geovault

GeoVault

A privacy-first personal location notebook for Android and iOS. Save places, restaurants, viewpoints, and hidden gems — all stored locally on your device.

Why GeoVault?

Google Maps “Saved Places” is cluttered, hard to search, and forces you into their ecosystem. GeoVault lets you save the context around a place — what to order, what to avoid, the best time to visit — and find it again years later with full-text search.

Features

Save Places — Name, location, coordinates, category, tags, notes, and map links
9 Categories — Dining, Cafe, Tourist Attraction, Stay, Viewpoint, Shopping, Fuel/EV, W.C, Other
Category-Specific Fields — Entry fee, trek time, price range, cleanliness, and more
Smart Tags — Status tags (To Visit, Visited, Legendary, Avoid) + custom tags
Rich Notes — Separate fields for must-try items, warnings, and general notes
Full-Text Search — Search across names, locations, tags, notes, and categories using SQLite FTS5
Google Drive Backup — Manual and auto-backup to a hidden app-specific folder
Auto-Backup — Background backup on a configurable schedule (Daily, Weekly, Monthly)
Import/Export — JSON export to share or archive, import with append or overwrite
Map Integration — Open any saved place directly in your preferred maps app
Dark/Light Theme — Manual toggle with consistent themed UI
Offline-First — Everything works without internet (backup requires connectivity)

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	React Native (Expo SDK 54, development builds)
Database	expo-sqlite + FTS5
Routing	expo-router
Styling	NativeWind v4 (Tailwind CSS)
State	Zustand
Auth	@react-native-google-signin/google-signin
Background	expo-background-fetch + expo-task-manager
Language	TypeScript (strict, no `any` types)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
Android: Android Studio with SDK 34+
iOS: Xcode 15+ and CocoaPods
A physical device or emulator

Install

git clone <repo-url>
cd GeoVault
npm install

Run

# Generate native projects
npx expo prebuild

# Android (requires Android Studio)
npx expo run:android

# iOS (requires Xcode)
npx expo run:ios

Note: This app uses native modules (Google Sign-In, Background Fetch) and requires development builds. It does not work with Expo Go.

Type Check

node node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc --noEmit

Project Structure

app/                    # Screens (file-based routing)
  (tabs)/               # Tab navigator — Places, Search, Settings
  place/                # Place CRUD — detail, new, edit
src/
  db/                   # SQLite layer — database, migrations, repositories, seed
  services/             # URL parser, export, Google Drive, backup, auto-backup
  stores/               # Zustand state (places, search, settings, backup)
  components/           # Reusable UI components
  constants/            # Categories, tags, theme
  types/                # TypeScript interfaces
  utils/                # UUID, date helpers

Data Model

Each saved place contains:

Field	Description
name	Place name
location	Location string (city, area, etc.)
coordinates	Latitude/longitude
category	One of 9 categories
tags	Status tags + custom tags
notes	Must Order, Avoid, General — three separate fields
extraFields	Category-specific fields (entry fee, trek time, etc.)
sourceUrl	Original maps link
timestamps	Created, updated, last visited

Data is stored locally in SQLite with a FTS5 virtual table for instant full-text search. Queries are paginated (30 per page) with infinite scroll.

Google Drive Backup

Backup uses Google Drive’s appDataFolder — a hidden, app-specific storage area. The user’s regular Drive files are never accessed.

Manual backup — tap “Backup Now” in Settings
Auto-backup — enable in Settings with Daily/Weekly/Monthly schedule
Restore — download latest backup with append or overwrite option
Scope — drive.appdata (non-sensitive, no full Drive access)

Setup

Requires a Google Cloud project with OAuth credentials. See CLAUDE.md for detailed setup instructions.

Roadmap

Google Drive backup/restore
Auto-backup with background fetch
Share intent — receive links from Google/Apple Maps
Map cluster view
Proximity filter — find places within X km
Timeline view — group places by discovery date

Privacy

GeoVault has no backend server. Zero data leaves your device unless you explicitly export or back up to your own Google Drive. No analytics, no tracking.