture for scanning
• Motion & Fitness — for trajectory recording (Core Motion sensors)
• Health — to log your cave trip as a workout in Apple Health
• Location — one-time GPS fix at the cave entrance (optional)

Each permission is independent. Denying one doesn't break the others. You can change any permission later in iOS Settings → SpeleoMap.

No. SpeleoMap has no login, no account, no cloud dependency. Your data lives on your device.

From the Home screen, tap + New Project, give it a name, then tap START SURVEY. This begins the workout (background tracking) and lets you drop pins, scan, and capture photos. You can edit the project name anytime. See Cave Survey for a full walkthrough.

A Map Line is one continuous recording cycle of your trajectory through the cave. Tap Start Line to begin recording, walk the passage, tap End Line when done. You can have multiple Map Lines in one project — e.g., one per passage or one per side trip. Each Map Line has its own (0,0,0) origin and is stitched together in post-processing on your desktop. See Cave Survey.

A tape line is a manual measurement line, useful for tying your survey to a physical tape or for quick distance and leg measurements without recording a full trajectory. Tape lines are foreground-only — no workout required. Start a tape line, drop points as you measure, and the app records the legs (distance, horizontal, and azimuth) between them. Tape lines export alongside your Map Lines.

From the Survey Map tab, tap Drop Pin. You'll be taken to the capture screen where you can scan (LiDAR), take a photo, or just record a station. Stations are auto-labeled (A1, A2, B1, etc.) and you can rename them anytime. See Cave Survey.

From the capture screen (reached via Drop Pin), tap SCAN. Hold the phone steady, move slowly, and let the LiDAR build a mesh of the passage. Tap STOP when done. The scan is anchored to the current trajectory waypoint automatically. See LiDAR for full detail.

From the Survey Map tab, tap any station pin to open it. From there you can add notes, take photos, or rename the station. Long-press a photo in the Photos tab to assign it to a different station or add a caption. See Notes & Annotations and Photos & Video.

Yes. Open Settings (gear icon) and toggle Units. The app converts all displayed distances; stored data is always in meters so switching back and forth doesn't change your underlying survey. See Settings.

All cave data — scans, photos, trajectories, stations, notes, workouts — is stored locally on your iPhone inside .speleomap session bundles. Nothing is uploaded to AFDC servers. See the Privacy for full detail.

Open the project, go to the Details tab, and tap Export. Choose:

• Scope — All Map Lines or a specific subset
• Format — Stations CSV, Survex .svx, or full Desktop Bundle (ZIP with OBJ, PLY, USDZ, CSVs, photos, manifest)
• Columns — Pick which data columns to include for CSV exports

The export is delivered via the iOS share sheet — save to Files, AirDrop, email, etc. See Export for full detail.

Yes. SpeleoMap can share a whole project as a bundle (.speleobundle) or single items (.speleoscan, .speleoline, .speleotape) straight from the share sheet — AirDrop is the easiest caver-to-caver path. Use the Share action in a project's Details tab, or in a Map Line, scan, or tape line's detail view to share just that item. When you share a single Map Line "with all media," its assigned scans, photos, notes, and tapes travel with it. See Export.

When another caver AirDrops you a SpeleoMap file, accept it and choose to open it in SpeleoMap. You can import it as a new project or merge it into your current project. Importing the same file again won't create duplicates. Everything is processed on your device — AFDC never sees imported data. See Import.

Yes. A .speleobundle is a standard ZIP archive. On a computer, rename the file extension from .speleobundle to .zip and open it to access the OBJ meshes, point clouds, CSVs, photos, and manifest inside — ready for Blender, Therion, Survex, or your grotto's preferred tools.

• Survex .svx — standard cave survey format (DAV convention)
• Stations CSV — configurable columns, honors your metric/imperial setting
• Desktop Bundle ZIP — full project archive with OBJ meshes, PLY point clouds, USDZ AR previews, CSVs, photos, and manifest

Open the project, go to the Details tab, and tap Export to produce a bundle — then save it wherever you like via the iOS share sheet. If you have iOS device backup turned on, your app data is also included in your standard iCloud device backup automatically.

From the Home screen, swipe left on a project row and tap Delete. This permanently removes the .speleomap bundle from your device. Deletion is not recoverable.

SpeleoMap is available on two plans, billed through your Apple ID: $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year. Both plans include the same full access to the app. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.

Open iOS Settings → tap your name → Subscriptions → SpeleoMap → Cancel Subscription. You retain access until the end of your current billing period. Apple handles all subscription management; AFDC cannot cancel your subscription for you.

