RideDetect
Available in: 📱 App
RideDetect detects trips automatically — you get in, drive off, and RideBase records the trip in the background. No starting, no stopping, no forgetting.
What it feels like
- You drive off. Shortly after the trip begins, the app checks in with the notification "RideDetect is recording your trip."
- During the trip you don't have to do anything. Optionally, you can open the ongoing recording in the app and already set the vehicle, purpose, or a note.
- When you arrive and the vehicle has been stationary for a few minutes, the recording ends automatically. You get the notification "Trip saved" with the distance — the trip is then in your logbook, or under Unassigned Activities if it couldn't be assigned to a vehicle.
How trips get matched to the right vehicle is explained under Vehicle assignment; how to review and edit detected trips is covered under Reviewing detected trips.
In addition, while RideDetect is active the dashboard shows a Start trip button, which lets you start a recording manually at any time.
Requirements (in short)
- Location access "Always" — so trips are detected even when the app is closed
- On Android additionally: the "Physical activity" permission and an exemption from battery optimization
The app walks you through all the prompts step by step when you enable it — details under Setting up on iOS and Setting up on Android.
Known limits (honestly)
RideDetect is deliberately designed to save power. That comes with system-level limitations that apply on iOS and Android:
- Delayed start: Detection only kicks in a few minutes (typically 2–5) after the trip begins — so the first roughly 1–2 kilometers of a trip may be missing. This is normal and not a bug.
- Delayed end: The trip only ends after the vehicle has been stationary for a few minutes. Short stops (traffic lights, a quick halt) deliberately don't end the recording.
- Very short trips (under roughly 300 m) are discarded.
More on this under Troubleshooting.
Pausing RideDetect
Sometimes you don't want trips to be detected — for example as a passenger or on a train. In your Profile, tap the status badge next to the RideDetect entry (or turn off the Automatic switch in the RideDetect settings). This opens "Disable automatic detection" with these options:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Today | Automatically turns back on tomorrow |
| Permanently | Off until you re-enable it manually |
| Hours (1h, 2h, 4h, 8h) | Pause for the selected time |
| Days (1, 2, 3, 7) | Pause for the selected number of days |
While paused, the app shows when RideDetect will reactivate — Resume now ends the pause immediately. Once the pause expires, a notification reminds you that detection can become active again.
:::tip Manual recording is still possible Even while automatic detection is paused or disabled, you can still record trips via the Start trip button on the dashboard. :::
Privacy
GPS data is transmitted encrypted and used exclusively for trip recording. It is never shared with third parties. More about how your data is handled under Privacy.