Sync and offline mode

Cloud sync works on every plan. The storage quota is what depends on yours: 1 GB on Free, 5 GB on Pro, 20 GB on Teams.

By platform

The three clients do not behave the same way without a network:

Platform	Offline
iOS	Yes, with the indicators and detail screen described on this page
Android	Yes, with its own cache model. See Offline mode
Browser	No. The web dashboard needs a connection

The sections that follow describe how the iOS app works, the most complete on this point.

Real-time sync

When you work on a cloud project, your changes are sent to the cloud automatically and in real time. If a collaborator (Teams plan) is working on the same project, they see your changes on their device within seconds, and vice versa.

No manual action is needed: as long as you’re connected to the internet, sync runs in the background.

Working offline

PhotoReport is designed to work without an internet connection. If you lose connectivity (in a basement, on a remote site, while traveling):

• You can keep working normally: create annotations, take photos, record audio comments.
• Your changes are stored in a local queue on your device.
• When the connection comes back, the queue is drained automatically and your changes are sent to the cloud.

Tip

You don’t need to do anything manually. The app automatically detects when the connection returns and starts syncing.

Full offline downloads

By default, a cloud project’s photos, videos and audio comments download the moment you view them. If you plan to work without a connection (in a basement, on a remote site), you can turn on full offline downloads for a project: all its photos, videos and audio comments are then downloaded to your device in advance.

This option lives in the project settings, under Offline availability. It shows the storage used on the device and the number of media items already downloaded, and lets you delete downloaded files to free up space.

Tip

Full offline downloads only use your device’s storage: it has no impact on your cloud storage quota (5 GB on Pro, 20 GB on Teams).

The setting also exists on Android, in the same place, plus a Download now button that forces the plan files to download without waiting for Wi-Fi. See Offline mode.

Projects kept after sign-out

When you sign out, cloud projects already downloaded stay available on the device, but in read-only: you can view them but not edit them. A “Sign in to edit” banner reminds you. Sign back in to resume editing and syncing.

Sync indicators

On the home screen, each cloud project shows a status indicator:

Indicator	Meaning
Green checkmark	The project is up to date, all changes are synced.
Hourglass	Changes are pending. Sync is in progress or waiting for a connection.
Crossed-out cloud	The device is offline. Changes will be sent when the connection returns.
Warning triangle	A sync issue needs your attention.

On Android, the equivalent is a waiting to sync note carried by the items that have not been sent yet.

Conflict resolution

The fundamental principle is that nothing is ever overwritten. If two collaborators work offline and create annotations with the same number, the second annotation to sync will be automatically renumbered to an available number, to avoid duplicates. No data is lost.

Check sync status

To see the sync details for a project:

1. Open the project.
2. Go to the project settings or tap the sync indicator.
3. The sync detail screen shows:
   • Initial download progress (when joining a shared project).
   • Initial upload progress (when converting a local project to cloud).
   • The number of pending changes.
   • Any errors, with the option to retry.

Each blocked item is named precisely (the plan, viewpoint and photo it belongs to), along with a plain-language reason, what to do next, when it last failed and which attempt that was. Discarding a blocked item asks for confirmation and tells you what you lose.

A Verify sync button lets you run an integrity check to detect and fix any sync issues.