Microsoft just bought a startup that can automatically track how far you drive

Microsoft has bought Mobile Data Labs, a startup best known for its mileage tracking app MileIQ.

MileIQ automatically tracks and logs the miles you drive, and helps you claim your deductions or reimbursements. It's a simple idea, but MileIQ is actually a handy tool to millions of workers who otherwise has to track and report this stuff manually.

MileIQ has 1 million users and has been the top grossing finance app in the iTunes store for 20 straight months, Microsoft said. It helps users save $547 a month on average, or more than $6,500 a year, according to MileIQ.

The app will likely remain in full service, as MileIQ wrote in a blog post: "With our shared passion and commitment to mobile productivity, the San Francisco-based MileIQ team aims to advance this mutual vision by continuing to build services for self-directed workers-services like MileIQ that are automated, intuitive and give users back time, money and peace of mind."

MileIQ was cofounded in 2013 by Dan Bomze and Chuck Dietrich. It's raised more than $15 million from CRV, SV Angle, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Dietrich, in fact, is a long-time Salesforce executive who's spent 9 years there building its mobile business. Microsoft didn't say how much they spent on the company.

Here's how MileIQ works in a snapshot: