Questions, answered.

Yes. Opening Dashivo starts recording by itself, so anything that opens it starts your drive: Siri, a button, or an automation you set up once on your phone. Your iPhone's Shortcuts app can start Dashivo when you plug in, connect to CarPlay or connect to your car's Bluetooth, and on a Galaxy, Modes and Routines can do the same. Apple and Google don't let apps open themselves, so these are your phone's own settings, and a locked phone may ask you to unlock it first. Dashivo's Settings › Start automatically gathers these options in one place.

It records with your usual settings, including sound, so check your state's recording laws. Set it up before you drive, and don't handle the phone while driving.

Ask when my car starts Coming soon is a Beta setting: in Dashivo's Settings it shows as a Beta row you can't turn on yet, and once it's ready it stays off until you turn it on. When you walk up to your car and your Dashivo Hub is on, Dashivo asks "Start recording?", and one tap starts it. It records the road only, unless you've turned on both cameras, and it doesn't interrupt Driving Focus.

Yes. Dashivo gives Siri, Spotlight, the Shortcuts app and the Action button four actions: Start dash cam, Police stop, Start body cam and Stop recording. They work on every iPhone Dashivo runs on (iOS 17 and later), with nothing to set up. Say "Hey Siri" (or "Siri"), then:

• "Start dash cam in Dashivo", "Record with Dashivo" or "Dashivo dash cam"
• "Dashivo police stop" or "Start a police stop in Dashivo"
• "Start body cam in Dashivo" or "Dashivo body cam"
• "Stop recording in Dashivo"

Start dash cam records the road, and the cabin too only if you've turned on Front and rear (Settings › Dash cam, Pro); sound follows Video › Record sound. Police stop keeps the mode you're in, just like tapping POLICE, and starts right away with your saved Police stop settings. A start never changes a police stop that's already running.

Stop recording asks for Face ID or your passcode, and it never ends a police stop: Siri answers that a police stop can only be ended in Dashivo. On a locked iPhone, every start asks for Face ID or your passcode first, then Dashivo opens and records. If Siri doesn't catch a phrase, "Hey Siri, open Dashivo" also starts recording.

For one press, put an action on the Action button, or add Dashivo's controls, Record with Dashivo and Dashivo police stop, to Control Center or the Lock Screen.

On iPhone 15 Pro and later: open Settings, tap Action Button, swipe to Shortcut, tap Choose a Shortcut and pick Police stop. From then on, press and hold the Action button to start a police stop. Pick Start dash cam instead if you'd rather it start the dash cam. On iOS 18 and later you can also swipe to Controls, tap Choose a Control and pick a Dashivo control.

Dashivo has two controls, Record with Dashivo and Dashivo police stop, on iOS 18 and later. For Control Center: swipe down from the top right corner, tap the Add button (+) at the top left, then Add a Control, search for Dashivo and tap the control.

On the Lock Screen, a Dashivo control can take the place of one of the two controls at the bottom: touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, then Lock Screen, tap the minus on one of the two controls, then + in its place, choose a Dashivo control and tap Done. The names can differ a little between iOS versions.

On iOS 27, in the Shortcuts app: tap the Add button (+), then Add Action, search for Start dash cam and tap Dashivo's action (Open App with Dashivo works too, and opens in the last mode you used). Then tap Edit › Automation and pick when it runs: CarPlay › Connects, Bluetooth › Choose › your car, or Charger › Is Connected. So it runs without asking, tap Edit › Info › Privacy and turn on Allow Running When Locked. Tap Done.

On iOS 26 and earlier: Shortcuts › Automation › + › Create Personal Automation, pick CarPlay, Bluetooth or Charger, choose Run Immediately, tap Next, add Start dash cam, then Done. On some versions the choice reads Ask Before Running instead: turn it off and choose Don't Ask.

Charge by the bed or at a desk? The charger trigger fires there too. CarPlay and your car's Bluetooth only fire in the car, so they're the better choice. To keep the charger, put the Start dash cam step inside an If: add Get Network Details, then If Network Name is not your home Wi-Fi. The names can differ a little between versions.

On iPhone, Dashivo stays on screen to record, so it covers a map on the same phone. With CarPlay, your maps stay on the car's screen.

