How to use GentleLoop
Everything you need, in the order you'll probably need it.
Create your first loop
- On the home screen, tap New Loop. If you have no loops yet, you can also tap one of the gentle ideas (Morning breath, Gentle stretch, Gratitude, Evening reflection) to create it in one tap. You can edit it afterwards.
- Give it a name, such as "Morning meditation".
- Choose the time you'd like to be reminded.
- Choose Recurring and tick the days it repeats, or switch to One-off and pick a date.
- Optionally add notes: a few words or steps to remind yourself what the loop is for.
- Optionally choose a nudge (5 or 10 minutes before) and an alarm tone.
- Tap Save.
The first time you save a loop, GentleLoop asks permission to show notifications. Without it, reminders can't appear.
Editing, archiving and deleting
Tap a loop on the home screen to edit it. From the edit screen you can archive a loop (it stops reminding you and disappears from Home, but your history is kept) or delete it (its history is deleted too, and you'll be asked to confirm).
Alarm-style loops
By default reminders are gentle notifications that respect your phone's Do Not Disturb settings. If a particular loop really needs to get through, switch on Treat as an alarm in its edit screen. It will then sound like an alarm and may come through Do Not Disturb.
When a reminder arrives
Tap the notification to open the loop. For an ordinary loop you'll see two choices:
- Completed: you did it. Today is logged and the next reminder is set.
- Not today: you chose to skip it. No judgement. It's logged quietly and the next reminder is set.
You can also pick a mood before you answer, reschedule for later today if now isn't right, or dismiss the screen.
Finished early? Tap the tick button on the loop's card on the home screen to log it before the reminder.
Check-in loops and journaling
Switch on Check-in Loop when you create or edit a loop and it becomes a journaling moment. When the reminder arrives you can:
- choose how you're feeling (sunny, cloudy, rainy, hopeful or quiet),
- see a gentle prompt (or your own prompt, if you wrote one in the loop's notes),
- write as much as you like. Your draft is saved as you type, so if you're interrupted it will be waiting for you,
- tap Save Journal Entry, or skip for today.
The home screen
- Today's Journey shows a gentle progress ring for the loops you planned today. On days with nothing scheduled it simply says it's a rest day.
- Your loops are listed in time order, each with its days, time, notes and (if you like) its streak and the number of days you've practised this month.
- The icons at the top open History, Reflection and Settings.
- If exact alarms are off, a banner offers to turn them on (see reliable reminders).
Streaks, Vacation Mode and the grace day
A streak counts consecutive scheduled days you've completed a loop. Today doesn't count against you until the loop's time has passed.
- Vacation Mode (Settings): pauses streaks while you take a break, so being away doesn't reset them.
- Weekly grace day (Settings, off by default): forgives one missed day each week.
- Show streaks (Settings, on by default): switch it off if you'd rather not see streak counters at all.
Just Breathe
Tap Just Breathe on the home screen for a guided breathing moment. It isn't logged or scored. In Settings you can set the inhale, hold and exhale lengths to suit you.
Reflection and history
Reflection (the calendar icon) shows a month at a glance: the days you practised, the mood you recorded, and your most common mood. Use the arrows to look at earlier months. It shows days you showed up, not days you missed.
You can also turn on a Weekly reflection in Settings: a gentle notification on Sunday evening telling you how many days you practised this week.
History (the clock icon) lists everything you've logged, including journal entries, grouped by day with each day's completion percentage.
The widget
Touch and hold your home screen, choose Widgets, and add GentleLoop. It shows today's progress and your next loop, with a shortcut to Just Breathe. Tap the next loop to open it. In Settings you can hide loop names on the widget.
Privacy and the journal lock
In Settings you can:
- Secure journal: ask for your fingerprint, face or screen lock before opening History, journal check-ins, or exporting your journal. After you unlock, the journal stays open for a couple of minutes. Journal screens also block screenshots while this is on. If your phone has no screen lock set up, there's nothing to check against, so the journal opens normally.
- Private notifications: hide loop names on your lock screen.
- Hide names on widget: show a generic label instead of your next loop's name.
Backups and exports
GentleLoop keeps your data on your phone, so it's worth having a backup. You have several options, all in Settings.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Export backup | Saves all loops, history and settings to one file you choose where to keep. |
| Restore from backup | Replaces everything with a backup file. You'll be asked to confirm. If the file can't be read, your current data is left untouched. |
| Automatic backup | You pick a folder once. GentleLoop saves a backup there each day and keeps the latest seven. The folder can be on your phone or in any storage app you use, such as a synced folder. |
| Export reflections (Markdown) | Saves your journal entries as a readable text file. |
| Add to calendar | In a loop's edit screen: saves the loop as an .ics file you can import into any calendar app. |
Please note: exported and automatic backup files are plain text and are not encrypted. Anyone who can open the file can read your journal, so keep them somewhere private.
Android may also back up GentleLoop's data to your Google account if you have Google backup switched on in your phone's settings. GentleLoop asks Android to do this only when your backup can be encrypted with your screen lock. This is handled by Android and Google, not by GentleLoop. See the privacy policy for details.
Moving to a new phone
- On the old phone, choose Export backup and save the file somewhere you can reach from the new phone.
- Install GentleLoop on the new phone.
- Open Settings, choose Restore from backup and select the file.
Making reminders reliable
Reminders are only useful if they arrive. If one doesn't:
- Open Settings → Send a test reminder. If the test appears, notifications work.
- Check that notifications for GentleLoop are switched on in your phone's settings.
- If the home screen shows "Reminders may arrive a few minutes late", tap Allow to turn on exact alarms. Without it GentleLoop still reminds you, but possibly a few minutes late.
- Set GentleLoop's battery use to Unrestricted or Not optimised.
- Some phones (Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus and others) also keep an "auto-start" or "sleeping apps" list. Make sure GentleLoop isn't on it.
Settings → Reminders not arriving? has shortcuts to the right pages. There's more in the help page.