Your records are stored locally by the app, on your device. There is no account, no server of ours behind it, and we never see your data. That is the whole point of it, and it changes what support looks like: nobody at this end can read your records, reset your password, or recover an entry for you. What follows is how to look after them yourself, and how to reach a person when something is wrong.
Looking after your records
Where your data actually is
The app stores it on your device, in its own storage. Symptom Vault does not upload it to a cloud server, there is no account behind it, and Doc Bear Enterprises never receives it. That means nobody here can read it, and it also means nobody here can get it back for you if the phone is gone and you have no backup. That trade is deliberate, and the backup is the half you have to do.
One thing worth knowing that is outside the app's control: if you have iCloud Backup or Google backup switched on, your phone's operating system may include app data in its own device backup. That is your device and your cloud account, not ours, and you can turn it on or off in your phone's settings. We still never see it either way.
Make a backup
Use Data Bunker to write a full backup file, then put that file somewhere that is not the same phone: a cloud drive, a computer, an email to yourself. A backup sitting only on the device it is backing up is not a backup.
How often depends on how much you would mind losing. If you log daily and you are building a record for a claim, monthly is reasonable. Before a phone upgrade or a factory reset, always.
Moving to a new phone
- On the old phone, make a Data Bunker backup and move the file off the device.
- Install Symptom Vault on the new phone.
- Restore from the backup file.
- Check the new phone before you wipe the old one. Open a few entries and confirm the count looks right.
Do not skip step four. A restore that looks like it worked and did not is only discoverable while you still have the original.
Getting your records out
Three ways out, for three different purposes:
- VA Claim Package PDF — formatted for a service officer or C&P examiner. This is the one to hand to a person.
- CSV export — raw data for your own records, a spreadsheet, or anything else you want to do with it.
- Data Bunker backup — the whole thing, for restoring to another device. Not a document anyone else can read.
All three are under Export Data & Reports. If an export appears to do nothing, check that the app has permission to write files, and try Save to Device rather than Share, or the other way round; on some Android builds one path works when the other does not.
Blue Button import
If you have downloaded your VA health records as a Blue Button file, Symptom Vault can read it and bring the contents in, so you are not retyping history that already exists. The file comes from VA.gov, not from this app.
Common questions
Does Symptom Vault file my claim?
No. It is a documentation tool. It records what happened and prints it in a form somebody else can read. Filing goes through the VA, and a VA-accredited representative, a Veterans Service Organization, or an accredited claims agent can help you with the filing itself. Accredited VSOs do this at no charge.
I lost my phone and I did not have a backup. Can you recover my records?
No, and I want to be straightforward about why rather than sound like I am hiding behind policy. There is no copy. The app was built with no server precisely so that nobody, including me, holds your health information. The cost of that design is this exact situation. If you are reading this before it happens to you, make a backup today.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no password, and no email required. If something is asking you to create an account, it is not Symptom Vault.
Can I track more than one person?
Yes. Symptom Vault supports multiple profiles on one device, so a caregiver can keep separate records for each family member. Each profile's data stays separate in exports as well.
Is it really free? What is the catch?
It is free, there are no ads, no paid tier, and nothing is sold. The catch, if you want to call it that, is that it is built and supported by one person, so a reply may take a day or two.
What is the Panic Key?
Triple-tap leaves the app immediately. It is there for anyone who needs to stop looking at a health record quickly, for whatever reason.
Reaching a person
Reporting a problem
Email support@docbear-ent.com. What helps most:
- Your device and OS version, and whether you are on the web app, Android or iOS
- What you were doing when it happened, in enough detail that I can try it myself
- What you expected, and what happened instead
- A screenshot if the problem is visible — with any personal health details cropped or covered. I do not need to see your record to fix a button.
Asking for a feature
Email the same address and say what you are trying to accomplish rather than what control you think should exist. "I need to show my rater how many days a month I cannot work" tells me more than "add a counter", and often there is already a way to do it.
Questions about a claim
I built the tool. I am not accredited to advise on claims and I will not pretend otherwise. A Veterans Service Organization can review your case, tell you what your record shows, and help you file, and they do it free. The guides below cover the documentation side, which is the part I can actually help with.
Privacy, legal and accessibility
Privacy and legal questions go to a different address from support, so they are handled separately and on the record: privacy@docbear-ent.com.
Accessibility. If any part of Symptom Vault or this site is difficult or impossible for you to use, tell us. Email support@docbear-ent.com and describe what you were trying to do and what got in the way, including any assistive technology you use. This is a commitment in the Privacy Policy and the Terms, not a courtesy.
Opting out of arbitration. The Terms include an arbitration agreement, and you can opt out of it. Email privacy@docbear-ent.com with the subject line Arbitration Opt-Out. There is a 30-day window; see Terms §23(F) for exactly when it starts and what the notice must contain. Opting out does not affect anything else about your use of the app.
Still stuck?
One person builds and supports this app, and that person reads every email sent to support.