Support

Most questions about Brightened come down to one thing: where the daylight number comes from. Start here.

Why does Brightened need an Apple Watch?

Time in Daylight is measured by the ambient light sensor on Apple Watch, Series 6 and later. It is the only device that records it. iPhone has no equivalent sensor for this measurement, so there is no phone-only version of the number and Brightened will not invent one.

If you wear an Apple Watch through the day, the data is already being recorded whether or not you have ever looked at it.

I have an Apple Watch but nothing appears

Work through these in order:

1. Open the Health app, go to Sharing, then Apps, then Brightened, and confirm Time in Daylight is turned on. Read access can be declined during setup, and iOS does not tell the app when that happens.
2. In the Health app, search for Time in Daylight and check that data exists there. If Health shows nothing, the watch has not recorded any yet.
3. Wear your watch outdoors for a stretch, then open Brightened again. Data appears once the watch has recorded and synced it.
4. Pull down on the Today screen to refresh.

The widget is not updating

The widget refreshes on its own in the background when your watch syncs new daylight to your iPhone, so it should stay current without the app being opened. If it looks stale:

1. Open Brightened once. The widget catches up shortly after.
2. If you swipe Brightened away in the app switcher, iOS pauses its background updates until you open it again. Leaving it in the switcher keeps the widget current.
3. If it still looks stale, remove the widget and add it again.

How is the seven-day average calculated?

It is the mean of your daily totals across the last seven days. Days with no recorded daylight count as zero. Days before your watch started recording are left out entirely, and while you have fewer than seven days of history the app says so on the Today screen.

What should my daily goal be?

That is genuinely up to you. Brightened does not recommend a number, because how much daylight a person needs is not something an app should decide. The goal exists to shade the gradient against something meaningful to you. Pick something that fits your life, and change it whenever it stops fitting.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. Brightened has no servers and no accounts. Your daylight data stays on each of your devices. The one thing that moves is your daily goal, from your iPhone to your own Apple Watch. The full detail is on the privacy page.

Is there an Apple Watch app?

Yes. It requires watchOS 27, and installs with Brightened on your iPhone. It shows your seven-day average, its stage, and today's minutes, and Brightened is available as a complication on most watch faces.

A few things worth knowing:

• The watch asks for its own Health permission the first time you open it, separate from your iPhone's. Tap Continue and allow Time in Daylight.
• Your daily goal is set on your iPhone. The watch follows it, usually within a few seconds, and keeps the last goal it received when your phone is out of range.
• Complications show the figures from the last time the watch app checked. Opening Brightened on your watch refreshes them.

Does Brightened work on iPad?

Yes. iPad has no daylight sensor of its own, so it shows what your Apple Watch recorded, delivered through Apple Health's iCloud sync. On a larger screen the gradient stands beside your day and your week, and History lays its weeks out side by side.

If your iPad shows No daylight yet while your iPhone shows data, make sure Health is turned on in iCloud settings on both devices, then give it a little time to sync.

Why does my watch show a different average than my phone?

Each device reads Time in Daylight from its own copy of Apple Health. A watch that was set up recently may hold fewer days of history than your phone, so it averages over fewer days and can land on a different number, or a different stage, for up to a week. The watch says how many days it is averaging over while this is the case, and the two settle into agreement on their own as the watch records its own days.