With Modes and Routines: Settings › Modes and Routines › Routines › Add (+). Under If, tap Add what will trigger this routine and choose Bluetooth device › your car › Done (or Charging status, or Android Auto). Under Then, tap Add what this routine will do › Apps › Open an app › Dashivo › Done. Tap Save, name it and tap Done. Your Galaxy may open the app only when the phone is unlocked.

Pick your car's Bluetooth rather than Charging status, so plugging in at home doesn't start recording. The names can differ a little between One UI versions.

For a button: Settings › Advanced features › Side button › Double press › Apps › Dashivo. In Dashivo, Settings › Start automatically › Open by itself when you plug in (Galaxy) shows these steps too.

Touch and hold the Dashivo icon for three shortcuts: Dash cam, Police stop and Body cam. Tap one to start it, or drag it to your home screen for a one-tap button. Police stop is the same as tapping POLICE.

The Dashivo tile in Quick Settings reads Tap to record. On Android 13 and later, open Dashivo's Settings › Start automatically and tap Add the Dashivo tile. On Android 10 to 12, swipe down twice from the top, tap the pencil (Edit) and drag the Dashivo tile into your tiles. A tap on the tile opens Dashivo and starts recording; a locked phone asks you to unlock it first. The names can differ a little between phones.

Dash cam records the road, and the cabin too if you've turned on Front and rear (Settings › Dash cam, Pro). The shortcuts and the tile only start recording: a police stop still ends only in the app.

Say "Hey Google, open Dashivo" and it starts recording. On a Pixel 4a (5G) or later, Settings › System › Gestures › Quick tap › Use Quick tap › Open app lets you double tap the back of the phone to open Dashivo.

The Dashivo tile and icon shortcuts work on every Android phone Dashivo runs on. Pixel phones don't have a built-in way to open an app when you plug in or connect to your car. Automation apps from Google Play can, but they need broad permissions such as Display over other apps, so we don't recommend one.

Nothing starts unless you ask for it: Siri and the buttons act only when you use them, and your automations are yours to switch off.

• Siri: the phrases can't be turned off one by one, but turning off Siri for Dashivo in the Settings app stops them all. Where that switch sits differs between iOS versions.
• Action button: Settings › Action Button, then swipe to another action.
• Control Center: open it, tap +, then the minus on the Dashivo control. On the Lock Screen: touch and hold it, tap Customize, then the minus on the Dashivo control.
• Shortcuts automations: turn them off or delete them in the Shortcuts app.
• Galaxy routines: Settings › Modes and Routines › Routines, then open the routine to turn it off or delete it.
• Dashivo tile: open Quick Settings, tap the pencil (Edit) and drag the Dashivo tile out.

The names can differ a little between versions. Ask when my car starts Coming soon will be off until you turn it on in Dashivo's Settings.

Yes. With Pro, turn on Front and rear in Settings › Dash cam: the rear camera films the road ahead and the front camera films the cabin and your riders, with sound, each into its own 1080p video. The road fills the screen with the HUD and the speed-limit sign, the cabin shows in a small picture, and loop recording carries on. It suits rideshare and delivery driving for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and others. Body cam mode records front and rear too, free.

It needs a phone that can run both cameras at once: on iPhone, the XS or XR and newer; on Android, many recent phones (which phones work). Mount the phone high, behind the mirror, so the front camera sees over the seats. Tell riders they're on camera, and check your platform's rules and your state's recording laws.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are trademarks of their owners. Dashivo isn't affiliated with them.

Dash cam mode records continuously, in a loop, like any dash cam. Behind the scenes it saves the drive in segments (1 minute by default; 30 seconds to 5 minutes in Settings), so one damaged file never costs you a whole trip, and nothing is lost between them. It fills only the space you give it (32 GB to start). When that's full, the oldest recording makes room for the new. Your own photos and apps are never touched.

Turn looping off and Dashivo keeps 2 GB free instead of replacing old recordings.

What the HUD shows, burned into every recorded video and laid out the same way, with none of the buttons: REC with the quality and frame rate at the top left, the time and date at the top right, your speed and trip at the bottom left, G-force in the middle, and the street, city, GPS coordinates and heading at the bottom right. It's the same size upright or sideways, and without a GPS fix it shows -- rather than an old number.