Refunds are handled by Apple under the App Store's refund policy. To request a refund, visit reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with the Apple ID used for the purchase. AFDC cannot issue refunds directly.

Apple applies a standard billing grace period during which the app continues to work while payment is retried. If payment is not successfully completed within the grace period, access to subscription features may be suspended. You can update your payment method in iOS Settings → your name → Payment & Shipping.

A portion of subscription proceeds may go toward cave conservation at AFDC's discretion — things like cave gating and access, restoration and cleanup, and support of caving organizations, grottos, and conservancies. When you sign up you can optionally pick an organization; that's a non-binding preference AFDC may consider when directing conservation funds. See the Terms for full detail.

Visit the conservation registration page. We'll verify your 501(c)(3) status and, where AFDC elects to provide support, send an agreement to sign. Your organization is added to the in-app directory on the next update cycle.

Editing your selection in Settings updates your local profile but does not change the preference recorded at onboarding. For exceptional cases, email support@speleomap.com and we'll handle it on a case-by-case basis.

That's fine — the picker is optional. Skipping it doesn't change anything about your subscription; a portion of proceeds may still go toward cave conservation at AFDC's discretion.

Caving is a workout. SpeleoMap logs every cave trip and hike to Apple Health — active calories, heart rate, distance, steps, and max depth — so you get credit for the workout alongside the rest of your fitness data. Steps and exercise data also help calculate distances during recording. The survey session is tied to the workout so the app can keep recording in pack mode while your phone is stowed. If you deny Health access, the survey still works but trips won't appear in Apple Health and pack mode background tracking may be affected.

GPS is required for any true survey — it provides magnetic declination and a real-world coordinate reference for your maps. That said, you control your data entirely. SpeleoMap never transmits your location to any server or database. GPS coordinates are redacted from debug logs before they ever leave your device. The only time your location goes anywhere is when you explicitly choose to export or share your project. What you share is exactly what you decide to share — nothing more.

Landscape gives you the largest possible viewport for inspecting passage geometry — portrait cuts the usable screen roughly in half and makes scans significantly harder to read. Locking to landscape also prevents the viewer from constantly flipping orientation as you rotate the phone underground, which is disorienting and puts you in awkward positions. One orientation, locked, was the right call.

All measurements throughout the app and in exports are supposed to follow your unit setting in Settings → Profile → Appearance → Units. If you're seeing the wrong units anywhere, that's a bug. Take a screenshot of exactly where it's happening and send it to support@speleomap.com along with your debug log from that session. This helps pinpoint exactly where the breakdown is occurring.

This is a known issue currently under investigation. If you're seeing a failed or empty PDF export, email support@speleomap.com with your iPhone model, iOS version, and the debug log from the export session.

This is a known issue currently under investigation. If your exported bundle is missing scans, photos, or other content, email support@speleomap.com with your debug log from that export session so the breakdown can be identified and fixed.

Email support@speleomap.com with:

• Your iPhone model and iOS version
• What you were doing when it crashed
• Steps to reproduce, if you can

Debug reports you send never include cave GPS coordinates — they are stripped on your device before the report leaves your phone.

Confirm your device has LiDAR (iPhone 12 Pro or newer). Check that Camera permission is granted in iOS Settings → SpeleoMap. If both are correct and scanning still fails, close the app fully (swipe up and away) and relaunch. If the problem persists, email support with your iPhone model.

That's the unscanned veil — the app is showing you areas the LiDAR hasn't seen yet. Move the phone slowly to fill in the geometry. Once an area is scanned, it transitions to the live mesh wireframe.

Full attachment requires both cavers to be on a current version of SpeleoMap. If imported media lands unassigned, ask the sender to confirm they're on the latest build, then re-share. You can also reassign any scan, photo, or note to a station manually from the station's detail view.

Cave surveys are battery-intensive — LiDAR, the camera, sensors, and the workout tracker all run continuously. Tips:

• Bring an external battery pack for trips over 2–3 hours
• Lower screen brightness when you don't need to read the screen
• End scans promptly when you're done capturing a passage

The app shows a thermal warning when the device gets hot but never auto-pauses your scan. If the warning appears, give the device a few minutes to cool before resuming. Holding the phone in a cooler position helps a lot.

Open iOS Settings → scroll down to SpeleoMap → toggle the permission on. Restart the app for the change to take effect.

Email support@speleomap.com with a description of what happened, what you expected, and any screenshots or screen recordings. Include your iPhone model and iOS version.