Support

Do I need AirPods to use GentleReturn?

No. The free tier runs the complete attention engine and cue ladder using your iPhone alone: its own motion sensor and built-in microphone read your breath. AirPods (or Beats headphones with head-motion sensors) are optional and add head motion and posture as extra corroborating signals, planned as part of Pro.

Why didn't GentleReturn catch a drift, or why did it cue when I didn't feel distracted?

GentleReturn waits for at least two independent signals, such as breath and phone motion (or breath and head motion on Pro), to agree before it counts anything as drift, and a brief glance or a single cough is never enough on its own. That means some genuine drift goes uncaught, and occasionally a cue fires on a stretch, a cough, or a shift in position. It is built as a gentle helper, not a perfect monitor.

What permissions does GentleReturn need, and why?

Microphone, used only while a session is active to read your breath rhythm on-device, never recorded, through your iPhone's built-in mic on Free or optionally through AirPods on Pro. Motion, from your iPhone always, and from AirPods and Apple Watch on Pro, to detect attention drift. Health (read), to set a personal baseline from heart rate, resting heart rate, HRV, sleep, mindful session history, and date of birth, all processed on-device. Health (write) is separate, off by default, and only used if you turn on Save to Apple Health in Settings to log Mindful Minutes.

How do I restore my purchase?

Open Settings inside the app, choose About, and tap Restore purchase. Apple verifies your purchase and Pro unlocks again at no extra charge. GentleReturn has no account system, so Restore Purchase is the only way to recover Pro on a new device.

Does Family Sharing work with the Pro unlock?

Yes. The Pro unlock supports Family Sharing, so one purchase can cover your household through Apple's standard Family Sharing setup.

Is Apple Watch supported?

Apple Watch sensing (wrist motion, heart rate, and HRV) is part of Pro, alongside AirPods head motion and posture. Free runs fully on your iPhone alone, no Watch or AirPods required.

My Apple Watch is not connecting. What should I check?

Tap the Watch icon on the GentleReturn home screen. It tells you which of three things is missing. No watch paired: pair one in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Watch paired but GentleReturn not on it: in the Apple Watch app, scroll to Available Apps and tap Install next to GentleReturn. Installed but sleeping: open GentleReturn on your Watch, or just start a session and it wakes automatically. Watch sensing needs Pro.

Is GentleReturn a medical device?

No. GentleReturn is a wellness and meditation tool, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, or monitor any medical or mental health condition. It detects attention drift from motion and breath signals during meditation, nothing else.

Where is my data stored? Is anything uploaded?

Everything stays on your iPhone. GentleReturn has no accounts, no cloud sync, and no analytics, so there is nothing to upload. The only network activity is Apple's own purchase verification for the Pro unlock.

What is the opt-in diagnostics feature, and how do I turn it on or off?

Diagnostics is an optional, off-by-default recording you can enable in Settings to help with troubleshooting. While on, it stays on your device and is only shared if you manually export and send it. It is never uploaded automatically, since GentleReturn has no server to send it to.

How do I delete my data?

Deleting the app from your iPhone removes all GentleReturn data, since everything lives on-device with no account or cloud copy anywhere else.