Frequently Asked Questions
The ONRECORD mobile app and web application have been designed to work intuitively so simply install and start gathering evidence today.
Our many short guidance videos may help you resolve any queries you may have. Find guidance for using the mobile app here and guidance for using the web app here
However, if you have any questions we are here to help. Please check the list of common queries below or contact us if you cannot find an answer.
Using the app
The app can help you in several ways:
- Many people who get into difficulties, whether it be debt, being bullied, being abused, being subject to prejudice or many other such situations, are unsure whether it is something they can or should get help with, whether it is bad enough, whether it is their fault to some extent or how they should go about dealing with it. By using ONRECORD on your mobile phone you can make a private record of what has been happening which you don’t need to share with anyone until you are ready to. You can look at the pattern of events and their severity and decide whether it is too trivial to pursue, or, alternatively, decide it is time to take action. It’s a private reality check.
- As a free mobile app, ONRECORD provides a simple but sophisticated form of online filing. Upload complete packages of evidence, in which photographs, voice recordings, video, documents along your own descriptions of events, are stored in chronological order along with maps and impact measures. The purpose of making records when things are difficult is to get a result, so although it takes an effort to get started, it’s the outcome that counts. ONRECORD makes sorting through your uploaded records, selecting the ones you want to share or download, controlling how you share your evidence and who you share it with, far easier than any other method. In every circumstance where you might need to open a file to keep a record, in order to be able to manage a situation, ONRECORD makes it more efficient and easier to get the result you want.
- Good evidence, clearly presented, is your best tool and weapon when trying to overcome difficulties. Use ONRECORD, along with all the advice and guidance we offer on our website and YouTube channel, to stand up for yourself, make your case and be effective.
ONRECORD is suited to keeping records about anything important to you. It is particularly helpful when you might have to go to a court or tribunal and need to show well organised evidence. It gets your records in chronological order and shows the frequency and seriousness of the problem. It is ideally suited to situations where you want to show a pattern of events or a course of conduct over time.
Our website describes many different situations where the app will be useful and suggests how to use it. Our YouTube channel also gives a lot of suggestions and guidance.
If you are using ONRECORD to gather evidence you may want to rely on in court or at a tribunal you need to make sure it is trusted and truthful. To make your evidence most effective, record it as soon as you can during or after the event. The most effective evidence will be a written record of what happened supported by photos, videos or voice recordings to confirm what you say. These attachments to a record give a vivid impression of events which will support your account of what happened.
Be truthful and do not exaggerate. Simply describe what actually happened in as much detail as possible. The more you give a straightforward account of what happened, the better. You should make sure you describe the impact of events on you but do not let your description of the events be spoiled by using exaggerated, emotive language. As much as you can, quote exactly what people said.
Collect and record witness names and contact information.
Yes, if you view a record, you will see details showing when the record was uploaded.
Yes, you can connect to an unlimited number of friends or family members. The family and friends accounts will be free to them but the data they send you will be included in the data allowance for your chosen subscription level.
There is video guidance on using the calendar. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to make records. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to search for and select records. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to set the date and time. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to use the map. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to see your uploaded records. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to rename cases and labels. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on adding attachments to your records. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to use the timeline. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to move records between cases and labels. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to convert messages into records. Go to our guidance videos on confidential messaging using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on how to make and change case names. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
There is video guidance on the value and purpose of writing a case background. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
Yes, you can change your subscription level at any time and upgrade or downgrade as your needs change. Each subscription period is for a minimum of a month and so, when you change you downgrade your subscription level you will get the changed level of service immediately and the new subscription will be taken into account for the remainder of the month involved and shown as a credit on your account.
The location, date and time information attached to your records is key to proving where and when an event occurred. These data cannot be edited, and that is key to the evidential value of uploaded records using Myonrecord. Once uploaded, Myonrecord can be used as reliable proof of date, time and location of an event. However, to get the best evidence you must be aware of these factors:
- You must have location services turned on for Myonrecord on your device (this is a setting on your device and not on the app). When uploading a record, choose ‘Save current location’ in Location Options. This will save the latitude and longitude coordinates of your location at the time of uploading. It might be argued that a VPN could locate you anywhere in the world and therefore produce misleading location information, so you also need to take a photograph or video to show where you are at the time.
