Miletos Support

Help with field notes, ancient layers, place guides, and sync

Get in touch

Have a question, found a bug, or want to suggest a feature?

Usually a reply within 1-2 business days.

Getting started

  1. Open the Map tab and pan to anywhere in the Aegean or Anatolia.
  2. Tap and hold anywhere on the map (or tap the + button) to record your first discovery — add a title, category, photo, and notes.
  3. If your find is near a known ancient site, Miletos will suggest linking it to the Pleiades gazetteer entry for that place.
  4. Tap the layers icon to turn on Roman roads, aqueducts, walls, or ancient coastlines and see the map as it might have looked in antiquity.
  5. Everything works offline — sync to iCloud happens automatically in the background when you're signed in.

Frequently asked questions

Does Miletos work without an internet connection?

Yes. The map, your discoveries, the ancient-world layers, and over 350 bundled place guides all work fully offline. An internet connection is only needed for iCloud sync and for refreshing or fetching a place guide that isn't already bundled or cached.

How does iCloud sync work?

If you're signed into iCloud, your discoveries sync automatically to your own private CloudKit database — not a shared or public one. Sign out of iCloud at any time to keep everything local-only.

What is Pleiades, and why does Miletos link to it?

Pleiades is a community-built gazetteer of places in the ancient world, used by archaeologists and historians worldwide. Linking your discovery to a Pleiades entry connects it to the established scholarly record for that place, and unlocks the offline place guide for it inside Miletos.

Why does a place guide say there's no internet connection, or show outdated info?

Place guides load in three steps: your own cached copy, then a bundle of 350+ pre-downloaded guides, then a live Wikipedia fetch if neither of those has the place you're looking at. If a place isn't in the first two tiers, you'll need one successful online fetch before it's available offline. Tap "Refresh guide" any time to pull the latest Wikipedia summary.

How do I add a photo with the correct location?

When you attach a photo that has GPS data embedded (most iPhone camera photos do, if Location Services was on when it was taken), Miletos detects the coordinates automatically and offers to use them for the marker — just confirm the dialog that appears.

Is my location tracked in the background?

No. Miletos only ever requests "When In Use" location access, used to center the map and suggest nearby places while the app is open. There is no background location tracking.

How do I delete all my data?

Open Settings inside the app for category and storage management, or simply delete the app and clear its iCloud data (on your device: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage). Since everything lives in your own private iCloud account, that's enough to remove it completely.

Will there be a paid version or in-app purchases?

Miletos is free today, with no ads or subscriptions. We're exploring optional features for a future update, but everything currently in the app will stay free.

Troubleshooting

The app can't find my location

Check Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Miletos, and make sure it's set to "While Using the App."

A photo's location wasn't detected

GPS is only embedded in a photo if Location Services was enabled in the Camera app at the moment it was taken. Photos without embedded GPS need their location set manually.

An ancient-world layer isn't showing on the map

Some layers — especially individual archaeological sites — only appear once you zoom in past a certain level, to keep the map readable. Also double-check the layer is actually toggled on in the layers sheet.

iCloud sync doesn't seem to be working

Confirm you're signed into iCloud, that iCloud Drive is enabled for Miletos, and that you have a network connection. Sync happens automatically in the background and may take a minute or two.

A place guide won't load while offline

Only the 350+ bundled guides and any place you've previously opened while online are available offline. New places need one successful fetch with a connection first.