You choose each item in Settings › Video › Stamp on the video, with a preview. The speed-limit sign can go on it too, but starts off, because map data can be wrong. It's part of the video itself, so it shows in any player and when you share a clip.

Free recordings also carry a small Dashivo mark just above the street and GPS lines; Pro lets you turn it off. Clips recorded before this version keep the band along the bottom they were made with.

Full HD for free, and 4K with Pro on phones that can. Best (4K) keeps license plates readable from farther away and uses about 7 GB an hour. Balanced (1080p) uses about half the space and runs the phone cooler. Space saver keeps the most hours. HEVC files are about a third smaller than H.264 at the same quality.

Yes, with every video: dash cam, body cam and police stops, unless you turn it off (Video › Record sound). Sound-recording laws vary; some places require everyone's consent, so turn it off where you need to. See recording laws.

Yes, on phones with an ultra-wide lens. Normal matches what you see through the windshield; Extra wide also catches the lanes and sidewalks beside you, though faraway details like plates look smaller. After dark, night mode moves to the main lens, which takes in far more light.

In the app's Clips screen, by day, where you can play, share or save them to Photos (iPhone) or the Gallery (Android). On iPhone they're also in the Files app, under On My iPhone › Dashivo. On Android with Pro, Dashivo can record straight to a USB-C drive; iPhone apps can't record to USB. More about clips.

Yes. The HUD and the Dashboard gauges show three-digit speeds in full, which matters most in km/h, where highway speeds pass 100. You can switch between mph and km/h in Settings.

For when you're on foot, on a bike or in a rideshare: Dashivo records the front and rear cameras at the same time, with sound, each into its own video named with the date, the time to the second and the camera (for example 2026-09-27_20-41-52_Front.mp4). You can also record just the front or the rear camera.

Front and rear at once (body cam, or dash cam with Pro) needs, on iPhone, the XS or XR and newer. On Android it depends on the phone: many recent phones can, some can't. The app checks yours, and the phones page lists what we know.

In a pocket, on a strap or on a vest, the screen gets pressed by accident. Touch protection keeps recording, turns the screen black and dim with a big REC, how long it's been recording, the cameras and the sound, and ignores every touch until you hold the unlock button for a second and a half. Dashivo can offer it each time, turn it on by itself, or never ask.

It turns Dashivo's screen dark while it keeps recording, which saves power and keeps the phone cooler. On iPhone the app still stays open (Apple only lets apps use the camera while they're on screen). Only a finger held on the screen for a second and a half wakes it, straight into Touch protection.

Yes: in a chest harness, on a strap or in a vest pocket with the camera clear. Worn on your chest, the camera facing you sees only your shirt, so pick the one facing out, or record both and sort it out later.

Yes: Dash cam mode with Front and rear (Pro) or body cam mode (free) records the road and the cabin, with sound. Tell riders they're being recorded: some states require everyone in a conversation to agree before it's recorded. See recording laws. This isn't legal advice.

Every camera records until you end the stop, with no time limit. Behind the scenes Dashivo saves the recording in small pieces, so each part is finished and safe within seconds, even if the phone is grabbed, knocked or switched off. The stop, and the 10 minutes before it, are kept safe from loop recording on your phone. It works in dash cam and body cam mode.

Yes. With the choice screen on, tapping POLICE shows a short window where you pick what happens, then Start. Turn it off and POLICE starts right away with the choices you've set, which is fastest when you're being pulled over.

Not if you don't want them to. With the app lock on, you can have Dashivo ask for its own PIN, never Face ID, during a police stop and for 30 minutes after it. The PIN is Dashivo's own, not your phone's passcode. More about the app lock.

If you want a record, tap POLICE as you pull over, then leave the phone alone. Keep your hands where the officer can see them and follow their instructions. Dashivo documents what happens; it doesn't argue for you or accuse anyone. This isn't legal advice.

