Support
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Contact Us
If you have any questions, feedback, or run into any issues, please reach out at [email protected]. We typically respond within 48 hours.
FAQs
Where is my data stored?
All of your content — mates, check-ins, notes, and photos — is stored locally on your device, and we have no server that holds it. The app does send anonymous crash reports and anonymous usage analytics (event names, kinds, counts, and screen names, with a random per-install identifier), which are described in full in our privacy policy. If you delete the app, your data is permanently removed.
Is Howdy Mate! free?
Yes — completely. Every feature is included, there are no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, and no limit on how many friends you can track.
Where is a setting I can't find?
Open Settings from the gear on Today and pull down to reveal the search bar. Type a word like “dark”, “backup” or “reminder”, in your own language, and tap a result to jump straight to it. If nothing matches, it isn't a setting yet, and the answers on this page or an email to us will help.
Can I export my data?
Yes. Go to Settings > Data > Export Data and choose CSV or JSON. You'll get a copy of all your friends and check-ins that you can save or send wherever you like.
Can I bring my list from another app?
Yes. Export a CSV from the other app (or copy the rows from a spreadsheet), then paste it into the search field on Add mates; Settings > Data > Move from Another App opens it ready. The first row should name the columns, such as Name, Last contacted, Birthday or Notes; a plain list with one name on each line works too. Tap any name you don't want to leave it out, then tap Add.
Can I transfer my data to a new phone?
Yes, through your own iCloud. Once a day, when you open the app, it backs up your mates, check-ins, photos and settings to iCloud Drive (Settings > Data > iCloud Backup shows when it last did). Sign in to the same Apple Account on the new iPhone, install the app, and the first screen offers to restore the backup. You can also restore any time from Settings > Data > Restore from iCloud, which replaces what is on the phone. The backup is a copy, not a sync: two iPhones using the app at once do not merge.
The app didn't offer my backup. What can I do?
Check that iCloud Drive is on for your Apple Account in the iPhone's Settings, then give a new phone a few minutes to download it from iCloud and open Settings > Data in the app. Restore from iCloud appears there once the backup has arrived. If the backup came from a newer version of the app, update from the App Store first.
Why does the app ask for Contacts access?
Only if you tap “Find people in my contacts” on the Add screen, or “Refresh from Contacts” on a mate you imported. “Find in Contacts” on a mate you typed in never asks: without access it opens the iPhone's contact picker, which shares only the card you pick. The app then offers your address book as a search list, bringing in names along with nicknames, birthdays, contact photos and one phone number, so you can call or text a mate from the app, plus the names of any groups you keep in Contacts and who is in them, so a whole group can come in at once, and any anniversaries, other dates and related names (a partner, kids) on the card; it never requests email addresses or postal addresses. If you allowed access before the app read dates, Today offers once to bring in the dates on your mates’ cards, and nothing is saved until you tap Add. If you share only selected contacts, the app sees just those. Once you have given access, Today checks once a day for people saved since it last looked and offers them in a “New in your Contacts” card, and it never asks for access on its own. It also rereads the cards of the mates you imported about once a day, so a new number, birthday or photo comes across by itself; turn that off with “Keep mates in sync with Contacts” in Settings > Data. This is entirely optional — you can always add mates by typing their names — and contact data is used only on your device, is never sent to any server, and is never shared with anyone. The app writes to Contacts only from “Just met someone”, with “Save to Contacts” on and full access already given: one card with the name and number you typed, on your iPhone.
Why does the app ask for the microphone?
Only if you tap “Speak a recap” while logging a check-in. Your words are turned into notes on your iPhone using on-device speech recognition, and the audio is never saved or sent anywhere. You can always type notes instead.
Why does the app ask for Calendar access?