- When you take a photograph or video, use the ‘Take picture’ or ‘Record video’ options in the ‘Add Attachment’ menu. DO NOT use the camera app of your device because you will not be able to prove when or where a photo was taken. Taking a photo or making a video using our app is crucial with regard to evidential value. This is because, when downloaded, a photograph has ‘EXIF’ data which lists when and how an image was taken. Data uploaded using Myonrecord cannot be edited, so the EXIF data can be relied upon to confirm the date and time the photograph was taken. This is definitely not the case for images taken with the device’s camera app. The EXIF record of date, time and location of an image taken using the pre-installed camera app of your device, can all be altered. This means that the EXIF date and time of an image taken using your device camera app cannot be relied upon and will not be of evidential value. Photographic evidence taken using Myonrecord’s options cannot have been tampered with, making it reliable evidence.
Above all, do not ever put a photograph or video of an event through an editing programme (for example Photoshop), which will immediately invalidate the date, time and location data linked to the image file while also invalidating any other evidential value of the image. The EXIF data will reveal that an image that has been through an editing programme and make you vulnerable to accusations of faking images.
Finally, remember to make and upload your record at the time and place where the event is occurring or as soon as possible and as near as possible afterwards.
‘Labels’ are headings used to describe records of evidence, assigned to records to help you categorise and group different records together so they can be easily searched and managed at a later date.
You can create an unlimited number of ‘Labels’, which can be titled however you please and can be assigned to any record. ‘Labels’ are also colour coded to help make it easy to identify key experiences across a timeline of events.
‘Cases’ are headings used to describe the issues your records relate to.
Create a new ‘Case’ for each separate issue you are experiencing to group records relating to each issue together. You can create as many ‘Cases’ as you need and can give each ‘Case’ a name of your choice.
‘Cases’ can also be subdivided into separate ‘Labels’, and by connecting to your legal professional’s ONRECORD account, you can share ‘Cases’ with them to provide them access to all records categorised under a particular ‘Case’.
Verifying your location helps you to prove the accuracy of your records of evidence, enabling you to use the GPS of your mobile device to confirm your location upon uploading a record. This can be key evidence should you be challenged on where you were.
The ‘Verify Location’ function of our evidence management app records a latitude and longitude and logs your location via a pointer on a map. Far more accurate than simply specifying an address, this latitude and longitude information is saved in the ‘metadata’ attached to your record, and cannot be changed.
This is why records should be made contemporaneously, at the location where the event occurred. Should you upload a record at a different location than where the event took place, use the ‘Enter the address’ option. However, this does not utilise your phone’s GPS, and therefore is evidentially less robust.
Records uploaded to ONRECORD cannot be edited, to help maintain a complete view of evidence and safeguard the integrity and credibility of evidence.
If you need to correct an uploaded record, or would like to expand on the detail provided, you can add an unlimited number of amendments to each record. These amendments are additional notes associated with the original record and can include attachments of evidentiary materials to create a comprehensive view of your experience.
Yes. Individual records, whole ‘Labels’ and their associated records, or whole ‘Cases’ and all the ‘Labels’ and records within, can be deleted. When deleting ‘Labels’ and ‘Cases’, be sure to move records you wish to retain to new locations first.
Once deleted, records cannot be retrieved. This is for security and confidentiality reasons, to ensure we are never in breach of GDPR by retaining a backup of personal information you’ve deleted, and to assure our users that your deleted information has truly been deleted and is not available elsewhere.
ONRECORD provides both lawyers and individuals navigating legal cases with a chronology of evidence and experience.
To export your entire database of records on the ONRECORD mobile app:
- Go to ‘All records’
- Choose ‘Select all’
- Press on the 3 dot menu icon at the top right of the screen
- Choose ‘Export selection’
To export your selected records on the mobile app:
- Go to ‘My Records’
- Press on the case name you want to download
- Press on ‘View records’
- Use ‘Select’ to choose which records to download
- Tap on ‘Options’ and choose ‘Export selection’’.