The stop, and the 10 minutes before it, are kept safe from loop recording, and the app lock keeps anyone without your PIN from watching, sharing or deleting it. But on the phone alone, a phone that's taken or wiped takes its clips with it. A copy away from the phone is the answer: save clips to Photos or the Gallery, record to a USB-C drive (Android, Pro), and soon Dashivo Cloud Coming soon, which uploads stop footage as the stop starts, and the Dashivo Hub Preorder, which gets a copy of every piece as it's saved and locks the 10 minutes before the stop.

In many places you may record officers doing their job in public, but the rules differ by state, and sound is treated differently from video. Read our recording laws overview and check the law where you are. This isn't legal advice.

When the picture gets dark, Dashivo moves from the ultra-wide lens to the main lens, which takes in several times more light, and brightens the picture where the phone can; on Android the noise reduction works harder too. NIGHT shows next to REC while it's on. It judges the dark from the camera itself: 8 seconds of darkness turns it on, 20 seconds of clear light turns it off, so headlights, a tunnel or a gas station don't flip it back and forth. More about night mode.

Yes. Every readout carries a black shadow, and Dashivo watches how bright the picture is behind each one: over a bright patch, like the sky or a white car, the shadow grows stronger, and on a dark road it stays faint, so they stay readable day and night.

The ones with a large main camera sensor and a bright lens. The app's phone check tells you plainly how yours does, and the phones page lists the ones we recommend.

Keep the phone plugged in while you drive. Dashivo keeps full quality until the phone itself gives its highest heat warning; then it lowers the resolution until the phone has cooled for five minutes, and goes back to full quality. In front and rear, the cabin camera pauses first. Balanced quality, a dark screen and a mount out of direct sun keep it cooler, and a charging limit spares the battery. Tips to keep your phone cool.

Apple only lets apps use the camera while they're open on screen. So on iPhone, Dashivo has to stay on screen to record: switch apps or lock the iPhone and recording stops until Dashivo is back, and Dashivo tells you when that happens. You can turn Dashivo's own screen dark while it keeps recording, and Guided Access (Settings › Accessibility) can keep it on screen.

On iPhone, not on the same phone: another app on screen stops the camera. On Android, the next turn from your navigation app can show on Dashivo's HUD. Many people use a second phone for maps.

A phone recording video on a sunny windshield has a hard job. These help the most, roughly in order:

• Keep the sun off it. Sun through the glass heats a phone faster than anything it does itself. Mount it low and out of direct sun where your state allows, and use a sunshade when you park.
• Let the air conditioning reach it. A mount near a vent with the A/C on keeps the phone much cooler. Move it in winter, when the vent blows hot.
• Take the case off in summer. Cases hold heat, and some make charging run hotter.
• Charge with a cable. Wireless and magnetic charging mounts run warmer, and a warm iPhone on one may stop charging above 80%.
• Pick a sensible charger. 15 to 25 W over USB-C keeps a recording phone going. Super fast charging only adds heat.
• Set a charging limit once. A phone that lives in the car doesn't need 100%, and a full battery wears fastest in the heat. How to set one.
• Darken the screen. Screen off keeps Dashivo recording with the screen dark, and a dark screen makes less heat. Balanced quality (1080p) runs cooler than 4K, too.
• If it does get hot, give it a break. Move it out of the sun or onto an air vent. Charging adds heat, so unplug for a while if you have battery to spare.

Yes, if the phone sits on a charger in the car. Heat and a full battery together wear a battery out fastest: in battery research, a year at 40°C (104°F) cost a battery kept at 40% charge about 15% of its capacity, and one kept full about 35%. Stopping at 80% gives up range you don't need on a charger.

Most recent phones have a limit built in:

• iPhone 15 and later: Charge Limit, 80%. Step by step.
• Samsung Galaxy: Battery protection, Maximum, 80% or 85%. Step by step.
• Google Pixel 6a and later: Limit to 80%. Step by step.

It's a setting on the phone, so it stays on when Dashivo is closed. If this is your everyday phone too, 85% or 90% is a fair middle. On iPhone 14 and earlier, Optimized Battery Charging does a similar job: it holds at 80% and finishes charging near the time you usually unplug.

iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, One UI, Google Pixel and Android are trademarks of their owners. Dashivo isn't affiliated with them, and the settings drawings here are our own.

