Arc Timeline 4 is a ground-up rebuild of Arc Timeline. Same mission - automatically recording your daily movement and places - but rebuilt from scratch with modern technologies, a new recording engine, and a decade of lessons learned.
Your subscription carries over automatically. No need to purchase again.
What’s new in Arc Timeline 4
Ground-up rebuild - modern technologies, new recording engine (LocoKit2). Faster, more reliable, higher quality recorded data.
Proper dark mode - full dark mode throughout.
Visit syncing to calendar - automatically adds your visits to your calendar.
AI-powered search - smarter search across your entire timeline.
Places tab - places organised by country and city, with occupancy charts. A long-requested feature.
Improved workout import - better integration with Apple Health workouts.
Should I keep Arc Timeline installed?
Yes, for now. A few reasons:
Recording continues - Arc Timeline will keep recording in the background alongside Arc Timeline 4. Both apps can run simultaneously without conflict.
Historical data - Your full history is imported into Arc Timeline 4, but keeping the original app means you have a familiar fallback while you get comfortable with the new app.
Safety net - If you encounter any issues with Arc Timeline 4, Arc Timeline is still there.
You can uninstall Arc Timeline when you’re comfortable that Arc Timeline 4 has everything you need. There’s no rush.
Can I run both apps at the same time?
Yes. They operate independently. Both will record location data in the background.
What happens to Arc Timeline?
This is the final Arc Timeline update. The app will continue to work and record, but no new features will be added. All development is now focused on Arc Timeline 4.
What about my data?
Arc Timeline 4 can import your Arc Timeline data. The import happens automatically on first launch if Arc Timeline is installed. Your places, visits, trips, and notes are all preserved.
Subscription details
Your existing subscription (or lifetime purchase) is recognised automatically in Arc Timeline 4. No action needed, and you won’t be charged twice.
What about Arc Recorder?
A companion recorder for Arc Timeline 4 is coming soon but won’t be available at launch. In the meantime, Arc Timeline 4’s recording is significantly more reliable than Arc Timeline’s was, so the need for a companion recorder is reduced. The existing Arc Recorder on the App Store will continue to work with Arc Timeline but does not partner with Arc Timeline 4 yet.
Something missing?
Arc Timeline 4 is under active development. If there’s a feature from Arc Timeline that you rely on and can’t find in Arc Timeline 4, please post in the forum - it helps us prioritise what to build next.
Questions or issues?
Post in the forum! We’re here to help with the transition.
Where do we get it? There’s no link in the post above, and when I search for “Arc Timeline 4” in the App Store, it doesn’t show up.
Update: Ah, I see this topic is presently unlisted, presumably because you’re waiting for the app to be published in the App Store. Nevertheless, I received an email notification about this post as a subscriber to the Announcements topic of this forum.
For anyone else reading this, the release candidate is available from TestFlight here.
There was no way to post this thread as unlisted by default (weird). So I had to post it normally then quickly mark it unlisted.
But yeah you guessed right: we’re still waiting on the app getting through App Store review. It’s in the queue, and should be only a day away, unless they get difficult about it. Which they might - it’s a “new” app as far as Apple are concerned.
Well done, Matt!!! I’ve installed the new version from the App Store, which has replaced the beta version, but it isn’t recognising my subscription, even though I’ve checked on the App Store and it’s active (annual subscription expires in October). What should I do?
Hmm. Yeah that’s weird @Leevio. Oh wait, check for the new update of the old app. You might not have that installed yet. That update is necessary for the new app to be aware of subs/lifetime from the old app. That’s probably it.
I’ve now downloaded the new app from the App Store, which has replaced the beta version. I’d uninstalled the ‘legacy’ Arc Timeline some time ago and had been using the beta version, but now it’s been replaced by the new one! All my data is still there, but my subscription hasn’t carried over; for now, I’ve activated the one-week trial.
As you can see from the screenshot, I have two active subscriptions: the old one, which expires in October, and the new one, which is currently on a trial basis.
Ah, if your subscription is still through the old app, then you will need to reinstall that one in order for the new app to be able to know about it.
The App Store doesn’t allow the new app to know about subscriptions or purchases for other apps. So the two apps have to chat about it between themselves while installed. Though it should be only a one time requirement. Once the old app is installed again it’ll write out the necessary info for the new app to read, then it’ll be fine from then on. Can then delete the old app again, once you’ve confirmed that the subscription has carried over.
OK, I’ve just reinstalled the old app. When I launched it, it asked if I wanted to try the new Timeline 4, and I said yes. Now I’m not sure whether the new version is using the subscription I’d already paid for with the old app or the new trial subscription. I’ve cancelled the trial, but it remains active until the end of the trial week. What do you think?
Haha. Yeah for the moment the new app is probably using both. The trial will continue to run for the full week (or whatever duration I set for trials - I’ve forgotten already). But once the trial is finished the active subscription should carry on from there.
Though… there’s really no way to be sure until the trial has finished. You could leave the old app installed for the week, if you like. Though it shouldn’t be necessary - it’s a one time thing, happens at launch of the old app, then job done. It should be fine now - it just won’t be proven so until the week trial is over
Thanks, Matt. I’ll definitely let you know how it turns out in both cases! If there’s anyone else who, like me, uninstalled the old app because they were happy to use only the new beta version: it’s best to reinstall the old one from the App Store first!
