How backups work
Backups are encrypted with a passcode only this iPhone holds, then saved to a Longnote folder in your own iCloud Drive while Back up to iCloud Drive is on, or wherever you choose in Files (Export a copy…). A backup holds trackers, entries, notes, locations, photos and settings; Apple Health entries are never included. Automatic backups run on a schedule shown under Settings → Privacy & data → Backup. You can also back up by hand at any time. Keep backups sets how many from this device are kept (the last 10 by default; 5, 30 or all).
The file is encrypted with a 24-character passcode the app generates, kept in your iPhone’s keychain on this device only. Reveal it under Settings → Privacy & data → Backup with Face ID and write it down somewhere safe: you need it to open a backup on another phone, and nobody, including us, can recover it. Nothing about your data is written unencrypted beside a backup.
Restoring on a new iPhone
Sign into the same iCloud account, install Longnote, open Settings → Privacy & data → Backup, tap the latest backup (or use Restore from file… for one saved in Files) and enter your passcode. Everything you logged comes back, including photos and every profile; connect Apple Health again and its entries are read again. Keep the old phone until you have checked.
Taking your data out
Settings → Privacy & data → Export all data (CSV) writes your complete history as a CSV: every tracker, entry, measure and note, with dates. No truncation, no paywall. Photos travel in backups and can be shared from the photo viewer.
Reports for appointments
The free 30-day summary (Settings → Summary) is a few pages of PDF: each symptom day by day with its treatments, how often and how bad, and each body area. Pro adds a week, three or six months or custom dates, your choice of trackers, and leaving the Longnote mark off. See the guide on what a doctor wants to see in a report.
Questions about backup and export
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How do backups work?
Backups are encrypted with a passcode only this iPhone holds, then saved to a Longnote folder in your own iCloud Drive while Back up to iCloud Drive is on, or wherever you choose in Files. Each one holds what you have logged (trackers, entries, notes, body-atlas locations, photos and settings) except entries that came from Apple Health, which are never included in backups. Automatic backups run on a schedule you can see and change under Settings → Privacy & data → Backup; Back up now makes one by hand at any time, and Export a copy… saves one wherever you choose in Files.
The passcode is generated by the app (see the next question). The file is yours: keep it in iCloud Drive, copy it to a Mac, store it wherever you keep important things. We never receive it, because there is no Longnote server. Backups and restore are free and always will be. By default the last 10 backups from this device are kept; change that under Keep backups (5, 10, 30 or all). Another device’s backups are never touched.
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Where is my backup passcode, and why does it matter?
When backups are first set up, Longnote generates a 24-character passcode and stores it in your iPhone’s keychain, on this device only. Every backup is encrypted with it. You can reveal it under Settings → Privacy & data → Backup with Face ID or your device passcode.
Write it down somewhere safe. On a new iPhone you will need it to open your backup, and because there is no Longnote server, nobody, including us, can recover it for you. A password manager or a note in a safe place is enough. Nothing about your data is written unencrypted beside a backup: the file name carries only the date, a device tag and the device’s name.
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How do I move Longnote to a new iPhone?
- Make sure the old phone has made a recent backup (Settings → Privacy & data → Backup shows the last one).
- On the new iPhone, sign into the same iCloud account and install Longnote.
- Open Settings → Privacy & data → Backup, tap the latest backup in the list, and enter your backup passcode when asked. A backup you saved in Files opens from Restore from file….
- Wait for the restore to finish. Trackers, entries, notes, locations, photos and settings all come back. Entries that came from Apple Health are not in backups; connect Health on the new phone and they are read again.
Keep the old phone until you have checked the new one. If you cannot find your passcode, reveal it on the old phone first (Settings → Privacy & data → Backup, with Face ID).
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Can I get my data out?
Always. Under Settings → Privacy & data → Export all data (CSV), Longnote writes your complete history as a CSV file: every tracker, every entry, every measure and note, with dates. There is no truncation and no paywall; export is free and stays free. Share the file with the system share sheet, save it to Files, or open it in a spreadsheet.
Photos are kept in your encrypted backups rather than in the CSV, and any photo can be shared from the viewer. If you are leaving for another app, the CSV is the file to take.
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Can I bring my history from another app?
From Bearable, yes. Export your data from Bearable as a CSV, then open Settings → Privacy & data → Import from another app in Longnote and choose the file. Longnote brings in mood, energy, sleep and symptoms, and shows you what it found so you can review everything before it is added. The file is read on your iPhone; nothing is uploaded. The import is free.
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How do I make a report for my doctor?
Open Settings → Summary and tap New summary. The free summary covers the last 30 days in a few pages: how many of the days you logged, each symptom day by day with how often it was there, its average and its worst day, the treatments under it, and each body area involved, as a PDF you can share before the appointment or show on the phone. Before it is made, a switch for each part lets you leave out your name, body areas, observations, notes or photos. The summary is free.
With Pro you choose the period (a week, three or six months, or custom dates), pick which trackers to include, and leave off the small “Made with Longnote” line the free summary carries.