The parenting record for separated parents
Write down pickups, missed exchanges, expenses and the moments that matter, as they happen, with your location to help show you were there. Elephant Diary seals every entry with the time it was written, shows each month on a calendar against your order, and turns it all into a clear summary your lawyer can actually use.
14 days free, and you can cancel in the app any time. The demo needs no sign-up: a made-up family with 18 months of entries. Private: the other parent never joins and is never notified.
See it in action
The family shown is made up. The screens are from the real app.
A notes app or a paper notebook can be edited at any time, so the other side can question when you really wrote it.
Texts, screenshots, receipts, photos and dates in your head. Pulling it together the night before a meeting is exhausting.
Every hour spent sorting your notes into a timeline is an hour you pay for. A clean summary saves real money.
How it works
A late pickup, a missed call, a doctor's visit, a receipt. Add a photo if you have one, and your location if it's happening right now. Logging takes seconds, even from a parking lot.
Each entry is locked to the one before it and stamped with the time our server received it. Entries can't be edited or deleted. A correction is added as a new entry, so honest fixes are visible too.
One tap makes a package: your parenting time against the order, late and missed exchanges, what each parent owes, and every entry with a way to check that nothing was changed.
Features
At the school concert, the doctor's office or the pickup spot? Add your location to the entry with one tap. It's sealed with the entry, along with how accurate it was and the moment your phone took it, so your record shows you showed up.
Compare your time with what the order gives you over 30 days, 6 months, a year or any dates you choose. Every difference comes with the hours behind it: missed exchanges, late ones and agreed swaps.
A calendar shades each day by who had the kids and marks every day that went differently from the order, with a coloured dot for each late or missed exchange, message, expense and kids check. Tap a day to see what happened and log something from it. Prefer a list? Switch in one tap.
Log a shared cost with its category and a photo of the receipt. Elephant Diary keeps the running balance, so you always know who owes whom.
Write your reply to the other parent here first. Wording that could read as angry or blaming is flagged before you send it, because judges notice the parent who stays calm.
Came back exhausted? Homework not done, no lunch packed, a missed practice? After each exchange, tap through sleep, homework, school, meals, activities, health and mood in about ten seconds. Your lawyer package shows how often each one was a concern after each parent's time.
Every day of the month shaded by who really had the kids, with a mark on each day that went differently from the order and that day's entries a tap away. Or switch to a list.
For something happening right now, add where you are. It's sealed with the entry and shown in your lawyer package. Only when you tap, and encrypted like everything else.
Seal screenshots, voicemails and their exact words, labelled hostile, threat, refused exchange and more. Your lawyer sees how often each one happened. A tone check helps you write a calm reply before you send it.
Every entry and photo is fingerprinted and chained to the one before it. Change anything and the chain shows it.
Enter your schedule (2-2-5-5, week on/week off, 2-2-3, 3-4-4-3) and see your actual time over 30, 60 and 90 days against what the order gives you.
Record late arrivals, missed exchanges and agreed swaps. Elephant Diary shows who didn't follow the schedule and how much time it cost.
Log costs with receipts, your income share and Canadian section 7 categories, and see what each parent owes.
A clear summary first, then the full record, as a PDF with photos attached as exhibits, ready to email or print. A spreadsheet export is included too.
Keep your lawyer's contact details, meeting notes and documents in one place. Meetings and documents stay private and never go into the package; it only names your lawyer.
Private by design
Everything is encrypted on your phone or computer before it's stored, with a key only your password unlocks. We keep the encrypted copy and the seals, never the words.
Pricing
Shown in your currency, with every feature included.
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Questions
No. Elephant Diary is a private record for one parent. The other parent never joins, gets no invitation and receives no notifications.
That's always up to the court. Elephant Diary is built so you can show your record hasn't been changed: each entry is sealed with the time it was received, entries can't be edited or deleted, and the package explains how to check them. Talk to your lawyer about how to use it in your case.
Facts, as soon as you can: what happened, when, who was there. Pickups and drop-offs, late or missed exchanges, schedule changes, school events and appointments you went to, health matters, expenses, and how the kids were doing when they came back: sleep, homework, meals, activities. Elephant Diary suggests wording to keep entries neutral and factual.
It's strong support, not proof on its own. When you tap "Add my current location", Elephant Diary asks your phone where it is right then and seals that with the entry: the place, how accurate it was (within so many metres) and the moment your phone took it. It's only offered for something happening now, so it can't be added to an old entry later. Your lawyer package shows it next to the entry. Together with photos and a record written at the time, it helps show you were present. It's only added when you tap, never tracked in the background, and it's encrypted so we can't see it.
Yes. Add a screenshot or a recording you already have, type the other parent's exact words, and label what it was. Each file is fingerprinted when it's sealed. Elephant Diary doesn't record calls itself: recording laws differ, and in some places everyone on a call has to agree, so check yours and talk to your lawyer before relying on a recording.
When you create your account you get a recovery code. With it and a code sent to your email, you can choose a new password and your record stays as it is.
Your record is locked, but nothing is deleted. Update your card or choose a plan again within 12 months and it opens as it was, so you carry on where you left off. We email you when it locks, and again 30 days and 7 days before the 12 months are up. After 12 months locked, it's deleted for good. If you're planning to stop, download your PDF first. How long we keep your data
It's encrypted on your phone or computer with AES-256 before it's sent to us, using a key that only your password or recovery code unlocks. We store the encrypted copy and never have your password or key, so we can't read your record, and neither could anyone who broke into our servers. Security and your data
Elephant Diary is built for Canadian family law first (for example, section 7 expense categories), and works for parents in the US and UK too. Prices are shown in Canadian dollars, US dollars or pounds.
Why an elephant?
Elephant Diary helps separated parents keep a calm, honest record of their parenting: written as it happens, sealed so it can't be changed, and ready for your lawyer when it matters.
The best time to write it down is when it happens.
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