(The records will be downloaded as a chronology with all the attachments)
To export your entire database of organised records on the ONRECORD web app:
- Login to our website
- Go to ‘All records’ in the menu
- Click on ‘Select all’
- Click on ‘Download’
To export only selected records from the web app:
- Login on our website.
- Go to ‘My Case(s)’
- Tap on ‘My Records’ of the case you wish to download
- Select which records you want to download.
- Tap the ‘Download’ button.
- Choose whether you wish to download the attachments and whether you want the ‘metadata’ which includes the location information and impact score.
Individuals can use impact scores to log the significance of events, whether they be positive or negative, to help create an easy-to-navigate chronological timeline of events, where key points can be easily identified. The impact can range from -3 (very negative) to +3 (very positive) and will display in the timeline.
The ONRECORD web application enables you to search through your records by level of impact.
- Log into the ONRECORD evidence management app via our website
- Choose ‘My Cases’
- Select the case you want to search through
- Click ‘My Records’
- Select the impact level you wish to search for
ONRECORD enables individuals to seamlessly update their legal professional with records of evidence, in real time.
Users can connect to legal professionals by choosing “Connect” from the menu in the app, and entering the serial number of the lawyer’s ONRECORD account. Legal professionals will need to provide clients with this account number to enable the connectivity of accounts.
Records always belong to the individual, who can revoke access at any time, though we still enable the legal professional to retain records for 28 days after the disconnection of accounts.
By connecting to a legal professional you are agreeing to give them access to your records for the particular ‘Case’ or Cases you choose to share with them.
Lawyers have an obligation to keep a record of their work with clients. It’s a key part of the regulations that govern their profession, which include obligations of confidentiality and security of documentation.
Therefore, when you disconnect from a professional on the ONRECORD evidence management app, they have 28 days to download all the material to which they had access while connected to your account.
When two accounts are connected, you can exchange confidential, encrypted messages and attachments that can only be seen and accessed by both parties.
However, you can choose to convert a message into a record which can then be accessed by anybody else to whom you have connected and given access to that case. Converted messages will appear in chronological order along with all records in that case.
The only difference between the mobile and web applications is that the web application offers you the ability to search through your records. In all other ways, the two versions of the ONRECORD evidence management app are synchronised and offer all the same functionality and benefits to both lawyers and individuals.
To close your account in the mobile app”
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Scroll to the bottom
- Press on ‘Delete account’
- Your account will close at the end of your current subscription period
To close your account in the web app:
- Login to our evidence management app via our website
- Go to ‘Billing’ in the menu
- Click on ‘Cancel plan’
- Your account will close at the end of your current subscription period
To explore how the ONRECORD app works, and can be leveraged to support both legal professionals and individuals navigating legal cases, be sure to visit our How It Works, Empowering Your Practice, and Supporting individuals pages.
Privacy and Security
Only you and any person you choose to connect to can see your records.
People you have connected to can only see the records and messages of the ‘Cases’ you have shared with them.
Not even us, the ONRECORD team, can see your records without you giving us access.
Most technical problems can be resolved without needing to see your records, though in rare instances we may need you to share your password with us to enable us to login and rectify the issue.
You’ll be able to set up a new password afterwards to maintain your privacy when the problem is resolved.
The ONRECORD team is completely committed to maintaining your confidentiality and privacy, and as a doctor and lawyer, our directors take this responsibility very seriously.
All records and messages made and uploaded to our evidence management app are encrypted when at rest on our Microsoft Azure server, and are also protected by Microsoft’s security when being uploaded and downloaded to your mobile device and computer.
The app has several key security features:
- Fingerprint/face recognition and/or PIN to login on the mobile app – go to ‘Settings’.
- Two factor authentication can be activated – go to ‘Settings’
- You are only logged out of the mobile app when you sign out using the menu. You will not be logged out if you simply navigate away from the app (although after a period of time without returning to the app you will still be logged out).
- When you navigate away from the mobile app, the screen for the app is blanked out so the contents cannot be seen when scrolling open apps. Face/fingerprint recognition or PIN will reopen it. This can be reset in ‘Settings’.
