DeSlouch

Support

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Common questions

It never buzzes, no matter how much I slouch.

Almost always the phone is hanging loose. A phone dangling on a cord swings to vertical whichever way your back is bent, so the angle we read never changes and there is nothing to detect. It has to be held flat against your body — and the upper back reads far better than the chest, because a slouch rounds your back more than it tips your chest. Wearing a hoodie? Just drop the phone in the hood. Otherwise: the strap worn with the phone between your shoulder blades, or a snug chest pocket at a pinch.

To check, run Calibrate and use the second step — "teach it your slouch". If the app says it didn't see you move, the fit is the problem, not the app.

It buzzes when I lean back instead of forward.

The forward direction depends on which way round your phone is sitting. Open the sensor readout (the dial icon on the Monitor screen), slouch, and watch the big number: it should go up. If it goes down, tap "Flip forward direction". The same switch is in Settings.

It says "Moving" and doesn't seem to be doing anything.

That's normal and it means the session is running. DeSlouch deliberately ignores readings while your body is in motion — walking or shifting around swings the phone through angles far past any slouch, and buzzing at you for that would be useless. Sit still for a moment and it picks straight back up. You'll see it right after you tap Start, because you're holding the phone.

Why does the screen have to stay on in lanyard mode?

Because iOS won't reliably deliver accelerometer data to an app once the screen is off. Rather than pretend otherwise and then stop working, DeSlouch keeps the screen awake and dims it to near-black. Tap "Dim" during a session for the battery-friendly view. AirPods mode doesn't have this restriction and can run with the phone locked.

Does it drain my battery?

A screen-on session costs more than an idle phone — there's no way around that, and the dim screen is there to keep it as low as possible. AirPods mode with background tracking holds an audio session open, which also costs something; you can switch background tracking off in Settings if you'd rather it only ran while the app is open.

My AirPods aren't detected.

Head tracking needs AirPods that support it and iOS 14 or later, and it doesn't work in the iOS Simulator. Make sure they're connected to this phone, and that Motion & Fitness access is allowed for DeSlouch in Settings → Privacy & Security. If they disconnect mid-session you'll get one notice, not a stream of them.

Can I make it less fussy — or more?

Yes, both. Settings → Sensitivity has the slouch angle (how far forward counts) and the hold time (how long you have to stay there first). Raising either makes it calmer. The easiest way to get it right is the "teach it your slouch" calibration step, which measures your own slump and sets the threshold from it.

I keep missing the buzz.

Settings → How it buzzes lets you switch from a single tap to a double tap, a pulse, or one long low buzz — tapping an option plays it so you can choose by feel. There's also "If you miss the first one", which repeats the nudge a few seconds later and stops the moment you sit up. If you wear AirPods, turning on the sound gives you a low tone in your ears as well.

How do I make the string strap?

The steps are in the app: Settings → Make a phone lanyard. About two metres of any cord, a simple woven cradle, then one loop over your neck and a second around your ribs pulled snug. The second loop is the part that matters — without it the phone swings and the app can't read anything. Best of all, wear it with the phone on your back, between the shoulder blades — the calibration check learns which way round it sits automatically. And if you're in a hoodie, skip the string entirely and use the hood.

Where is my data?

Your posture data lives on your phone, and only there. DeSlouch has no account, and your sensor readings and posture history are never uploaded anywhere. The app sends anonymous usage statistics (which screens get used, how long sessions last — never sensor data) so we can keep it working well. The trade-off of local storage is that we can't recover your history if you lose the device. You can clear it yourself from Settings → Clear all stats.

Is it really free?

Yes. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. The whole point was that you shouldn't have to buy a hundred-dollar gadget to be reminded to sit up.

Will it fix my back pain?

We're not going to claim that. DeSlouch is a habit aid — it helps you notice a posture you've drifted into, which is a different thing from treatment. If you have pain or a diagnosed spinal condition, please see a qualified healthcare professional.