SinceWhen: Complete Guide

SinceWhen is a personal event log and tracker. You create events (things you do from time to time), log when you do them, and the app shows you how long ago it was, plus insights, charts, and predictions for when you might do it next. Free to start with up to 3 events. Pro unlocks unlimited events, iCloud Backup, and Export.

First launch guidance on Home

When your Home is empty, SinceWhen now shows a short onboarding flow with a clear path:

• Step 1: Create your first event
• Step 2: Log it once

You can tap a starter card to open New Event with title, icon, and color already filled in, or use Add your first event to start from scratch.

After your first event is created (before first log), Home shows a quick coach section below your events with the main controls:

• Tap icon to log
• Tap title/time to open insights
• Long-press for quick actions

Add an event

Tap the + button on the Home tab.

At the top is Can't think of one? Try these. Tap it to open a row of idea cards, or tap it again to close the row. The app remembers whether you left it open or closed.

The pill above the cards chooses Self, Home, Tech, Drive, or Care. Swipe the row, or tap the arrow, for more. Custom leaves title, icon, and color for you to fill in. Any other card fills those three in. If a category is already selected, the card keeps that category's color. This row is only on New Event.

• Title: Name your event (e.g. "Oil Change", "Haircut", "Water plants")
• Category: Optionally assign the event to a category, or create a new one from the same screen. Picking a category sets the event color to that category's color (you can change the color after). If Home is filtered to a category when you tap +, that category and color are already selected
• Icon: Tap Icon to open the picker. The list scrolls in place. Pick from organized SF Symbol categories (Home, Devices, Health, Fitness, Objects & Tools, Transport, Commerce, Weather, Nature, Human, Symbols) or use any emoji. Emoji stays at the top
• Preview: Under the icon, a tile shows the event the way it will look on Home, including the small clock when it covers multiple days. It uses Home's grid or list
• Color: Choose a preset or use the color picker for any custom color
• Nudge: Optional reminders (see Nudges & notifications)

Tap Save and your event appears on Home.

Edit an event

Long-press any event tile → Edit. Or open that event's Insights, tap the three dots at the top right, then Edit.

The fields match New Event. The Preview under the icon updates as you change the tile. Edit also has:

• Disable predictions: When ON, no expected date, Due Next, or nudges. Not shown on New Event. Separate from Pause (see Pause and resume)
• Covers multiple days: Use this when a single log lasts more than a day. See Logs that cover more than one day

Picking a category sets that category's color. You can pick a different color afterward. Opening Edit keeps the current color until you change the category.

Delete an event

Long-press → Delete, or open event detail → Delete event. You'll be asked to confirm. All logs for that event are permanently removed.

Categories

Categories are optional labels when you create or edit an event. Once you have them, Home shows filter chips for All and each category. Long-press a chip for View insights, Edit category (name and color), or delete. Deleting a category removes the label only; your events stay.

Pin and hide events

Long-press an event on Home to Pin to top or Hide event. Pinned events stay at the top and can be reordered by drag-and-drop. Hidden events move to Show hidden events at the bottom. Pin, hide, and pinned order stay with the event and sync across devices on the same Apple ID. Hiding keeps the pin, so unhiding puts it back in that order.

How to log

Default: Tap the icon on the event tile to log. You'll see a green checkmark and "time since" resets.

The line under the title is time since ("14 days ago"). Paused events stay Paused.

Briefly show due on Home is off by default. Turn it on in Settings → Preferences → Home when you want a card that is expected today, tomorrow, or overdue to show that wording for about 6 seconds, then return to time since.

Log by tapping anywhere: In Settings → Preferences → Behavior, turn on "Log by tapping anywhere". Then tap anywhere on the tile to log. No need to aim for the icon. To open that event's insights quickly, long-press the event and choose Open Insights.

Log… (note or earlier time)

Long-press the event → Log…. Use Now, Yesterday, or the calendar pill for a custom date/time, and add an optional note. Now matches tapping the icon. After a Custom log, the sheet stays open so you can change the date and Log again (Done when finished). Notes and backdated times show in History like any other log. Hidden while the event is paused.