On iPhone 15 and later, open Settings, tap Battery, then Charging, and choose 80%. 85%, 90%, 95% and 100% are there too. The iPhone still charges to 100% now and then, to keep its battery reading accurate.

Need a full battery for a long day away from the car? Settings › Battery › Charge to 100% tops it up once. On iPhone 14 and earlier there's no limit to choose: turn on Optimized Battery Charging in Settings › Battery › Battery Health & Charging.

On One UI 7 and later, open Settings, tap Battery, then Battery protection. Turn it on, choose Maximum and move the slider to 80%. 85%, 90% and 95% are there too.

On One UI 5 and earlier it's Settings › Battery and device care › Battery › More battery settings › Protect battery, which stops at 85%. The names can differ a little by model and version.

On a Pixel 6a or later, open Settings, tap Battery, then Battery health, then Charging optimization. Turn on Use charging optimization and choose Limit to 80%. Google has said that at 80% the phone stops charging and runs from the charger, which suits a phone that's plugged in for the whole drive. Every tenth charge still goes to 100%.

The other choice, Adaptive Charging, finishes charging just before you usually unplug; for a phone that lives in the car, Limit to 80% is the one to pick. It needs an update from December 2024 or later.

No. No app can change a phone's charging settings, on iPhone or Android: they're yours to set, once, in the phone's own Settings. The steps above take about a minute.

What Dashivo does on its own today: on Android it shows the battery's temperature, and on iPhone, which doesn't give apps a temperature, the phone's heat level. When the phone warns that it's heating up, Dashivo pauses the cabin camera first (in front and rear). At the phone's highest heat warning it lowers the resolution until the phone has cooled for five minutes, then goes back to full quality. None of it touches your phone's settings, and it all ends when Dashivo closes.

On iPhone 15 and later with iOS 26.4 or later, you can have the limit follow Dashivo by making two automations in the Shortcuts app, once: Shortcuts › Automation › + › App › Dashivo › Is Opened, add Set Battery Charge Limit at 80%, then turn off Ask Before Running and choose Don't Ask. Make a second one with Is Closed at 100%. Apps can't make automations, so Dashivo can't set them up for you. iOS 27 moved automations into a shortcut's Edit › Automation, so the steps there look a little different. If the phone stays in the car, simply leaving 80% on is easier.

A new switch, Keep the battery cool while recording, is Coming soon. It will be off by default: turn it on in Settings, and Dashivo will step the quality down sooner as the phone warms, and back up once it cools.

They're the three words we use for heat. For the battery, Cool is under 40°C (104°F), Warm is 40°C (104°F) up to 55°C (131°F), and Hot is 55°C (131°F) and above. Android phones report the battery's own temperature. iPhone gives apps a heat level instead of a temperature, so there Apple's levels map to the same three words.

On our phones list, the same words are each phone's expected heat: our estimate from its chip, size and age, for a phone recording on a mount with the screen on and charging, for 30 minutes or more. Cool runs comfortably at the default quality. Warm gets warm: fine, but Dashivo lowers quality sooner in heat or sun. Hot runs hot, so expect Dashivo to lower quality sooner: keep it out of direct sun and use 1080p. We haven't measured heat on any phone yet.

Without a Cloud plan, your footage stays on your phone, and the app sends Angry Owl Labs nothing but update checks: no location, no footage, no tracking, no ads. Two lookups go straight from your phone to public services, not to us: the speed-limit sign asks OpenStreetMap for the roads around you using an approximate location, and street and city names come from your phone's own map service.

Dashivo's own lock on top of your phone's, so someone who gets into the phone (or is handed it unlocked) still can't watch, share or delete your recordings. Pick Face ID or Touch ID (a fingerprint or face on Android), Dashivo's own PIN, or both. It asks only after Dashivo has been off the screen for the time you choose, never while it's on screen, so you're never interrupted while driving, and recording carries on behind it. Wrong PINs only cost time: nothing is erased, because the recordings are evidence.

No. Without Cloud it never leaves your phone. With Dashivo Cloud, when it arrives, clips are encrypted on your phone before they leave it and stored in separate pieces, and we can't watch them. The keys stay on your devices, so if you lose them, nobody can recover the footage, including us.

