Bo Guide

A gentle tour of everything Bo can do.

The idea in one breath

Bo helps you keep the people who matter softly in view. You add a few people, tell Bo roughly how often you'd like to be reminded of each, and it gives you a gentle nudge when someone's been out of sight for a while. No overdue counts, no streaks, no red. Everything stays on your phone.

Getting started

Add your people. Tap the add button and either type someone in by hand, or pull them in from your phone's contacts. You can import several at once.
Set a rhythm. For each person, pick how often you'd like Bo to bring them back into view (see Rhythms below).
Choose how Bo nudges you. One daily digest, gentle per-person reminders, or nothing at all. You can change this any time in Settings.

That's it. Bo then quietly keeps watch and only speaks up when it's genuinely time.

Only add who you want. You don't have to add everyone. A handful of people you keep meaning to text is a perfect start.

Rhythms

A rhythm is how often you'd like a person to come back into view. It's a soft cadence, never a deadline:

Every few days for the people you're closest to
Every few weeks for good friends you don't need to see constantly
Monthly for the once-in-a-while catch-ups
Just keep them visible for people you'd like to see on the list with no schedule at all, so they're never truly out of mind

You can change someone's rhythm any time, either from their detail page or when editing them. Nothing is lost if you switch.

Reading the home screen

Your home screen shows who you might like to reach out to. Instead of overdue numbers, each person has a soft status in words:

A calm chip when things are on track
A gentle "it's been a while" with a soft moon when a gap has opened up

There are never any digits, red badges, or streaks to break. When everyone's in good view, you'll see a restful all-clear from Bo rather than an empty, guilt-shaped list.

How Bo nudges you

You're fully in charge of how (and whether) Bo reaches out. In Settings you can choose:

A daily digest, one calm summary at a time you pick
Gentle per-person reminders as people come due
Ambient, no notifications at all, just the home screen when you open it

Keeping it gentle

Quiet hours, so Bo never nudges overnight (or whenever you choose)
A frequency cap, an upper limit so you're never flooded
Mute anyone individually without removing them
Pause everything when life is a lot, and switch it back on when you're ready

Reaching out

When you're ready to say hi, Bo gets out of the way:

One tap opens a call, text, email, or WhatsApp, whichever handles that person has.
WhatsApp drafts a friendly opener for you, so you're never staring at a blank box wondering how to start.
Mark "we've been in touch" after you catch up and the rhythm quietly resets. You can do this from the nudge or the person's page.
Remind me later snoozes someone with zero guilt if now isn't the moment.

You can also turn on a small kind word from Bo after you record a catch-up, a bit of gentle encouragement. It's optional, in Settings.

Birthdays & important dates

Add birthdays, anniversaries, or any date that matters to a person, and Bo will keep them in view as they approach. When you import someone from your contacts, Bo can pull in their birthday for you, so you don't have to type it.

Settings tour

How Bo reaches you, digest / per-person / ambient, the digest time, quiet hours, and the frequency cap
Gentleness, the optional kind word after a catch-up
Quiet everything, pause all nudges at once
Backup, export or import your data (see below)
Support Bo, an entirely optional tip jar if you'd like to
Clear all people, start fresh whenever you want

Backup & restore

Because Bo keeps everything on your device and never uses the cloud, backups are yours to make. In Settings → Backup:

Export your data writes a single file with your people and settings. You choose where it goes via your phone's share sheet.
Import from backup reads a file back in. Bo merges gently: it brings in new people, fills in blanks on people you already have, and never overwrites what you've already written.

Good to do before switching phones or reinstalling, since there's no cloud copy to fall back on. Keep a backup somewhere safe.

Privacy

Bo has no account, no server, and no analytics. Your people, notes, dates, and history live only on your device and are never uploaded, synced, or sold. For the full details, see the Privacy Policy.

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. Completely free, no ads, no in-app purchases. There's an optional tip jar if you'd like to support it, and that's all.

Do I need an account?

No. There's nothing to sign up for. You open the app and start adding people.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Bo runs entirely on your device. The only time it reaches the internet is when you tap to open WhatsApp, a call, a text, or email in another app.

Will it nag me?

Not unless you ask it to. You can set it to a single daily digest, gentle per-person reminders, or nothing at all, plus quiet hours and a cap. And you can pause everything whenever life is a lot.

What if I miss someone for ages?

Nothing bad happens. There's no penalty, no broken streak, no red. Bo just keeps them softly in view for whenever you're ready.

Something looks wrong. Who do I tell?

Please do get in touch: alistair@wobdev.co.uk. Feedback from testers is hugely helpful.