1-minute cooldown

The same event can't be logged twice within a minute. Prevents accidental taps. Most habits don't need that frequency anyway.

Logs that cover more than one day

On New Event or Edit, turn on Covers multiple days. Use it when a single log lasts more than a day, such as a period, a trip, or a few days off. The tile shows a small clock icon.

On Home, a Log Event widget, a Lock Screen widget, or a shortcut, the first tap logs the start and the next tap logs the end. On Home, ending shows Ended, with Undo for a few seconds.

While it is open, the first day says Started today. Later days say Day 2, Day 3, and so on. With Hide time of day on, that first day says Day 1. After it ends, the line counts from the day it started.

If Briefly show due on Home is on, that line briefly changes, then returns. While the log is open it says Expected end today, Expected end tomorrow, or End overdue. After it ends, the glance says Expected start today, Expected start tomorrow, or Start overdue. Dates further out stay off the Home tile. Disable predictions hides that line. Pause still blocks logging.

On the Insights list and the event screen, an open log pairs the day with the end, such as Started today · Expected end today or Day 5 · End in 4 days · 15 Sep. After it ends, the line is the next start. Due soon uses that expected end while the log is open.

If Enable nudge is on, the nudge follows that expected end. After the log ends, nudges follow the next start.

Pause and resume

Use this when you are stepping away on purpose (travel, injury, season)—without deleting data.

How: On Home, long-press the event → Pause or Resume. (The Insights event list only offers Edit from its menu; pause controls stay on Home.) The card shows Paused, quick logging is blocked, and widgets / shortcuts respect the same rule.

While paused

• History: a pause period row. Tap → Edit Pause: Pause start, Set pause end time (optional end date/time), Note. A future end time keeps the event paused until that moment passes.
• Overview: Usually every … stays; Expected next is hidden. Due Next and nudges do not treat the event as due.
• Intervals: long pauses may show as a shaded band with a softer connector than normal gaps.

Disable predictions (Edit Event) is separate—forecasts off until you turn it back on. Pause is timeline-based; you can use one, the other, or both.

Siri & Shortcuts

In Shortcuts → SinceWhen you get actions with the same data as the app, including pause rules and the one-minute log cooldown.

Shortcuts → Library → SinceWhen shows a starter set of actions. For the full list (Log a selected event, Log if due, else tell next due, Due today, Get overdue events, When is it due, Open Logs, and more), tap + → Add Action and search SinceWhen.

Siri phrases — Include SinceWhen in the phrase and replace Water plants with your event name. For a custom phrase (e.g. "Log water plants"), create a shortcut with Log a selected event, then tap Add to Siri.

• Log a selected event — Tap Event and pick an event. Best for automations and NFC. Siri: use the Log phrases in the first row.
• Log if due, else tell next due — For one selected event, logs immediately only when due/overdue; if not due yet, it tells the next due timing.
• When is it due — Pick the event; answers with expected / overdue / paused / predictions off.
• When did I last — Pick the event (same as When is it due). Answers how long since you logged, not the next due date.
• Due today — events due today only (not overdue, not later in the week). Get overdue events — past the expected day only.

If Siri says the app "doesn't support that" — Try the phrases in the table above, or in Shortcuts open the action and add a Siri phrase. Make sure SinceWhen is allowed in Settings → Siri.

Long-press the app icon (iOS 18+): Create event, Logs, Insights, Settings — not the same as the library actions above.

The Insights tab lists your events under the Insights title. The menu at the top right switches between Events and Categories. It opens on Events. Sort stays at the top left, and only on Events.

Long-press an event row for Edit. Tap a row — or, on Home, tap an event (or the title/time when "Log by tapping anywhere" is on) — to open that event. You'll see:

Category insights

Open a category from the Categories list, or long-press a Home category chip and choose View insights. That screen shows every event in the category.

Usually every … is the gap between neighboring logs in the category, using When to expect next. Several events on their own rhythms can still read Usually every day.

The line under it names the next event, such as Guitar · Expected tomorrow. Each estimate picks that name in its own way. The event's own screen, Due Next, and nudges keep that event's rhythm.

