Help & FAQ

1. Open the app, go to Settings and tap Send a test reminder. If it appears, notifications work and the problem is with timing or battery settings.
2. In your phone's settings, check notifications are on for GentleLoop (Settings in the app has a shortcut under Reminders not arriving?).
3. Turn on exact alarms if the app shows the banner "Reminders may arrive a few minutes late".
4. Set GentleLoop's battery use to Unrestricted or Not optimised.
5. On Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus and some other phones, remove GentleLoop from any "sleeping apps", "auto-start" or "protected apps" lists. The guide at dontkillmyapp.com has steps for each brand.
6. Restart your phone and open GentleLoop once. It sets your reminders again.

That happens when exact alarms are switched off. GentleLoop falls back to a standard alarm that Android may delay slightly. Tap Allow on the home-screen banner, or go to Settings → Exact alarms, and turn on "Alarms & reminders" for GentleLoop.

By design, reminders are gentle notifications that follow your Do Not Disturb settings. For a loop that must get through, open it, switch on Treat as an alarm and save. Also check the sound for the loop's notification channel in your phone's notification settings.

Save the loop again and wait for the next reminder. Android fixes a notification's sound when it is first shown, so GentleLoop creates a new notification channel when the tone changes. If it still doesn't change, use the test reminder, or check the loop's channel in your phone's notification settings.

Answering Completed or Not today skips today's reminder for that loop. If you edit a loop's time after answering, today's reminder is also skipped. A nudge and its main reminder are separate notifications.

A streak counts consecutive scheduled days you completed. If a scheduled day passes without a completion, the streak ends, unless Vacation Mode is on or the weekly grace day is switched on in Settings. A day only counts against you once the loop's time has passed.

Go to Settings and switch off Show streaks. Your history is unchanged and you can switch them back on any time.

Switch on Vacation Mode in Settings. Missed days in that time won't reset your streaks. Reminders still arrive, so you may also want to archive loops you don't want to hear from.

In Settings, switch on Secure journal. GentleLoop will then ask for your fingerprint, face or screen lock before showing History, opening a check-in loop, or exporting your journal. Journal screens also block screenshots.

If your phone has no screen lock (PIN, pattern, password or biometrics), there is nothing for GentleLoop to check, so the journal opens normally. Set up a screen lock in your phone's security settings. After you unlock, the journal also stays open for a couple of minutes.

Not if you turn on Private notifications and Hide names on widget in Settings.

1. On the old phone: Settings → Export backup, and save the file somewhere you can reach from the new phone.
2. On the new phone: install GentleLoop, then Settings → Restore from backup.

If you use Google backup on your phone, Android may restore GentleLoop's data for you automatically.

Make sure it is a GentleLoop backup (a .json file made by Export backup) and that it hasn't been edited. Your existing data is never changed unless the whole file is read successfully.

Check Settings → Automatic backup. If the "last backup" time isn't updating, the folder may have been moved or deleted, or its access removed. Choose the folder again. Your phone may also pause background work when the battery is very low or battery use is restricted for GentleLoop.

Exported and automatic backup files are plain text and not encrypted. Keep them in a private location. See the privacy policy.

No. There are no accounts, and the app has no internet permission. Everything works offline and your data stays on your phone.

Earlier versions opened your calendar app each time you saved a loop. It's been replaced by Add to calendar in a loop's edit screen, which saves an .ics file you can import into any calendar app, whenever you want.

Deleting a loop also deletes its history. If you have a backup, Restore from backup brings it back (this replaces everything with the backup's contents). To stop a loop's reminders without losing anything, archive it instead.