Only if you turn on “Suggest catch-ups” or “Show dates in Calendar” in Settings, tap “Bring in dates” in Settings, or tap “Use my calendar” in Suggest a time. Suggest catch-ups reads the last few days of your calendar on your iPhone (the week it asks about, for the weekly look-back), and when an event names a mate it asks on Today whether to log it. It also looks a week ahead, so it can send a short brief a couple of hours before a catch-up; turn off “Brief me before catch-ups” in Settings if you’d rather not. Suggest a time reads only when you’re busy over the next week, so it offers days you’re free. Bring in dates looks through the year ahead for all-day events like “Ana’s birthday” and lists the ones that match a mate with no birthday, so you can tick the right ones. Nothing from your calendar is saved unless you log it or add it, and nothing is sent anywhere. With dates on, the app adds one calendar of its own, called Howdy Mate!, holding your mates’ birthdays and important dates; it never touches your other calendars. Adding a plan to Calendar needs no access: iOS opens its own new-event screen and nothing is added until you tap Add. If you turned access off in iOS Settings, turn it back on under Settings, Howdy Mate!, Calendars.
How do I get birthdays into Apple Calendar?
Turn on Show Dates in Calendar under Calendar in Settings. Every birthday and important date you’ve added goes into a Howdy Mate! calendar, repeating each year, and stays in step as you add, change or delete them. Birthdays already on a contact card are left to iOS’s own Birthdays calendar so they don’t show twice. To hide it for a while, untick it in Calendar’s Calendars list; to remove it, turn the switch off in Howdy Mate!.
My birthdays are in Google Calendar, not Contacts. Can the app use them?
Yes. In Settings, under Calendar, tap “Bring in dates”. The app looks for all-day events like “Ana’s birthday”, “Birthday: Ana” or “Cumpleaños de Ana” in every calendar on your iPhone, matches them to mates by name, and shows you the list before anything is added, together with any anniversaries and names on your mates’ contact cards. Only the day and month are saved, since the year an event started is rarely the year someone was born. Once you’ve allowed calendar access, Today also tells you when it finds new ones. Add your Google or Outlook account under iOS Settings, Calendar, Accounts first if it isn’t there.
Why does the app ask for Reminders access?
Only if you turn on “Also put nudges in Reminders” in Settings, or tap Use Reminders on the “Nudges are off” card. The app keeps a Howdy Mate! list in Reminders with the mates due this week, and logs a check-in when you tick one off. It reads and writes only that list, never your others. Turning the switch off removes the open reminders; delete the list in Reminders if you no longer want it. If you turned access off in iOS Settings, turn it back on under Settings, Howdy Mate!, Reminders.
Siri says it can’t help with Howdy Mate!
Siri and Shortcuts can’t reach your mates while the app lock is on, so turn it off in Settings if you want them. Everything you can ask, and how to log texts automatically, is on the Siri and Shortcuts page.
Howdy Mate! isn’t in the share sheet, or lists no one
Swipe to the end of the row of apps in the share sheet, tap More and turn on Howdy Mate!. It needs iOS 17 or later, and it shares a link, a photo or text, one at a time. If it says to open the app first, open Howdy Mate! once so it can list your mates, then share again. While the app lock is on it lists no one, so open the app to share. What you share waits on your iPhone until the app next opens. More on the Siri and Shortcuts page.
I’m not getting nudges
Open Settings: the card at the top says when your nudges come and who is next, or why they’re off, with one button to turn them back on. Today says so too. If iOS isn’t letting Howdy Mate! send notifications, a card there says “Nudges are off”. Tap Turn on and the app asks iOS, or, if you said no before, opens the app’s page in iOS Settings so you can turn on Allow Notifications. The card goes away as soon as you come back with them on. Also check that Notifications is on in the app’s own Settings, and that a Focus isn’t holding them back. Not now hides the card for two weeks. To check it all works, tap the card at the top of Settings: your next real nudge arrives five seconds later, with its buttons, so lock your phone and watch for it. Tapping it logs nothing. Rather not have notifications? After a no, tap Use Reminders on the Today card and your nudges go in a Howdy Mate! list in Apple Reminders instead.
How do I change when nudges arrive?
Open Settings and tap the summary at the top, or scroll to Notifications, and tap Delivery Time. Your first check-in sets it to the time you logged it, and once you pick a time yourself the app leaves it alone. The note that appears after your first check-in has a Change button that takes you straight there. To give one mate a different time, open their page, tap their rhythm and pick a time under Nudge at.
How do I stop nudges on certain days?