One event fills a calendar day in its color. Two or three split the circle. Four or more use the category color and a count. Tap a day for the times, notes, and event name. The dashed ring is the next expected day.

Intervals colors each point by event. Two logs on the same day are 0d. Scroll back to load older logs. History lists each log with its event. Tap a row to edit it. New logs are still added on the event, from Home.

Overview tab

• Average interval: "Usually every 7 days", "Usually every day", etc. Natural wording for daily events (hidden when Disable predictions is ON for that event). Still shown when the event is Paused so you can see how often you used to do it.
• Expected next: "Expected today", "Expected tomorrow", or "Expected in X days · 12 Sep" (relative plus the calendar day when it isn't today or tomorrow). Hidden when Disable predictions is ON or while the event is Paused. An open multi-day log says end here. After it ends, the next time says start. See Logs that cover more than one day.
• Paused pill on the overview when the event is paused
• Activity calendar: Month grid of logs (can be collapsed), then Intervals and Monthly charts below

Activity calendar

Sits under the summary card.

Filled circles are days you logged, in the event color. Tap a filled day for that day's times and notes. Several logs on one day are listed together. A small number on a day means more than one log.

A dashed ring is the expected next day. It stays hidden when predictions are off, the event is paused, or that event isn't fully unlocked on the free plan.

A log that covers several days fills from its start through its end, including today while it is still open.

Use the chevrons or swipe to change month. Today appears when you aren't on the current month.

Tap Calendar (the chevron) to hide the grid if you want the charts first. Tap again to show it. The app remembers your choice.

This is a glance at when you logged, not a third chart. Interval gaps and monthly totals stay in Intervals and Monthly.

Intervals chart

Shows days between consecutive logs. Each point = gap between one log and the next. Scroll horizontally to see your full history. The chart:

• Auto-scales: Small gaps (0–2 days) stay visible; large gaps fit too
• Long gaps visible: Very long gaps stay on the chart instead of being clipped
• Opens at latest: Scrolls to the right (most recent data) when you open it
• By date or by count: Toggle between date labels (e.g. "15 Mar") and log number (1, 2, 3…)

Use it to spot patterns: Are you logging more often lately? Did you have a long break? Pause periods (see Pause and resume) may appear as a shaded vertical band with a softer connector across the gap. A log that covers multiple days draws its own band from the start date to the end date, with the length in the middle. A finished log has a dot at the end of that band. An open log is a lighter gray band, without that end dot.

Monthly chart

Shows logs per month as bars. Good for seeing how active you were each month (e.g. "3 logs in Sep").

History tab

Full list of all logs, newest first—activity rows and pause period rows. A multi-day log shows Day N while it is open and Lasted N days after, with the start and end dates underneath. Tap a row to edit or delete. Activity edits use Edit Entry; pause rows use Edit Pause (start, end, note). Deleting shows an undo option.

In Settings → Preferences → When to expect next, choose how SinceWhen estimates your next occurrence:

Tip: Try Recent focused if you've changed your habits recently. Use Pattern aware if you sometimes skip a long time (e.g. missed a month due to travel) — a single long gap is ignored, while three or more similar gaps in a row are taken as your new normal. Simple average is great for steady habits.

Enable nudges per event

When creating or editing an event, open the Nudge section. Toggle Enable nudge on, then pick When to nudge. Paused events do not get nudges scheduled until you resume.

• 2 days before: Heads up early
• 1 day before: Reminder the day before
• On due date: When it's expected today
• 1 day after: Gentle nudge if you missed it

Set your preferred time

In Settings → Preferences → Nudge time, choose when nudges arrive:

• Don't nudge: Turns off all nudges app-wide. Pending reminders are cleared; per-event nudge toggles stay as you set them for when you choose a time again
• Morning (9 AM)
• Afternoon (1 PM)
• Evening (6 PM)
• Custom: Pick your own time
• Dynamic: 30 minutes before due, or 9 AM if that time falls between 10 PM and 7 AM

Same-day nudges are staggered 2 minutes apart so they don't all fire at once.

