Support

Frequently asked

Is Uplander free?

Yes. Uplander is free, with no in-app purchases, no subscription, and no ads.

Is my data private?

Yes. Everything you log stays on your device. There are no accounts and no server, so we never see your hunts, spots, or photos. See the Privacy Policy.

Does it work without a signal?

Yes. Logging hunts, spots, field notes, and pack lists all work fully offline, which matters in the field. Only live weather, the map, and directions need a connection.

How do I save a hunting spot?

Open the Spots tab and either tap the map to drop a pin or tap + to enter one. You can also:

• Import from a photo: pick a photo taken in the field and Uplander reads the location your camera saved in it.
• Import a GPX or KML file (Settings → Import spots or past seasons): works with exports from onX, Gaia GPS, and Google Maps.
• Share a pin from Apple Maps: find the place in Maps, tap Share, and choose Uplander.
• Paste coordinates or an Apple Maps link into the new-spot form.

Bringing across whole past seasons, hunts and all, takes a file. See Bringing in what you already have.

Bringing in what you already have

If you have been hunting a while, your record exists somewhere already: pins in a mapping app, a spreadsheet, a notebook in the truck. Uplander can take some of it directly, and the rest through a file you build once.

Start here: you may not need a file at all

For spots, the easy paths come first:

• Export from your mapping app. onX, Gaia GPS and Google Maps all export GPX or KML. Send that file to your phone and open Settings → Import spots or past seasons. Nothing to write.
• Import from a photo you took at the spot. Your camera saved the location in it.
• Share a pin from Apple Maps straight into Uplander.

Use those first. A file is only worth building for what they cannot carry.

When a file is worth it

GPX and KML hold pins and nothing else. They have nowhere to put the hunts themselves: the day, the birds, who was with you, how it went. Bringing your past seasons across, and not just the places, takes a spreadsheet.

Use a spreadsheet

One row per hunt, one column per thing you want to record. If you already keep your seasons in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, you are most of the way there: use File → Save As or Download and pick CSV.

Every template imports as-is, so you can load one first and see exactly how it lands before you type a thing.

How to build yours

1. Open the hunts template in your spreadsheet app, or just add these column headings to a sheet you already have: Date, Species, Location, Birds, Shots.
2. Fill in a row per hunt. Only the date and the bird are required; leave anything else blank.
3. Save as CSV. In Excel choose "CSV (Comma delimited)"; in Numbers use File → Export To → CSV; in Google Sheets use File → Download → Comma-separated values.
4. Get it onto your phone: drop it in iCloud Drive, or email it to yourself and save it to Files.
5. In Uplander, go to ☰ menu → Settings → Import spots or past seasons, and pick the file. Uplander shows you what it found, season by season, before anything is saved.

Column names

Names are matched loosely, so Bird Count, bird_count and birdcount all work, and capitals do not matter. Any column Uplander does not recognise is simply ignored, so you can keep your own alongside.

• Hunts need Date and Species. Also understood: Location, Birds, Shots, Verdict (great, okay or poor), Crew, Dogs, Gauge, Load, Temperature, Wind, Conditions, Notes.
• Spots need Name. Also understood: Latitude, Longitude, City/State, Status (candidate, scouted, proven or ruled out), Condition Note, Notes. A spot with no coordinates is fine: some places you know by name, not by pin.
• Notes need Title or Text. Also understood: Name for the spot it belongs to, Species and Tags.

To put all three in one file, add a Type column and write spot, hunt or note in each row. Without one, Uplander works out what the file holds from its column headings.

Two small rules

• Dates. 2024-09-01 and 9/1/2024 both work. Slash dates are read month first.
• Lists inside a cell use semicolons, not commas, because commas already separate the columns: Dad; Kevin; Eric.

If it will not import

• Check it saved as CSV, not as a spreadsheet file. A .xlsx or .numbers file cannot be read.
• Check the first row is your column headings. A title row above them will be mistaken for the headings.
• Some rows missing? Uplander skips rows it cannot read rather than refusing the whole file, so a partial import usually means a few rows are missing a date or a bird, not that the file is wrong. It counts those rows before you import and lists them by row number afterwards, with the reason for each.
• Writing JSON by hand? Use a plain text editor, not Word or Google Docs. They replace straight quotes with curly ones, which breaks the file. This is the single most common cause. A spreadsheet avoids the problem entirely, which is why it is the path we recommend.

Still stuck? Email the file to feedback@uplander.app and we will tell you what is wrong with it, or just fix it and send it back.

Can I import twice?

Yes, and a second file can improve the first. A hunt on the same day, for the same bird, at the same spot is treated as one you already have, and a spot is matched on its name, so nothing doubles up. Where the new file fills in something you left blank, such as who was with you, it fills it in. Where it disagrees with something already saved, it changes nothing and asks you which to keep. Build your file a piece at a time, or correct it later and import it again.

What happens after I tap Import?

Uplander shows you exactly what it did: what was added, what was updated, what you already had, and anything it could not read. Rows it could not read are listed by row number with the reason, so you can fix that line in your spreadsheet and import the file again. Anything already imported stays as it is.

Do my seasons get set up too?

If you want them to. When your file names the birds you chase, Uplander offers to start tracking a season for each one, with typical opening and closing dates. Real seasons vary by state, so treat those dates as a starting point and edit them in ☰ menu → Manage Seasons.

More questions

How do I get directions to a spot?

Open the spot and tap Get directions, or press and hold a spot in the list. It opens driving directions in Apple Maps from wherever you are.

What is the Spot Tracker?

Each spot can be marked Candidate, Scouted, Proven, or Ruled out, with a note about its condition this season. Because fields change year to year, a note written in a previous season is flagged so you know to re-check it before you rely on it.

Why does the app ask for my location?

Only to tag a hunt, drop or find a spot, and open directions. It is optional, never runs in the background, and you can decline it and still use the app.

How do I track season dates?

Use ☰ menu → Manage Seasons. Add an opening day and, if you like, a closing day; the Home screen then shows a countdown, or "In season" while it's open. Optional reminders nudge you about your license ahead of the opener. Dates you enter are your own; always verify against your state's current regulations.

Are the bag limits and season dates official?

No. Anything Uplander shows is what you entered, plus generic suggested defaults. Regulations vary by state, zone, and year. Always confirm with your state wildlife agency before hunting.

Can I get my data out?

Yes, you can delete anything in the app at any time, and removing the app removes its data from your device.

I found a bug or have an idea.

Please tell us: email feedback@uplander.app. Uplander is actively being built and real field feedback shapes what gets made next.