Your phone uses its location for your speed, the stamp, the speed-limit sign and your miles, all on the phone. None of it is sent to us. Reports you share with other drivers carry where they were made, and they're only sent when you're signed in and have turned sharing on.

No, and no. There are no ads in Dashivo and we never sell data. Plans are how we're paid.

Yes. Sign in at your account to download everything we store about you as a file, or to delete your account. Deleting the account doesn't cancel a store subscription; cancel that in the App Store or Google Play.

You don't need one. Dashivo is free to download and record with. Dashivo Pro is a one-time $9.99. Dashivo Cloud ($8 a month) and Cloud+ ($20 a month) are optional and coming soon. See the plans.

4K recording on phones that can, no Dashivo mark on your videos, the Dashboard gauges, the Stopwatch, and on Android recording straight to a USB-C drive. You pay once and keep it.

On every phone signed in to the same Apple ID or Google account. A phone on the other platform, or on another store account, buys Pro once there.

Dashivo Cloud Coming soon: 2 phones, 250 GB shared, 30 days, route history, sharing, and police stop footage that uploads as the stop starts, end-to-end encrypted. Cloud+ Coming soon: 4 phones, 500 GB shared (twice the space), 60 days, an "if I'm detained" hand-off to people you choose, and priority support. Need more? Cloud+ can grow to 1 TB on request: email [email protected]. A Fleet add-on for Cloud+ Coming soon, +$5 a month, adds fleet device management: every phone and Hub on one view, trips and mileage per vehicle, and device alerts. Cloud keeps what matters, not every minute: full-length 4K stays on your phone.

Everything is bought inside the app, through the App Store or Google Play. Subscriptions are managed and cancelled there, and refunds follow Apple's and Google's own policies.

Your account in the browser at dashivo.app/account: sign up, see your plan and devices, read the terms, and download or delete your data. The storage features are coming soon. More about the portal.

The clips that matter, not every minute: police stops, impacts, clips you save, and your routes. They're encrypted on your phone before they leave it, stored in separate pieces, and we can't watch them.

An optional box hidden in your car: private, offline storage that copies every clip over its own Wi-Fi, so the footage survives even if the phone is taken, damaged or wiped. The Hub Custom is on Preorder from $269, with storage and power as optional add-ons and free US shipping, shipping in Q4 2026; the Black Box is a free reservation. You don't need one: the app works on its own. About the Hub.

Start on the Hub page, then make a free Dashivo account (or sign in) and choose the model, storage and power in the store. The Custom is paid in full and ships in Q4 2026, in batches; you can cancel any time before it ships for a full refund. The Black Box is a free reservation in your account: we'll email you once when it's ready to order.

No. The app records, stamps and keeps your footage on its own. Cloud and the Hub add a copy away from the phone, which is what makes a record nobody at the scene can delete.

Coming soon A phone left in the parked car watches for bumps, impacts and sounds like breaking glass or a car alarm, saves and protects the clip, and alerts your other phone through Dashivo Cloud. While you drive there are no event alerts, except reports from other drivers within a mile ahead. More about Parked Guard.

Recording video on public roads is generally allowed in the US, and in many places you may record police officers doing their job in public. Sound is different: some states require everyone in a conversation to agree before it's recorded. Dashivo records sound with every video unless you turn it off (Video › Record sound), so turn it off where you need to. See the recording laws overview and check the laws where you are. This isn't legal advice.

It depends on the state: some limit what can be mounted on the windshield and where, and many have hands-free rules for phones while driving. Mount it where it doesn't block your view, set it up before you drive and don't handle it on the road.

It can help, but nobody can promise how it will be used: that's up to insurers, courts and the people you share it with. Keep the original files, share copies, and don't edit them. The stamp shows the time, place and speed on every frame.

No. Performance timing is for closed courses only. Never use it to race or speed on public roads: racing against a clock is a crime in many states, and footage of a timed run can be used against you.

You're responsible for how you use and share footage of others. Privacy laws differ; consider blurring faces and plates before posting, and think twice before sharing anything from inside someone's car or home. This isn't legal advice.

No. It comes from OpenStreetMap, a free map kept up by volunteers, and roads without a recorded limit show no sign. The signs on the road always come first.

The app's terms of use and privacy policy, and the website privacy notice and terms.