1. Turn It On During Setup

   The last step of the welcome flow is called "Turn on automatic tracking." Tap "Allow Location" at the bottom. iOS shows two prompts: tap "Allow While Using App" on the first, then "Change to Always Allow" on the second. Always access is what lets drives record on their own, even when the app is closed. Once you've granted location, the button reads "Start tracking". Tap it, answer the "Help improve MileMarker" pop-up with "Continue", and allow notifications when iOS asks so MileMarker can ping you after a drive. If you tapped "Skip" during setup, you can run the flow again later from the "Settings" tab, under "About", with "Walk through setup again". Your drives and settings stay.

2. Or Turn It On From Settings

   Open the "Settings" tab and tap "Tracking" (its subtitle reads "Automatic tracking, pause, and health"). Switch on the "Automatic tracking" toggle. When everything is healthy, the row reads "Records your drives in the background, hands-free". During the trial it shows how many days you have left instead. If your location permission is set to "While Using", the app shows an "Allow Always access" alert explaining that drives are only detected while MileMarker is open, with an "Open Settings" button to fix it.

3. Check Location Access and Precise Location

   Automatic tracking needs Location set to "Always" with Precise Location on. In "Tracking" settings, the "Location" row shows your current status: "Always", "While Using", "Off", or "Not set". Tap the row to jump straight to MileMarker's iOS settings and pick "Always". Keep Precise Location on too. Without it, iOS only shares an approximate location, so drives can't be measured, and the "Detection health" screen warns "Precise Location Is Off".

4. Allow Motion & Fitness and Notifications

   MileMarker uses motion activity to tell when you start and stop driving, which is part of what keeps battery use low, so allow Motion & Fitness when iOS asks. Turning tracking on also triggers the notification permission prompt, so MileMarker can notify you after a drive and you can classify it from the lock screen. Both are worth granting. Detection still runs on GPS speed alone if you decline motion access, and "Detection health" shows a "Notifications Are Off" warning if reminders can't be delivered.

5. Drive Like Normal

   With tracking on, MileMarker waits in a low-power state; the "Detection health" screen shows "Watching for drives". GPS only switches on while you're driving. A drive starts by itself once you've been moving at driving speed for a short stretch, and it ends a few minutes after you stop, or sooner when the app can tell you've parked and walked away. MileMarker ignores very short movements, under about a quarter mile, on purpose. When a drive saves, you'll get a notification and the drive appears in the "Drives" tab, ready to classify.

6. Plug Into CarPlay for Instant Starts

   If your car has CarPlay, connecting counts as the start of a drive, so recording begins the moment your phone links up instead of waiting for movement. Unplugging doesn't end the drive by itself; the drive still ends through normal stop detection a few minutes after you stop. CarPlay auto-start is part of Pro, so it works during the trial or with a subscription.

7. Pause or Turn Off Tracking When You Need To

   Riding as a passenger? In "Tracking" settings, tap "Pause tracking" ("Pause automatic tracking for a while") and pick how long. While paused, the same screen offers "Resume tracking now". To turn tracking off completely, switch off the "Automatic tracking" toggle and confirm "Turn off automatic tracking?" with "Turn Off". If a drive is recording at that moment, the app tells you it will be saved before tracking turns off, so nothing in progress is lost.

8. Know What Happens When the Trial Ends

   Every install gets 7 days of all of Pro, starting at first launch, with no card and nothing to cancel. If notifications are allowed, you'll get a heads-up the day before: "Your free week ends tomorrow". When the trial ends, automatic tracking stops and the app shows a one-time "Your trial has ended" notice. A drive that's recording right then still finishes and saves. Everything you've logged stays put, and manual logging stays free. To keep automatic tracking, upgrade to Pro with a monthly or yearly subscription managed through Apple. Until you do, the "Automatic tracking" row reads "Your trial has ended. Upgrade to Pro to keep automatic tracking." and tapping it opens the upgrade screen.

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