---
title: "Footsteps Product Design Case Study | Parmis Meshgi"
description: "Footsteps is a private location journal for iPhone and iPad, designed by product designer Parmis Meshgi."
canonical_url: "https://meshgi.com/footsteps/"
html_url: "https://meshgi.com/footsteps/"
author: "Parmis Meshgi"
location: "Toronto, Canada"
language: "en-CA"
last_updated: "2026-09-29"
---

> Footsteps is a private location journal for iPhone and iPad, designed by product designer Parmis Meshgi.

Canonical page: [https://meshgi.com/footsteps/](https://meshgi.com/footsteps/)

[← Side projects](https://meshgi.com/playground/)

Independent product · iOS

# Footsteps

Remember where life happened without giving that history to another service.

[Open on the App Store ↗](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/footsteps/id6756509983)

![Footsteps app icon](https://meshgi.com/assets/playground/footsteps.jpg)

![Footsteps map showing a recorded route](https://meshgi.com/assets/playground/footsteps-ipad-1.jpg)

My role Product and UX design

Concept, flow, interface, and release story

Platform iPhone and iPad

Automatic location journal

Release July 21, 2026

Version 1.0.31 verified September 10

Core value Useful memory

With local-only data ownership

Project value

## Make location history useful without trading away privacy.

### What the design needed to achieve

- ✓

Record a day with little manual work.

- ✓

Turn raw location points into a readable personal story.

- ✓

Keep ownership clear through local storage and direct export.

Problem

### Memory takes effort.

Manual check-ins interrupt the day. Most people will not build a complete location journal by hand.

Risk

### Location reveals routines.

A useful record can also expose home, work, travel, and repeated habits.

Direction

### Automate with restraint.

The product should collect enough context to help, while keeping the record on the device.

Design decisions

## Connect each design choice to its intended value.

01

### Remove manual check-ins

Less input effort

Footsteps records visits and movement in the background. The user does not rebuild the day by hand.

Intended impact

More complete days with fewer repeated actions.

02

### Turn tracking into a timeline

Faster recall

Places, travel modes, duration, and maps form one chronological story.

Intended impact

Users can understand where time went without reading raw location data.

03

### Explain privacy before permission

Clearer trust

The opening flow explains local storage, no cloud sync, no analytics, and no account.

Intended impact

People see the privacy boundary before granting sensitive access.

04

### Keep the record portable

Data ownership

CSV and JSON exports let people take places, visits, and activities elsewhere.

Intended impact

The journal remains useful outside the app.

Product proof

## The released screens carry the same value story.

![Footsteps map showing a full recorded route](https://meshgi.com/assets/playground/footsteps-ipad-1.jpg)

Map

A full route shows where the day happened.

![Footsteps daily journal introduction](https://meshgi.com/assets/playground/footsteps-screen-1.jpg)

Journal

The product explains automatic capture through a familiar daily view.

![Footsteps privacy promise](https://meshgi.com/assets/playground/footsteps-screen-2.jpg)

Privacy

Local storage and no analytics appear as product features.

Result

## A focused utility reached the App Store.

Released evidence

### Public iOS product

Footsteps launched for iPhone and iPad on July 21, 2026.

Verified boundary

### Local-only privacy

The public product states no accounts, cloud sync, analytics, tracking, or ads.

Measure next

### Value signals

Track complete days, correction rates, battery impact, exports, and repeat use. Public results are not yet available.

[Released product Open Footsteps on the App Store ↗](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/footsteps/id6756509983)

[Next side quest Seej →](https://meshgi.com/seej/)