Ever had a reminder go off once, at the worst possible moment, and then never again?

Nudge Me is different. The closer the moment gets, the more often it asks.

■ Two steps. That's the whole app.

1. Write one line you don't want to forget
2. Pick when you need it

Done. No sign-up, no login, no folders to organise.

■ It gets more insistent as the time approaches

Most reminder apps fire once at a set time. If your hands are full at
that exact minute, that's it. You miss it.

Nudge Me tightens the gaps as the moment approaches. Quiet when it's far
off, persistent when it's close. And it checks in once more after the
time has passed.

"Did you bring it?"

■ Things to bring and things to do are not the same

You grab your charger on the way out the door. A reminder the day before
is useless, because you can't pack it yet. So for things to bring, the
alerts cluster just before you leave.

Filing paperwork takes time. Finding out on the day is already too late.
So for things to do, the alerts start days ahead.

The app guesses which is which. If it guesses wrong, one tap fixes it.

■ Write the everyday things down once

The pill every morning, the thing you only grab on weekdays, the bill
every month. Set a repeat and you never write it again.

Daily, Weekly or Monthly.
For weekly you pick the days yourself: Mon/Wed/Fri, Mon-Fri, or just
Thursday.

Mark it done and it moves to the next time instead of leaving your list.
Miss one and the next one still arrives on time.

Set it on the 31st and February takes the last day of the month, then
March goes back to the 31st.

Repeats stay quieter: an hour before, at the time, and once more half an
hour later if you haven't.

■ It stays quiet while you sleep

Set your quiet hours and any alert landing inside them moves to when they
end. Work nights? Set your quiet hours to daytime instead.

One exception: if the deadline is under two hours away, it rings anyway.
If you have to leave at 6 AM, pushing the 5 AM alert to morning defeats
the point.

■ Handle it straight from the notification

Three buttons on every alert.

· Got it — it leaves your list without opening the app
(a repeat moves to its next time instead)
· In 10 min — snooze when your hands are full right now
· In 1 hour — not now: it goes quiet, then asks again

■ What you write never leaves your phone

Your reminder text is stored on your device only. It is never sent to a
developer server, and the developer cannot read it. It is kept out of
Google account backups too, which also means it does not follow you to a
new phone.

There is no account, so there is no account to be breached.

■ When alerts don't arrive, the app tells you why

Android blocks notifications in several different ways: notification
permission, exact alarm permission, battery optimisation.

There's a check screen inside the app. It shows whether the notification
and exact alarm permissions are on right now and sends you straight to
the right settings page. Battery optimisation can't be read by an app,
so for that one it takes you to the switch and leaves it to you. You can
fire a test alert too.

■ Good things to write down

· Charger, umbrella, water bottle
· Your kid's things for daycare
· Library books to return, parcels to post
· Insurance paperwork, confirming an appointment
· A birthday present for your parents
· The morning pill, the rent every month (set those to repeat)

■ Also included

· Home screen widget — the next three things, and tap the circle to check one off
· Long-press the app icon for Add one — write it down the moment it comes to you
· Keep it in the shade — pull down and the next thing is at the top (on/off)
· Vibration on or off
· Light and dark appearance
· English and Korean
· Completed items are kept for 30 days, then cleared automatically
· Marked something done by mistake? You can bring it back

So the thing you forgot, and regretted, doesn't happen twice.