1. Initial setup (registering your PIN)

On first launch, you register a 6-digit PIN code for unlocking.

1. When "Set a 6-digit PIN code to unlock" appears, enter the 6 digits and confirm.
2. Enter the same 6 digits again to confirm.
3. When "PIN code saved" appears, you're done.

You can change the PIN later from Settings → Change PIN code. Besides a PIN, you can also choose biometrics (face / fingerprint) or a trusted location as your lock method (from Settings).

2. How to unlock

Unlock with the Unlock button at the bottom of the clock screen. What happens depends on the lock method you've set.

PIN code method

Tap Unlock to open the PIN entry dialog. Enter your 6-digit PIN and tap Unlock; if it's correct, the lock opens. If it's wrong, it does not unlock and the intrusion alert is triggered.

Location lock method

You can unlock only when you're within 100 m of a "trusted location" you registered in advance. Tapping Unlock checks your current location automatically and unlocks if the condition is met. It will not unlock anywhere else — if you must unlock away from your trusted place, use the emergency unlock below.

Biometric method (face / fingerprint)

Tapping Unlock launches your device's face / fingerprint authentication; if it passes, it unlocks.

3. Emergency unlock (location lock, away from your trusted place)

With the location lock method, the app cannot be unlocked by normal means once you leave your trusted location. If you absolutely must unlock it — on a business trip, while traveling — use this procedure. Only someone who knows the steps and the correct PIN can unlock.

1. Turn ON the Speak the time switch on the clock screen.
2. Press and hold the Unlock button for 30 seconds.
3. The PIN entry dialog opens — enter your 6-digit PIN and tap Unlock.

If the PIN is correct, it unlocks. If it's wrong, it does not unlock and the intrusion alert is triggered.

4. Changing the clock design

On the locked clock screen, swipe left or right on the clock to cycle through dial and hand designs — classic, minimal, Roman numerals, neon, and photo-real styles (a luxury watch, sun & moon, and more).

Your choice is remembered and shown again the next time you open the app. Changing the design does not affect how you unlock or any of your saved data.

The date and time shown below the clock can be changed the same way — swipe it left or right to switch between plain digits, an LED style, and a split-flap display.

5. Alarm and time announcements

Below the clock you'll find a Speak time switch and an Alarm button (⏰). Both work without unlocking.

Setting an alarm

1. Tap ⏰ and choose the time you want it to ring.
2. Tap Set. While an alarm is set, its time is shown just below the center of the dial.
3. To cancel it, tap ⏰ again and choose Clear.

Choosing the alarm sound

Open "Alarm sound" in the alarm dialog to pick one of:

• Built-in tones: bell, chime, music box, beep, pulse, sweep, and uh-oh (7 in total)
• Music on your device: a track from your music library
• Audio in My Files: an mp3 or other audio file you keep inside the app

It rings even when the app is closed

So it works as a real alarm clock, it rings even if the app has been closed. On Android the sound you picked keeps playing, and you stop it from the notification. On iPhone with iOS 26 or later it uses the same mechanism as the Clock app, so it keeps ringing until you stop it — even with the silent switch on or a Focus enabled. On iOS 25 and earlier it rings as a notification (iOS limits notification sounds to a few seconds while you are actively using the screen).

Time announcements

Turn the switch on and the app ticks every second, sounds a longer tone at each 10-second mark, and then announces the upcoming time. It runs only while the clock screen is open and stops automatically once you unlock and move on.

6. Saving and retrieving files

After you unlock, the file-management screen opens.

• Photo Library: works with the photos and videos in your device's camera roll.
• My Files: an area for organizing and storing files inside the app.
• Cloud Files: a place that encrypts your files on the server and keeps them for a limited time, so you can share them with your circle.
• Network Connections: connects to Samba(Windows/Mac) / NFS / SFTP shares.

From the icons at the bottom you can use messaging, camera, voice recording, and settings. Anything you shoot or record is saved to My Files. You can freely copy or move files between each area and your camera roll.

The funnel icon at the top right of a list filters what is shown by type. Photos, videos, and audio can each be turned on or off: with everything off, every file is shown regardless of type; once any type is on, only those types are listed.