Log from notifications

When a nudge arrives:

• Long-press: Quick actions, Log Event (logs without opening the app) or View Insights
• Tap: Opens a sheet with the event, a big Log Event Now button, View Insights, and Dismiss. Shows "Expected today" or "Expected tomorrow" based on your data

Sort options

Use the sort menu (arrow icon) on Home or Insights. Options:

• Drag to reorder: Long-press and drag to arrange events your way. Your order is saved
• Due soon: Events coming up first. Overdue by 1–3 days at the top, then today, tomorrow, further out. Paused events are not ranked as due. An open multi-day log is ranked by its expected end, because that end is still to be logged.
• Due longest: Events overdue the longest first
• Recently updated: Last logged most recently first
• Newest / Oldest created: By creation date
• Name (A–Z) / (Z–A): Alphabetical

Both Due soon and Due longest use your chosen estimate method from Settings → Preferences → When to expect next.

Pinned and hidden: Pinned events stay at the top, whatever sort you use. Hidden events sit under Show hidden events. Pin, hide, and pin order sync with the event. Hiding keeps the pin, so unhiding puts it back in that order.

Home layout

Home starts as a grid. The button at the top left, next to sort, switches to a list. The icon shows the layout you will switch to.

The list shows two events across on iPhone and three on iPad. Tap the icon to log. Tap the title or the time to open Insights. Long-press and drag-to-reorder work the same way. Pinned events stay at the top.

Categories: Home shows chips for All and each category. Tap a chip to filter. Long-press a chip for View insights, Edit category (name and color), or delete. Deleting a category removes the label only. Home remembers the last chip you selected.

Free plan: Extra events beyond your first 3 sit below those 3 and look a bit faded.

Search

Tap the search icon (when you have events) to filter by name. Quick way to find what you need when you have many events.

Home screen widgets

Add events to your home screen for one-tap logging without opening the app.

1. Long-press your home screen → Add Widget
2. Find SinceWhen and pick a widget:
   • Log Event — Choose events to display. Sizes: Small (1), Medium (3), Large (6 or 9), Extra Large (9). Long-press to pick events. A multi-day log starts on the first tap and ends on the next, and shows Day N while it is open.
   • Due Next — Medium (3×1) only. Lists events expected today or tomorrow, with (Today) or (Tomorrow) so you can see at a glance. Paused events and events with Disable predictions do not appear here. A multi-day event appears after it has ended, when the next start is today or tomorrow. Tap an event to log without opening the app; the widget updates right away. If more than three events are due, they rotate on a short timer; rotation pauses briefly after you log so you can see the result. If you use Display time in days only in Preferences, that style applies here too.
3. Tap the widget to choose events (Log Event) or tap an event to log it
4. Log without opening the app — one tap and you're done

Tip: Use Due Next when you want "what's due now" on the Home Screen. Use a larger Log Event widget for quick access to specific habits you log often.

Lock screen widgets

Log from your lock screen. No app open needed.

• Circular: 1 event. Tap to log
• Rectangular: 2 events. Tap to log either

Add multiple lock screen widgets for different events. Long-press the lock screen → Customize → add SinceWhen widgets.

A multi-day log starts on the first tap and ends on the next. With Show precise recent time on, that time updates about every 5 minutes for 3 hours.

Pro

Upgrade to Pro for unlimited events, iCloud Backup, and Export. Monthly and yearly work with Apple Family Sharing in your family group; lifetime is a one-time purchase for that Apple ID.

Without Pro, your first 3 events stay fully usable. Extra events remain in the list: you can open Insights, edit, or delete them. Logging, expected dates, and nudges on those extras need Pro. Trying to log one shows a short notice with Upgrade. + opens the paywall when you already have 3 events.

Preferences

Behavior: Toggle "Log by tapping anywhere". When ON, tap anywhere on the tile to log. When OFF, tap the icon to log and tap the title/time to view insights. Use the context menu (long-press) to edit or view insights anytime.

Nudge time: When nudges arrive (Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Custom, Dynamic). See Nudges above.