Open Settings, then Notifications, and tap the days under Nudge Days to turn them on or off, or tap Nudge Days for Every day, Weekdays or Weekends. A check-in nudge that falls on a skipped day waits for the next day you kept. Birthdays, important dates and plans still remind you on the day.
How do I quiet nudges at work?
Snooze a mate by holding their row on Today, or add the Howdy Mate! Focus filter: open Settings, then Focus, pick a Focus, tap Add Filter and choose Howdy Mate!.
Where did a snoozed mate go?
They’re at the bottom of Today: tap the “snoozed” line to see everyone you’ve snoozed and the day each one comes back, and tap Wake to bring someone back now. Their profile shows “Snoozed until” with a Wake now link as well.
The nudge came at a bad time. Can it come back tonight?
Yes. Tap Snooze on the nudge itself and it comes back at 7:30 pm (or tomorrow evening if it’s already evening). From Today, hold the mate’s row and pick In 2 hours or This evening.
How do I pause nudges for a holiday?
Open Settings, then Notifications, and tap Take a break. Choose a week, two weeks, until the new year or a date of your own. Nudges stop until that morning and then come back by themselves, and birthdays still come through unless you turn that off. To end it early, tap End break on Today, or tap the same row in Settings.
I get too many reminders at once
Open Settings, then Notifications, and turn on One Mate a Day. You’ll get one suggestion a day instead of a reminder for everyone who’s due, and the others take their turn on the days after. Birthdays, friendiversaries and important dates still remind you as usual.
How do I hide the number on the app icon?
Open Settings, then Notifications, and turn off Show Count on App Icon. The number is how many things are under “Needs you” on Today, and it only shows on the icon while Howdy Mate! is allowed to send notifications. The Today tab shows the same number inside the app, and the same switch hides it.
How do I stop or move the weekly reminders?
There are two, and a day brings only one of them. The weekly look-back asks who you caught up with (Sunday at 6 pm unless you pick another day and time); Sunday planning asks you to plan the week ahead. Open Settings, then Notifications, to move the look-back or turn off either one. You can still plan your week from More (the ⋯ button) at the top of Today.
How do I stop the monthly recap notification?
Open Settings, then Notifications, and turn off Monthly recap. Recap itself stays where it is, behind the button on the Log tab.
How do I delete a mate?
On the Mates tab, swipe left on a mate to reveal the delete option, or press and hold them and tap Delete. To delete several at once, tap the search bar (or press and hold a mate and tap Select multiple), tap Select, tick them, then tap More and Delete. A deleted mate waits in Recently deleted for 30 days before they are gone for good.
I deleted a mate by mistake. Can I get them back?
Yes, for 30 days. Tap Undo on the message that appears straight after, or open Settings, then Groups & Lists, then Archived mates, and find them under Recently deleted. Tap them and choose Restore, or tap Restore all. They come back with every check-in, note and date, and a mate you had archived goes back to Archived. Each row shows how many days are left. After 30 days the app deletes them for good the next time it opens, and Delete now does it straight away.
Does the app work offline?
Yes. Howdy Mate! works entirely offline. All data is stored on your device and no internet connection is required to use the app.
Delete Your Data
Howdy Mate! stores all data locally on your device — we never have access to it. To delete your data:
- Reset in-app: Go to Settings > Data > Reset All Data. This removes all friends, check-ins, and settings.
- Delete a single mate: On the Mates tab, swipe left on a mate and tap delete. The mate waits in Settings > Groups & Lists > Archived mates > Recently deleted for 30 days in case you change your mind, and is then removed with all their check-in history. Tap them there and choose Delete now to remove them straight away.
- Delete a single check-in: On the Log tab, swipe the check-in left. Tap Undo on the note at the bottom of the screen if you didn't mean to.
- Delete all data: Uninstall the App from your device. This permanently removes all stored information including friends, check-ins, and settings.
We operate no servers and hold none of your personal content, so there is nothing on our side to request deletion of. The anonymous analytics and crash reports described in our privacy policy are keyed to a random per-install identifier that is not linked to your identity; if you contact us we will delete the records associated with your installation.