When a friend sends you a message or adds a file to Cloud Files, you are notified even if the app is closed.

7. Transcribing video and audio, subtitles

PlacePod can turn the speech in a video or audio file into a subtitle file (.srt). Everything runs on your device — the audio is never sent anywhere. Japanese and English are supported.

Transcribing

1. Tap a video or audio file to open the player.
2. Tap the transcribe icon at the top right.
3. Choose the language (日本語 / English) and tap Start.

The subtitle file is saved alongside the original file, with the same name plus .srt. If that location isn't writable, it is saved to My Files instead and the app tells you so.

A recognition model is downloaded on first use. On iPhone (iOS 26 and later) it uses the same high-accuracy recognition as Voice Memos. On Android, transcription takes about as long as the audio itself.

Playing with subtitles

When a video or audio file has a subtitle file (.srt) next to it, it automatically plays with subtitles. Toggle them with the CC icon at the top right of the player.

Subtitle files you made elsewhere work too — put the .srt in the same folder with the same name and it will be shown, including on network shares such as Samba.

Viewing a subtitle file

Tap a text file such as .srt or .txt to view its contents.

8. Exchanging files with other apps

PlacePod can hand files back and forth with the other apps on your device.

Sending into PlacePod from another app

In Photos, a file manager, or any other app, choose Share and pick PlacePod from the list — the file is imported into My Files. This works even while the app is locked (the number of files imported is reported the next time you unlock).

Sending from PlacePod to another app

Select files in My Files, tap the send icon, then choose "To other apps" at the bottom to open the system share sheet. From there you can hand them to Google Drive, iCloud, mail, and so on. On iPhone, choosing "Save to Files" lets you pick the destination folder.

Importing from another app

Tap the import icon (📥) at the top right of My Files to open the system file picker. You can browse Google Drive, iCloud, other file managers and more, and bring files into the folder you currently have open.

9. Device transfer (migrating your data)

To move to a new device, on the old device open Settings → Device transfer to display a QR code, and scan it on the new device. Decryption requires the old device's PIN. The QR code has an expiry (choose 60 seconds / 3 minutes / 5 minutes), so scan it promptly. Once the transfer completes, the old device can no longer be used.

What is carried over: your friends list, Cloud Files, and your display name.

What is NOT carried over: My Files stored on this device are not migrated. Send any you want to keep to Cloud Files beforehand so they are copied to the server. Also, your network connection settings (Samba(Windows/Mac) / NFS / SFTP) must be set up again on the new device.

Saving it as an image: instead of a QR code, the same screen has “Save as a backup key image”, which saves a transfer image to your photo library (choose a 1 / 3 / 6 / 12 month expiry). Even on the same device, after deleting and reinstalling the app you can restore by loading this image from Device transfer → Restore from image on the first screen (no need to scan a QR between two devices). The image just shows plain text; the actual key is embedded PIN-encrypted, so even if the image leaks it is useless without the PIN.

Both the QR and the image can be used only once. Once a transfer or restore succeeds, they become invalid (also invalidated if you migrate to another device). After a transfer, save a fresh backup key image on the new device if you want one.

10. Intrusion alert

When an unlock attempt fails (a wrong PIN, a failed biometric check, or a location-lock attempt away from the trusted place), the front and back cameras capture silently, and the photos are saved to My Files. This leaves a record of anyone who tried to unlock it without permission.

11. If you forget your PIN code

Even if you contact us, we do not hold your PIN (password) and cannot tell it to you. Our system can only determine "whether what you entered is correct," using an algorithm such as SHA-256 — it never knows the password itself.

Put simply: if 2 + 3 = 5 and your password is the "2 and 3" part, the system keeps only the answer "5." There is no way to work backward from "5" to recover the original "2 and 3." This is by design, to protect your privacy.

Therefore, if you forget your PIN code, the only option is to delete the app and reinstall it. Note that reinstalling resets the data stored inside the app.

12. Contact & privacy

If you have any questions, please contact us below. For how we handle personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.