Visitor Desk
The Android app works without a business code — entries, exits, QR, history, all on-device. That's powerful, but it puts all the responsibility on a single phone. This page walks you through every risk and exactly how to reduce it.
In standalone mode, the device is your visitor register. Lose the device, lose the data. No one but the device holder can see what was logged. There's no central audit trail, no live oversight, and QR visitor cards don't work.
You can dramatically reduce these risks with two free things: enable Google Drive backup (in Settings), and request a business code when you're ready to centralise.
Each risk below is something we've thought hard about — with the specific mitigation Visitor Desk already offers. Use the green checklists.
Your visitor log lives only on the device. If the phone is lost, broken, factory-reset, or simply misplaced, the data goes with it.
A visitor logged on one phone is invisible to every other phone or to the manager. Shift handovers become guesswork.
Owners and managers can't see live activity, can't audit who logged what, and can't pull reports across sites.
Card scanning, validity windows, entry limits, and revocation only work when the device is attached to an approved business.
Switching to a new phone is a manual restore from your Drive backup. There's no instant device handover.
Drive backup is opt-in. If you turn it off, forget, or run out of Drive space, you have no safety net.
If the phone is stolen, anyone with the unlock can read the visitor log. There's no remote wipe of the app's data from the web.
PDF / Excel exports only contain what's on that one device. Cross-site reports aren't possible.
Some industries (clinics, factories, regulated sites) require provable, tamper-evident records of who entered and when.
If you choose to stay offline-only, do these five things today. They take five minutes total and they protect your data.
Settings → Google Drive backup → enable. Sign in with the account you use for that phone.
Once a quarter, install on a spare device and restore. If it doesn't work, find out before you need it.
PIN or biometric lock plus auto-lock under 1 minute. Don't share the unlock with strangers.
Add your flats, departments, or gates upfront. Faster entry means less missed logging at peak hours.
Export to PDF/Excel at the end of every month. Keep a copy somewhere outside the device.
Decide upfront: "When we hit X visitors / staff, we'll attach to a business." Don't wait for an incident.
Both are valid. Pick what fits your scale, your team, and your appetite for risk.
| Concern | Offline-only | Attached business |
|---|---|---|
| Data survives phone loss | Only if you back up | Always — server-side |
| Multiple staff see same log | No | Yes |
| Live oversight from the web | No | Yes |
| QR visitor cards (entry/exit) | Disabled | Enabled |
| Switch devices instantly | Manual restore | Sign in, ready |
| Remote revoke of staff access | No | One click |
| Cross-site / multi-business reporting | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free | From ৳600/mo (30-day trial) |
Answer these honestly. If two or more are "yes", you'll get more out of attaching to a business than staying offline.
Do more than one person log visitors?
If yes, offline-only means each phone sees a different log.
Do you have regular visitors (tenants, employees, contractors)?
Offline can't issue QR cards. Manual entry every time gets old fast.
Does an owner or manager need oversight from a different location?
Standalone has no web view. Attached gives a live dashboard from anywhere.
Is your industry regulated (clinic, factory, government, finance)?
A defensible audit trail usually requires server-side append-only logs.
Is this a personal / very small setup with one device and one operator?
Then offline-only with Drive backup is perfectly fine. Stay free.
Try the full attached experience free for 30 days — web admin, cloud sync, QR visitor cards, the lot. No credit card required.
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