Help with Documented.

Most answers are below. If yours isn't, email a human; we read every message.

Getting started

Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign-up, no password, and no server-side account. Documented opens straight into your record. Your entries live on your iPhone, and (if you turn on iCloud) in your own private iCloud storage that only you can reach.

How do I log a moment?

Tap Log in the middle of the tab bar, write what happened, pick a category, and tap Seal entry. The time is captured automatically. If you've allowed location, the place is attached too.

What does "sealed" mean?

When you save an entry, Documented computes a SHA-256 fingerprint of its contents and links it to the fingerprint of the entry before it. Change so much as one character afterwards and the chain no longer matches, which the app will tell you. That's what makes the record tamper-evident: not that it can't be edited, but that edits can't be hidden.

What is the "independent timestamp"?

Separately from your device's clock, Documented asks an independent Time-Stamping Authority (DigiCert) to sign a statement that your entry's fingerprint existed at a particular moment. Only the fingerprint is sent, never your words, photos, names, or location. The fingerprint cannot be reversed into your content.

Your record

Can I edit or delete an entry?

Entries are append-only by design, a record you can quietly rewrite isn't worth much. If something needs correcting, use Amend. The original stays, the correction is added and sealed alongside it, and both are visible. That's how a correction is supposed to look.

How do I back up my record?

Turn on iCloud sync under the You tab. Your record then lives in your own iCloud storage and follows you to a new iPhone. On a new device, tap Restore from iCloud on the welcome screen.

I got a new phone. How do I move my record?

Install Documented, tap Restore from iCloud on the first screen, and sign in to the same Apple Account. If you never turned on iCloud sync, the record stayed on the old device only, check there before erasing it.

Does the record say it was "verified"?

Under the You tab, Record integrity re-checks every entry against its seal. "Verified" means every entry still matches what was sealed. If it ever says otherwise, email us and don't delete anything.

Exports

How do I produce a PDF for my attorney or the court?

Open the Record tab, choose a date range and categories if you want to narrow it, and tap Generate Record. The PDF includes every entry in order, its seal, the integrity statement, and any attachments. The reporting period is printed on the cover, so anyone reading it can see exactly what range it covers.

Will a court accept this?

We can't promise that, and nobody honestly can. Admissibility is decided by a judge under the rules of evidence in your jurisdiction, based on the facts of your case. What Documented gives you is a contemporaneous, tamper-evident, independently timestamped record, the kind of thing that's far easier to rely on than a memory or a note typed months later. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state about your specific matter.

Subscription and billing

What's free and what's paid?

Logging and sealing entries is free, with no cap and no ads, and that includes unlimited entries, unlimited attachments, and iCloud backup. Documented Plus adds a complete PDF export of your record and sharing with your attorney.

How do I cancel?

Subscriptions are handled by Apple, not by us. On your iPhone open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, choose Documented, and tap Cancel Subscription. Cancelling at least 24 hours before the renewal date stops the next charge. You keep access until the end of the period you've paid for.

How do I get a refund?

Refunds are issued by Apple, not by us. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with your Apple Account, and request a refund for the purchase.

I paid but the app still says Free.

Open the paywall and tap Restore purchase. That asks Apple to re-check what you own. Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple Account you bought it with. If it still doesn't take, email us.

What happens to my record if I cancel?

Nothing is deleted. Every entry you've sealed stays on your device and stays readable. You lose the paid features (export and attorney sharing) not your record.

Privacy

Can Documented read my entries?

No. Your entries never leave your device unless you choose to export them or share them with an attorney, and when you do share them they're encrypted on your iPhone first, to a key only your attorney holds. We can't read them.

What about the co-parent, do they get notified?

Never. Naming a co-parent in an entry is a label on your own record. They are not contacted, not given access, and not told the record exists.

Can the other side subpoena my record from you?

They can serve us, but there is very little for us to give. There are no accounts, so there is no user record to look you up in. If you have never turned on attorney sharing, we hold nothing about you at all. If you have, we hold entries encrypted on your iPhone to your attorney's public key, and we have no key that opens them. We require valid legal process, and where something we hold is asked for, we will tell the person affected before we respond unless the law or a court order forbids it.

Does that mean my entries can't be used in my case?

No, and this is the more important half of the answer. If you are a party to a case, the other side can ask you to produce your own records, and a journal about your parenting is usually relevant enough that you have to. Keeping the record on your device protects it from breaches, from third parties, and from us. It does not change what you personally may be required to hand over. Our guide on whether a custody journal is discoverable goes through this properly.

My case has started. Should I delete anything?

No. Once a case is filed or expected, destroying records can be treated as spoliation, and the penalty is usually worse than whatever the entry said. Documented is append-only for related reasons, so use Amend if something needs correcting, and raise anything you are worried about with your attorney rather than deciding alone.

How do I delete everything?

Deleting the app removes the record from that device. If iCloud sync was on, also remove Documented's data from iCloud: Settings → your name → iCloud → Manage Account Storage. Once it's gone it's gone; we don't hold a copy to restore from.

Still stuck? Write to us, or email support@documented.co.