Time display: Home, Insights, shortcuts, and widgets use the same wording.

Count days by calendar:

• On: days are midnights crossed. Wed 11am → Sat 10am = 3 days. Yesterday evening is 1 day, even when 24 hours have not passed.
• Off: days are completed 24-hour periods. That same span is 2 days ("2 days ago"). A partial day is not rounded up.

Weeks, months, and years always use exact elapsed time. This switch does not change hours or minutes on the same day.

Display time in days only: When on, a gap of one day or more shows days only — "14 days ago" instead of "2 weeks ago". Minutes and hours stay as usual ("2 hours ago").

Hide time of day: Off by default. When on, anything logged today says Today, instead of "2 hours ago" or "20 minutes ago". The time is still stored. Edit Entry and Log… still show the clock. An open multi-day log says Day 1 on that first day.

Show precise recent time: Off by default. When on, the first 12 hours read 1 hr 9 min ago instead of 1 hour ago. After 12 hours the usual wording returns. If Hide time of day is on, today still says Today. The Log Event widget updates that line about every 5 minutes during those 12 hours. A Lock Screen widget does the same for 3 hours.

Home: Briefly show due on Home is off. Home shows time since until you turn it on. When it is on, a card that is expected today, tomorrow, or overdue shows that wording for about 6 seconds, then returns to time since. Leave it off and Home always shows time since.

When to expect next: Pick your estimate method (Recent focused, Pattern aware, Simple average). See Prediction Algorithms above.

Data & Backup

iCloud Backup (Pro): Turn Auto backup on to save snapshots to iCloud about every 12 hours. Tap Backup now anytime. Restore from backup uses the latest snapshot (shown as Last backup with approximate file size). Restore is offered when you have no events yet, so it won't replace existing data by accident.

Backups also appear in Files → iCloud Drive → SinceWhen → SinceWhenBackups. Tap the folder icon beside Backup now in Data & Backup to open that folder.

Device sync keeps events, logs, pin, hide, pinned order, and Covers multiple days in sync across your devices on the same Apple ID when iCloud Drive is on. Pins and hides you already had are included after you update. Sync runs automatically. Preferences stay on each device. In Data & Backup, Device sync shows Active or Unavailable. If sync is unavailable, your data stays on the device and resumes syncing when iCloud is available again.

Auto backup and device sync are different: sync keeps live data aligned across devices; backup saves a separate copy in iCloud.

Export (Pro): Save your data as JSON — useful for a copy outside iCloud or when moving devices. Import is free for everyone. Backups and exports include pin, hide, pin order, and Covers multiple days on each event. Older files still import. A matching event keeps the pin and hide already on the phone if the file has no pin fields. A new event from that file starts unpinned and visible. An older file without Covers multiple days imports those events as one-time logs.

Importing JSON while you already have data asks you to confirm before replacing anything.

Erase all data lives here too — next to backup and export — so actions that touch your data stay in one place.

Appearance

Theme: System, Light, or Dark.

Update

When a newer version is on the App Store, Settings shows an Update row. Tap it to jump to the store and update.

Support & Help

• Contact: Email support
• Rate: Leave a review
• View guide: This guide online
• What's new: Latest updates
• Power user tips: Master SinceWhen

Spread the Relief

In Settings, tap Spread the Relief to share SinceWhen through the iOS share sheet — Messages, Mail, or any app you use.

• Context menu (Home): Log…, Edit, Open Insights, Pin/Unpin, Hide/Unhide, Add/Remove widget, Pause / Resume, and a separated Delete event action. Long-press a category chip for View insights, edit (name + color), or delete
• App icon menu: Long-press the app icon (iOS 18+) for Create event, Logs, Insights, Settings
• Siri & Shortcuts: Log a selected event, Log if due, else tell next due, when did I last, due today, overdue; see Siri & Shortcuts
• iPad: Sheets (event detail, add/edit, upgrade) open full-screen with a Close button
• System or app updates: If you want a safety net, use Data & Backup to run a backup or export JSON before updating iOS or the app

Email [email protected], or visit the Support page.