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Data Export

Export your location history in multiple formats.

Looking for a full archive?

Data Export produces shareable, human-readable formats (CSV, GeoJSON, GPX, KML) of your location history. If you instead want a single password-encrypted archive of everything - locations, settings, geofences and credentials - for device migration or offsite storage, use Backup & Restore.

Supported Formats​

FormatExtensionUse Case
CSV.csvSpreadsheets, data analysis
GeoJSON.geojsonWeb mapping, GIS tools
GPX.gpxGPS devices, hiking apps
KML.kmlGoogle Earth, mapping

How to Export​

Bulk Export​

  1. Go to Data Management
  2. Tap Export Data
  3. Select the format
  4. Share the exported file via Android's share menu

Trip Export​

Go to Location History -> Trips tab. There are two ways to export:

  • All trips for the day - tap Export All in the header, pick a format, share.
  • A custom selection - long-press any trip card to enter selection mode. Tap additional cards to add or remove them. Use Select all to grab every trip. Tap the share icon in the selection header, pick a format, share. Works for a single trip too.

For a single trip you can also tap the card to open Trip Detail, then use the share icon in the header.

Trip exports include a trip column/property so each location is tagged with its trip number. Custom selections produce a single file containing only the chosen trips.

Delete Trips​

From the Trips tab, long-press a trip card to enter selection mode, add any other trips you want to remove, then tap the trash icon in the selection header. You'll be asked to confirm before the underlying location points are permanently deleted from the device.

Single-trip delete is also available from the Trip Detail screen via the trash icon in the header.

Export Data
Export Data
Auto-Export
Auto-Export

Scheduled Export (Auto-Export)​

Automatically export your location data on a schedule without opening the app.

Setup​

  1. Go to Settings > Auto-Export
  2. Select an export directory (files are saved there via Android's Storage Access Framework)
  3. Choose a format (CSV, GeoJSON, GPX, or KML)
  4. Set the frequency: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly
  5. Pick the Time (24-hour) in your device's local timezone. For Weekly, also pick a day of week. For Monthly, pick a day of month (1-31)
  6. Enable the toggle

You can also tap Export Now to trigger an immediate export using your current auto-export settings, without waiting for the next scheduled run.

Export Range​

  • All data - exports every stored location each time
  • Since last export - only exports locations recorded since the previous auto-export

File Retention​

By default, auto-export keeps the last 10 export files and deletes older ones automatically. You can change this in the File Retention setting - enter any number or 0 for unlimited (no automatic cleanup).

How it works​

  • Uses Android AlarmManager (setAndAllowWhileIdle) to fire at your configured wall-clock time. Typical accuracy is within minutes; Doze mode may delay by up to ~15 minutes
  • After each export the next alarm is armed automatically. Alarms also re-arm after device reboot
  • Exports fire at the configured time, not on enable. To run an export immediately for testing or backup, tap Export Now
  • Promotes to a foreground service during export, preventing Android from killing long-running exports
  • Streams data in chunks (10,000 locations at a time) to keep memory usage low even with very large datasets
  • Writes to a temporary file first, then copies to the export directory - if something goes wrong mid-export, you never get a partial or corrupted file
  • After copying, verifies the destination file exists and has the correct size before deleting the temp file
  • If the export loop is cancelled (e.g. by disabling auto-export), it cleans up gracefully without leaving partial files
  • Permanent errors (invalid config, directory access issues) fail immediately; transient errors (I/O failures) retry up to 3 times
  • If the selected directory becomes inaccessible (permissions revoked), auto-export disables itself and a notification prompts you to re-select the directory
  • A notification is shown after each export with the file name and location count
  • Old export files beyond the retention limit are cleaned up after each successful export
Frequency

Monthly frequency uses a calendar month (e.g. Jan 15 to Feb 15), not a fixed 30-day interval. If the chosen day-of-month doesn't exist in a given month (e.g. day 31 in February), the export runs on the last day of that month instead. Daily, Weekly and Monthly intervals fire at the chosen wall-clock time via Android AlarmManager. Typical accuracy is within minutes.

File naming​

Files are saved as colota_export_<timestamp>.<ext> in the selected directory.

Storage Reference​

  • ~200 bytes per location
  • ~2 MB per 10,000 locations