Lantern

Support

Lantern is made by one person. Here are quick answers, and how to reach me.

Contact

Email support@brighterbytheday.app. Tell me your device, your version of iOS or macOS and what happened. I read everything, and aim to reply within a few days.

Common questions

How do days, sleeps and calendar counts differ?

Days and sleeps are the same number with a different label. "Sleeps" is how children count. Calendar shows years, months and days. Choose for each event, and set the default for new events in Settings.

Why does the count change at 4am, not midnight?

So a child still awake at half past twelve isn't told "Today!". You can move the time in Settings, from midnight to 6am. The widgets and reminders follow it.

My events don't appear on my other device

Lantern syncs through your own iCloud, so check that:

  • Both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account.
  • iCloud is on for Lantern: Settings, your name, iCloud, Apps Using iCloud (or Show All), Lantern.
  • Both devices are online and have iCloud storage free. Large photo libraries use storage.
  • Lantern is on iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27 or later on every device.

Syncing can take a minute or two. Opening the app on each device helps it along.

How do I share an event with family?

Open the event, choose the "…" menu, then "Invite family". The person you invite needs Lantern too. They see the same countdown and photos, and can edit it unless you shared it view-only. They can leave a shared event at any time. To send the moment to someone without the app, use Share to send it as a card.

What is different on the Mac?

Everything you count and keep works the same, and widgets can sit on your Mac's desktop. Live Activities, Lock Screen widgets, StandBy and Add to Calendar are iPhone and iPad features.

My widget or Live Activity looks wrong

Widgets update at the start of each day (4am by default). Touch and hold the widget to check which event it shows. Live Activities start by themselves in the final eight hours before an event that has a time, and need Live Activities allowed in Settings.

I'm not getting reminders

Lantern reminds you only at 100 days, a month, a week, the night before and on the day. Check that notifications are allowed for Lantern in the system settings, that Reminders is on for the event, and that the time isn't inside your quiet hours.

How do I delete my data?

Delete an event in Lantern and it is removed from every device. To remove everything, delete the app, then clear Lantern's data in your iCloud storage settings. I never held a copy, so there is nothing for me to delete.

Refunds and purchases

Lantern is bought once, through the App Store. Apple handles purchases and refunds: visit reportaproblem.apple.com. Your purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, and you can restore it on any device signed in to the same Apple Account.

Privacy

Read the privacy policy. In short: no accounts, no analytics, no tracking.