House Plant Assistant Support

It combines four things: which way the window faces, how blocked the view is (trees, buildings, awnings), your approximate latitude, and the time of year. From those it works out how much direct sun and daylight reach the spot, then reduces that for each step you move back from the glass.

The result is an estimate in four levels: Direct Sun, Bright Indirect, Medium and Low light.

For two optional things. The compass button reads your phone's heading to detect which way a window faces. The Auto hemisphere setting reads your approximate latitude, because the sun's path through the year depends on where you live.

Only the latitude is kept, and only on your phone. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else.

The app still works. Pick Northern or Southern on the home screen, and tap a direction yourself when you add a window. Without your latitude the app uses a typical mid-latitude estimate, so seasonal results will be a little less precise.

Yes. Auto detects your hemisphere from your location, and you can set it by hand. The seasons are flipped automatically, so a south-facing window in the Northern Hemisphere and a north-facing window in the Southern Hemisphere behave alike.

Apple does not give apps access to the iPhone's ambient light sensor, so the app cannot read real light levels on iOS. It relies on the window direction, obstruction, latitude and season instead.

They are a good starting point, not a guarantee. The model assumes clear skies and uses mid-season sun angles. Weather, nearby buildings, window tinting and curtains all change real light. Watch how your plants respond, since leaves that stretch or pale suggest too little light, and scorched or bleached patches suggest too much.

It appears when direct sunbeams are likely to reach that spot in the chosen season and the plant's leaves burn easily. Moving the plant back a little or filtering the light with a sheer curtain usually solves it.

Not at the moment. Your windows are stored only on the phone you added them on. Deleting the app deletes that data, and a new phone starts empty.

Open a window and tap Delete Window to remove it. To remove everything, including your saved latitude, delete the app. We hold no copy of your data, so there is nothing to request from us.

Please do. Email support@alicejwilliam.com with what you would like to see.