Questions and answers

About the app

What is Punchcard?
A habit tracker for Android. You set what you want to do, how much and on which days, then log it with a tap or a timer. Each habit fills a Monday–Sunday card as the week goes.

Is it free?
Yes. There are no ads and nothing to buy.

Do I need an account?
No. Everything works without signing in. A Google account is used only if you turn on Google Drive sync.

Does it need the internet?
No. Habits, timers, reminders and app limits all work offline. A connection is used only for Google Drive sync and for links that open a web page or the Play Store.

Which phones does it run on?
Android 12 or later.

In which languages is the app?
English, German, Spanish and Turkish. Change it under Settings → Language, or leave it on System default.

Habits and goals

Which goal should I pick?
Check off or count for things you just do; Time per day for things you time; Days per week when the days don't matter; Weekly time for a total you spread out; Quantity for an amount in your own unit; Avoid or limit for something you want to do less.

Can a habit have a different target on each weekday?
Yes. With Time per day or a count, choose Customize per weekday in the editor. A day with no target is a rest day.

I forgot to log yesterday.
Open Calendar, tap the day and log the habit there. Entries added for an earlier day are marked Added later in the history.

I logged something by mistake.
Tap the day's mark on the habit, open its entries, and edit or delete the one that is wrong. On today's card you can also use Remove one or Un-mark today.

What happens to my past days when I change a goal?
Nothing. You choose whether the new goal starts today or next week, and earlier days keep the goal they had.

Why does every week start on Monday?
Every card runs Monday to Sunday, so weekly goals, the recap and streaks all count the same week. It cannot be changed.

My first week only asks for a few days.
A habit created mid-week starts with a shorter first week, so it isn't judged on days before it existed.

What are groups and categories?
A group draws several habits as one card, such as a morning routine; it can also suggest the next habit in order. A category is a label for sorting and for analytics. Manage both under Settings → Categories and groups.

How does an avoid-or-limit habit work?
The day starts as Within limit so far. Each Record a slip uses up the allowance you set. If the day ends within it, the day is kept; one slip too many makes it Over the limit.

Streaks and results

How is a streak counted?
In days in a row for daily goals, and in whole weeks for weekly goals. Rest days, skipped days and paused days are stepped over: they neither add to the streak nor break it.

What is the difference between Skip, Pause and Archive?
Skip this occurrence excuses one day. Pause habit… excuses a stretch of days and holds the reminders. Archive puts a habit away with its history until you restore it. None of them counts as a missed day.

I'm on holiday or ill.
Use Habits → More → Pause modes. Choose a reason, which habits, and when they resume. Paused days are excused and reminders wait.

I logged on a rest day. Is it lost?
No. The day still reads as a rest day, and what you logged is kept and shown with it.

Where can I see how a week or a month went?
Open Calendar. Its menu has the Weekly recap for last week, Analytics for rates and weekday patterns, and the Activity map for up to a year at a glance.

App limits

What is an app limit?
A daily maximum for one app, on the weekdays you choose. Punchcard measures how long the app was open and shows the result on Home under App limits.

Why does Punchcard ask for usage access?
Android only tells an app how long other apps were open after you grant usage access. Punchcard asks right after you create a limit, and never before. You can say Not now and allow it later with Allow usage access.

Does Punchcard block the app when I reach the limit?
No. It shows Limit reached and counts the day as over the limit, but the app stays open to you.

What can Punchcard see with usage access?
When the apps you chose were in the foreground, and nothing about what you did, saw or typed in them. The measurements stay on your phone and are not in backups, exports or Drive sync.

Why does a day say "Not measured"?
Punchcard could not measure that day in full: usage access was off, or Android had already discarded that day's usage history. A not-measured day counts neither for nor against you. Android keeps that history only for a few days, so open Punchcard at least every few days to save it.

Why is the time different from Digital Wellbeing?
Punchcard works out the time from when each app was in the foreground, and a split screen or picture-in-picture can be counted differently. Treat it as an estimate. When Punchcard is not sure, it says May be missing some time.

I raised a limit, but today still counts the old one.
Changes to a limit or its days start tomorrow, so a limit raised after it was passed cannot turn today into a kept day.

Can I switch a limit to another app?
No. Create a new limit for the other app, so neither app's history is relabelled.

How do I turn usage access off?
Tap Manage usage access on the screen-time habits screen, or find Punchcard in Android's Usage access settings. Your saved limits and history stay until you delete them.

Reminders, widgets and focus

My reminders don't arrive.
When something stands in the way, a Reminders and notifications note says what, in Settings and beside a habit's reminder. Notifications may be off for the app or for the Habit reminders channel, Do Not Disturb may silence them, or exact alarm timing may be unavailable.

Why didn't I get a reminder today?
Habits already done for the day and paused habits stay quiet. Avoid-or-limit habits get a check-in instead.

How do I add a widget?
Long-press your home screen, choose Widgets and find Punchcard: Today shows today's habits with a tick, Quick log starts tracking. Settings → Add quick-log widget also places one.

Where is the Quick Settings tile?
Pull down Quick Settings, tap the edit (pencil) button and drag Track habit into your tiles.

How do I get out of a pinned focus session?
Hold Back and Overview together to unpin. Leave focus keeps the timer running; Stop and log ends it.

Focus mode can't switch on Do Not Disturb.
Android needs your permission first. Tap Do Not Disturb in Settings → Focus mode and allow Punchcard in the screen that opens.

Data and backups

Where is my data?
On your phone, in the app's private storage. Nothing is sent to the developer.

How do I move to a new phone?
Use Settings → Backup → Export data, then Import data on the new phone; or sync both phones with Google Drive. Android's own backup and phone-to-phone transfer also carry your habits. App limits stay behind and have to be set up again.

What does Google Drive sync upload?
Habits, entries with their notes, categories, groups, templates, journeys and milestones, to a hidden Punchcard folder in your own Drive. It runs only when you tap Sync now. Settings, running timers and app limits stay on the phone.

Drive says "Choose a copy".
Both phones changed since the last sync. Both copies are kept: pick the one to use. Before Punchcard replaces local data it saves a recovery copy.

Does Disconnect delete my Drive copies?
No. To remove them, open Google Drive's settings, choose Manage apps and delete Punchcard's hidden data.

What is in the CSV export?
One row per logged entry for the habits you pick, ready for a spreadsheet.

How do I delete everything?
Uninstall Punchcard, or clear its storage in Android's settings. Exported files and Drive copies stay where you saved them. The privacy policy has the details.