Mushroom Tracker is the only foraging GPS app that stores your pins in a local database — never uploaded to shared community maps. Offline-first. Free for iOS & Android.
Every GPS coordinate is written to a local database on your device and never to a shared community map. Your phone's own full-device encryption and lock screen protect it if the phone is lost.
GPS works via satellite, not cell towers. Create, edit, and navigate to pins anywhere — dense forest, mountain valleys, remote backcountry — with zero internet connection.
Download terrain maps for your foraging regions over WiFi before you head out. Full topo access in the field, no signal required.
The complete species guide — safety alerts, lookalike warnings, edibility status, and photos — stored on-device and growing continuously via CDN. Never loses access in the field.
Attach photos, fruiting conditions, substrate notes, and return-date reminders to every GPS pin. All stored locally. Syncs to encrypted cloud backup on your terms.
You control every share. Choose individual pins, blur to a 1 km radius for approximate sharing, or export for a specific person. Nothing is public by default.
Install on iOS or Android. No account required for offline GPS use. Optional account unlocks encrypted cloud backup.
Tap the map to create a GPS pin. Add species, photos, notes, and return reminders — all stored in your private encrypted local database.
Multi-flush species like chicken of the woods and chanterelles return to the same spot. Your pinned log is the only record you need.
Not all foraging map apps store your data the same way. The difference matters when your best spots are at stake.
How it works: Pins you drop are uploaded to shared servers and visible to other app users — either immediately or after a short delay. Discovery is the feature. Privacy is an afterthought.
Risk: A single popular post or app feature can route dozens of users to your exact GPS coordinates. Spot burning at scale.
Examples: Forayz, GeoForager, ShroomSpotter
How it works: Pins are stored in a local SQLite database on your device only. The server never receives your coordinates unless you explicitly export or enable optional encrypted backup.
Result: Your spots are yours. No community map. No spot burning risk from the app itself. Share only what you choose, with only who you choose.
Mushroom Tracker
How Mushroom Tracker compares to other foraging GPS and community pin-map apps on the features that matter most in the field.
| Feature | Mushroom Tracker | Mushroom Spot | ShroomSpotter | Forayz | GeoForager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPS Pins — Fully Offline | Yes — always offline | Not disclosed — crowdsourced map app | Requires connectivity | Partial — requires sync | Partial — requires sync |
| Private by Default | Yes — local | No — community pin-map | No — public pin-map | No — community map | No — community map |
| Spots Shared to Public Map | Never by default | Yes — core feature | Yes — core feature | Yes (opt-out unclear) | Yes — core feature |
| Offline Species Database | Full database, offline | Not disclosed | Requires internet | Requires internet | Requires internet |
| AI Safety ID (Offline) | On-device AI ID | AI ID feature — offline status not disclosed | Cloud-only | Not available | Not available |
| Downloadable Maps | Yes | Not disclosed | No | No | Limited |
| Photo + Notes Per Pin | Yes — stored privately | Yes — on shared servers | Yes — on shared servers | Yes — on shared servers | Yes — on shared servers |
| Mushroom-Specific Features | Purpose-built | Mushroom-focused (map-style) | Mushroom-focused | General foraging | General foraging |
| Free Tier | Yes — up to 10 pins free | Not disclosed | Yes | Freemium, restricted | Yes |
| Foraging Marketplace | Yes — buy/sell in-app | No | No | No | No |
| Pin Data Reliability | Your own verified GPS — not crowdsourced | Crowdsourced — 3.74★ rating; users report pins don't match the actual spot | Crowdsourced — accuracy varies | Crowdsourced — accuracy varies | Crowdsourced — accuracy varies |
Table based on publicly available app information as of July 2026. Features subject to change. ShroomSpotter: App Store ID 6753267716. Mushroom Spot: App Store ID 1660126297, 3.74/5 as of July 2026.
This table covers map and GPS behavior only — for identification accuracy, privacy policies, and pricing across the same apps, see the full ID-app comparison.
The free tier covers up to 10 private GPS pins — plenty to get started. Unlimited pins, batch export (CSV/GPX), and priority sync are included in the US$4.99/month premium plan. The free tier needs no credit card.
Heavy tree cover blocks cell signal but not satellite GPS. Drop pins in your chanterelle corridor without service. Return same time next year.
Valleys and canyon walls reliably kill cell coverage. Colorado chanterelles, porcini, and matsutake habitat at 7,000–10,000 ft all get full offline GPS.
BC Interior burn morel hunting, remote Pacific Northwest coastal spots, Alaska — places where cell service is measured in days between towers, not signal bars.
Chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, and oyster mushrooms return to the same substrate. A pinned GPS coordinate from year one is worth years of return harvests.
Foraging with landowner permission means you need exact coordinates — and you definitely don't want those on a community map. Private pins only.
City parks, greenbelts, and suburban lots produce year-round. GPS-pin every productive tree base and run your route efficiently without relying on memory.
Yes. GPS positioning is satellite-based, not cell-tower-based. Mushroom Tracker keeps your species database, maps, and all pin data on-device so everything works deep in the backcountry. The only features that need connectivity are optional encrypted cloud backup and CDN species database updates — both happen automatically when you're back in service.
No — never by default. Your coordinates are stored in a local SQLite database on your device. We do not receive your GPS coordinates unless you explicitly enable optional encrypted backup, and even then, the data is encrypted client-side before it leaves your phone. No community map. No server-side location index.
Those apps are built around a shared community pin-map: discovery is the core value proposition, and user-submitted GPS data goes to a shared server visible to other users. Mushroom Tracker is built around the opposite model — private, encrypted, offline-first. Your spots stay on your device unless you choose to share them.
The free tier supports up to 10 private GPS pins. Unlimited pins are available with the premium plan at US$4.99/month or US$29.99/year. The free tier needs no credit card.
GPS accuracy — typically 3–5 meters — is determined by satellite signal geometry, not internet connectivity. You get the same precision offline as online. Accuracy improves in open sky conditions and may reduce slightly under thick canopy, which affects all GPS receivers equally regardless of app.
Yes. Data export to GPX and CSV is supported. Free tier includes basic export. Premium plan adds batch export for all pins at once. You're never locked into the app ecosystem.
Yes. GPS coverage and the species database work globally. The app is free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in every region where those stores operate.
Yes. GPS positioning uses satellite signals, not cell towers. Mushroom Tracker stores your maps and species database on-device so pins, notes, and identification work anywhere — deep forest, mountain valleys, or backcountry with no service.
Never by default. Unlike Forayz, GeoForager, and ShroomSpotter which put user pins on shared community maps, Mushroom Tracker stores every GPS coordinate in a local database on your device. Your spots only leave your phone if you explicitly choose to export or share them.
Mushroom Tracker offers the only combination of fully offline GPS pinning, private on-device spot storage, a complete species database, and AI safety identification in a single free app. Unlike general GPS apps or public community map apps, it is purpose-built for mushroom foragers who need offline reliability and spot privacy. See our full 2026 foraging app comparison for how it stacks up against the alternatives.
GPS accuracy (typically 3–5 meters) is determined entirely by satellite signals, not internet connectivity. You get the same precision deep in a valley with no bars as you do standing in a city with full LTE.
Download Mushroom Tracker free and start building a private GPS foraging map that is yours alone — never a shared public map. Free for iOS and Android. No cell service needed.