- Photos, videos and audio recordings made using the app (rather than the phone’s own camera and microphone system) are not stored in the phone’s galleries and are therefore not seen by anyone scrolling through your phone’s photo gallery.
- The metadata of photos and videos made using the app cannot be altered, unlike photos and videos made using your phone’s camera.
Your account is private and only you can decide whether you wish to share your records. We don’t sell or share any of your information for marketing or advertising and we ask for subscriptions because there are no advertisements.
The only cookies we use are those on our website, which are essential to its functionality. It’s because we don’t use any advertising cookies and do not seek revenue from the sale of your data, that we rely on a subscription model to keep our evidence management app running.
Please see our Privacy Policy.
Having had careers as a solicitor and a doctor, the founders of ONRECORD fully understand the need for privacy when dealing with highly sensitive and personal information. We are absolutely committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your records. Your account is private to you and only you can decide whether you wish to share your records. We don’t sell or share any of your information for marketing or advertising and we ask for subscriptions because there are no advertisements.
Proving the time and place of events can be important ways of validating evidence and the mobile app is very helpful in doing so. When you upload a record, you can log the location (allow location services) along with the date and time. So, as far as is safe, upload records as soon as possible after the event and in the place where the event occurred.
To prevent the credibility of your evidence being undermined, you cannot edit uploaded records. To add corrections or additional information, you can add an amendment. To see video guidance on how to use amendments, go here for the mobile app and here for the web app.
You can, of course, edit your records once you have downloaded them but your original evidence will remain unaffected.
You can share your records with any professional who has an ONRECORD serial number. These can include solicitors, barristers, counsellors and advice services.
You can also share your records with friends and family. They need to open a free account so that you can use their serial number to link with them.
You can specify which case/cases you wish to share with them.
See the guidance videos about how to make a connection, using the mobile app or using the web app.
There is video guidance on how to connect to professionals. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.
Think carefully before you share your records with anyone who does not have a legal responsibility to act in accordance with your wishes. Professionals’ use of data is governed by the GDPR legislation but sharing information with for example a friend or relation isn’t.
Usually you will have already agreed with an individual or an organisation that they will have access to your records before you go through the process of connecting your records to them. They will need to have a professional’s account (which is free of charge) in order to be given a serial number. You will need their serial number in order to make the connection.
For a video about linking to a professional, go to our YouTube channel using the links at the top of the page.
To make the link, choose ‘Connect’ from the app menu and enter the serial number they have given you.
They will automatically receive a message to confirm that you have requested to give them access to your records. As soon as they confirm that they accept your request, they will have access to your records and will be able to exchange confidential messages with you. Their connection will include the ability to download your records.
The records are yours and you can cancel a connection with an individual at any time. The professional will be able to download any confidential messages that have been exchanged with you during the time your account was connected.
For a video about using confidential messaging, go to our YouTube channel using the links at the top of the page.
Confidential messages can be exchanged between you and a professional to whom you have given access to your records by connecting your account. They are recorded separately from your records. You can add attachments, such as screenshots or documents, to confidential messages. Only you and the professional can see the messages exchanged between you but you can convert a message into a record so that it becomes included in your record-keeping. Once converted to a record, anyone else to whom you have given access to that can will also be able to see it.
When you disconnect from a professional, or when you close your account, they will have the right to download the confidential messages they exchanged with you while connected to your account, for their file. Confidential messages will remain available to them for 28 days to enable them to download them.
For a video about amending records, go to our YouTube channel using the links at the top of the page.
You can edit records before you upload them but not once they have been uploaded. You can delete uploaded records. But you cannot edit uploaded records. However, you can add an amendment to a record at any time.
The reason for not allowing editing of records is to protect the validity of your evidence by ensuring that you do not change your original record, thereby undermining the credibility of your evidence. Adding an amendment will give a clear account of how and when your evidence has been modified.
Records are encrypted at rest on our Microsoft Azure server and in transit between your mobile device or computer and our server.
When connecting to a professional, you will specify which case(s) they can see. The professional will then have the same access as you do and be able to see all your records and attachments and download and print them.
Once linked to you, professionals can also be in contact using our confidential messaging service.
There is video guidance on how to set the security settings. Go to our guidance videos using the links at the top of this page.