Hey there,
Sorry for the frustration! Iām afraid this is by design - Opalās main technology is built so that our app blocks connections locally (on your phone), without your data being stored on our servers. Unlike most apps, Opal works entirely on your phone and personal browsing data never leaves your device. Thereās more info on that here:
I took a look through that page, but I still donāt think utās addressing my issue. Itās perfectly fine to have it so that the appās blocking functions are done locally on the phone via Screen Time. I also applaud the commitment not to take unnecessary data.
But you already do have some data about me that you carry over (for example, my profile picture, the fact that Iām a subscriber, etc.). So why canāt we have it so that when I sign in on a new device, I can have pre-saved templates of my sessions, complete with the app lists Iāve already created on my phone?
NB, this is not asking for it to be one continuous session shared between the two devices. It would really be a copy of my sessions and app lists, which I could then quickly āinstallā on my new device.
I just re-downloaded Opal onto my iPad; I primarily use it on my iPhone.
When I first downloaded the app, it asked me if I wanted to create an account or sign in ā fine. But before I could tap āsign in,ā it whooshed me away to the questionnaire I did when I first signed up for the app (how much time do you spend using screens daily, etc.), which was really annoying.
Ultimately, without having to sign in, it recognized that it was me. My profile picture and Pro membership carried over successfully. However, nothing else did. None of the sessions that exist on my iPhone app were there and I had to start from scratch, which is annoying because itās taken a lot of tinkering to get them right.
Iād appreciate if the team could streamline the way you sign in on a different advice, I.e., have everything carry over once youāre signed in, and not gave me go through the quiz process and everything again.
Hey there,
Thanks for the clarification. I have merged your request with the existing page about this desired feature. Stay tuned!
All the best,
Sarah @ Opal
Any progress on this?
Hi there,
I think it would be great if Opal in Windows (Chrome Add-On)/MacOS + Opal in Phone can be all linked,
You can stopp using a distracting app in the phone but you can easilly open it in your computer, and then the time tracking will not be including in the phone app. I think this can help to improve Screen Time for all devices.
Hey Martin,
Thanks for the feedback. Iāve merged this request with an existing thread on the subject. Iām afraid itās not possible to sync sessions across devices currently due to how we store your data (which will always stay on your device). That said, we are currently beta testing our Mac app to help reduce your screen time on your computer, and hope to implement more comprehensive features there. You can sign up for beta testing here:
https://community.opal.so/t/welcome-to-opals-mac-beta-test/2950
All the best,
Team Opal
Hey Sarah,
Even if the sessions arenāt synced is it possible to sync at least the screen time data?
Thanks!
It would be quite useful to log screen time from other devices, such as tv or gaming devices that you canāt have Opal monitor to gain a more thorough result.
Hey there,
Thanks for the feedback. Iāve merged this request with an existing thread on the subject. Iām afraid itās not possible to sync sessions across external devices. That said, we are currently beta testing our Mac app to help reduce your screen time on your computer, and hope to implement more comprehensive features there. You can sign up for the Mac version here:
All the best,
Team Opal
BUMP
So the argument its all on device so no sync is not an argument. You could build a system with cloud storage that is data friendly. Look as an example for Bear Note taking app. They are syncing across cloud WITHOUT selling the data or even being able to see them in the first place. Its just a move to be lazy and not take the time to develop a robust sync option. And yeah having no sync with that price tag is borderline insane. And Im not exaggerating.
Bring the price of the app down or bring some NEEDED BASIC FUNCTIONS into the app. Also the Mac app is having alot less options that the iphone app. I get its new and all. Its those small details that make the mac app look unfinished and kinda rushedā¦
any updates on that matter?
This is so disappointing - Iāve found Opal incredibly helpful but I really need it to work across multiple devices.
If I only want to spend 1hr per day on social media, and I have 3 devices, then what is your planned user experience for that? Replicate the original settings on every device to have 1 hour each per day? That triples my allowed time to 3 hours per day, which defeats the purpose of this app. 20 minutes per day per device so it adds up to 1hr? Thatās not helpful because no one is going to use all of their devices every single day or for the same amount of time each. Again, what is the user experience that you want us to have in this situation?
What is the next step here? @kenneth is there any plan to resolve this or should we resign to ānot happeningā? If data security is the hurdle, what can you do to prioritize this feature with a different approach?
I understand why the data that is collected from the device should stay on the device. But, you donāt have to pass that original data anywhere to get our accounts to syncā¦ other developers seem to have figured this out.
The app should be able to assign unique & anonymized identifiers to a set of data, representing the metrics displayed in the app. That data is no longer attached to the userās identity or their device, but instead is just values shown in an interface. Those metrics should be able to be synced together via iCloud like thousands of other apps, and can use iCloudās Advanced Data Protection for end-to-end encryption.