Mon Écrin on Android

Install the app

1. On your phone, tap the download button on this page: it opens the Mon Écrin listing in Google Play. On the app page, it's the "Get it on Google Play" button.
2. On a computer? Scan the "Scan to install on Android" QR code on the app page with your phone's camera: it opens the same Google Play listing.
3. Tap "Install", then "Open" once the installation is complete. Future updates will also come through Google Play.
4. You then enjoy a free trial of 1 month, with no credit card needed.

Mon Écrin works on Android 10 or later. The Android app is installed from Google Play: the download button and the QR code on the website take you straight there.

First launch

1. When you open the app, the "Welcome to Mon Écrin" screen introduces the service. Tap "Got it, continue". If someone close to you has given you a family or referral code, first tap "I have an invitation or referral code" to enter it: a referral code can only be entered at this point, before your account is created.
2. Already have an account? Tap "Already a customer? Sign in", then enter your email address and password, or tap "Continue with Google". If you have turned on two-step verification, you'll then be asked for a code.
3. To create an account, tick "I confirm I am at least 15 years old (GDPR Article 8)." and "I accept the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.", then choose "Continue with Google authentication" or "Continue with your email address". By email: enter your name (a nickname is fine), your address and a password, tap "Create my account", then enter the 8-digit code you receive by email.
4. The "Mon Écrin, what's it for?" screen presents three ways to use the app, without asking you to choose anything: tap "Continue". Then choose "Easy setup" (recommended) or "Customise my setup".
5. "Easy setup" automatically backs up your photos, videos and documents in original quality from the camera, screenshots, "Documents" and "Downloads", in "Eco" network mode (Wi-Fi, plus small files over mobile data). "Customise my setup" lets you choose the file types, other folders (WhatsApp, Instagram…) and the network used. Either way, you can add or remove folders after the first backup.
6. Grant the permissions requested: "Allow access to photos and videos" (choose access to all photos), then, if you back up your documents, extended file access in the phone's settings, and finally "Allow background execution" so the backup carries on when the app is closed. Nothing is sent at this stage.
7. Choose your plan ("Personal", "Duo" or "Family", depending on what you're offered), then the offer recommended for the amount found on your phone. There's nothing to pay during the free trial: you'll choose your subscription when it ends. With a family code, the "Join this family" step replaces this choice.
8. The "Ready to back up!" screen shows the number of files found and an estimated duration. Tap "Back up now" (you can close the app, a notification lets you know when it's done) or "Back up tonight" (while charging). If a condition is missing (Wi-Fi, charger, background), the screen tells you; for Wi-Fi and background, a "Fix" link takes you to the right setting.

What you can do

• Getting around: the app has the sections "Gallery", "Collections", "Documents" (if you back up your documents), "My keyring" (if you've turned it on) and "Account & Settings". Move from one to another with the arrows on the card at the top of the screen, or by swiping left or right.
• Following the backup: in "Account & Settings", the "Synchronisation" card shows the number of memories kept safe and the date of the last backup; "View details" opens the full progress view. If the backup is waiting for something, the reason is shown: "Waiting for Wi-Fi", "Waiting to be plugged in"…
• Pausing: during a backup, tap the pause button at the top right of the "Synchronisation" card. To resume, tap the same button, which has become a play button.
• Adjusting the backup: Account & Settings › My backup › Backup settings. The "Simple" view sums up your settings; the "Advanced" view lets you choose the folders, the file types, the "Backup network" ("WiFi (only)", "Eco (WiFi + small files)" or "Unlimited (no restriction)") and conditions such as "Charging only" or "Back up at night" (with start and end times). Folders can be changed once the first backup is complete, and settings are locked while a backup is in progress.
• Browsing the gallery: the "Gallery" section menu offers "Gallery filters" (photos or videos, "This phone" or "My other devices", categories), "Select", "Jump to month", "Display and thumbnails", "Trash" and "Free up space".
• Collections: find your "Favourites", your "Recently viewed", your "Albums", your "Sharing", the "People" and "Themes" groupings, the "Out of gallery" folder and "My collages".
• Documents: the "Documents" section brings together the documents backed up from your devices. "Scan an official document" uses the camera to scan a paper, then asks you "Where should this document go?" (for example "Official documents").
• Discovery: Account & Settings › Display › Discovery brings together "People" and "Objects & themes". These analyses only start if you turn them on, and they run entirely on your phone: no photo and no face ever leaves it.
• Freeing up space on the phone: Account & Settings › My backup › Free up space offers "Blurry photos", "Duplicates on this phone", "Files that can't be backed up" and "Space freed", which removes from the phone the photos already safe in your Écrin ("Free up space now", or "Offer to free up space"). Nothing is deleted without your confirmation.
• Getting your files back: Account & Settings › My backup › Retrieve. "On this phone" puts back on the device the backed-up files that are no longer there (the option only appears if there are any). "Download everything" takes you to your web space: download by selection, or a full backup in a single ZIP file, once a month.
• Security: Account & Settings › My account › Security & Privacy lets you "Require fingerprint to open Mon Écrin" and choose whether or not to send "Diagnostics and reports" (off by default).
• Subscription and devices: Account & Settings › My account › My subscription shows your plan and lets you subscribe via Google Play at the end of the trial; a subscription taken out on the website is changed from your web account area. You'll also find "Referral" there. "My devices", in the same menu, lists the devices linked to your account.
• Help: Account & Settings › Help & support brings together the frequently asked questions and the "Ask a question" button to write to our team.
• Trash: a deleted photo isn't lost straight away. It goes to the "Trash", in the "Gallery" section menu, where you can restore it or delete it permanently. It stays there for 365 days.
• Albums: in "Collections" › "Albums", open an album, then choose "Edit album" from its menu (on Android, the option is called "Rename album"). You can give it a name, a description, dates and a place, and choose the order of the photos ("Date taken" or "Date added").
• Sharing an album with your loved ones: in an album, tap "Share", then enter the "Friend's name or email address". Under "What they'll be able to do", choose from three levels: "View the photos.", "Add their photos, remove their own." or "Add and remove any photo.". Shared albums can be found in "Collections" › "Sharing" › "Shared albums". No public link is created: only the people invited have access.
• Sharing a selection: select some photos, tap "Share", then "In Mon Écrin" (an album is created, then the sharing sheet opens) or "Send the files" (phone sharing: the photos leave Mon Écrin). Only photos that are already backed up can be shared in Mon Écrin.
• Friends: in "Collections" › "Sharing" › "Friends", tap "Add a friend": show the person "My QR code", invite them by "Email", or use "Create my link" then "Share my link". The person confirms the addition on their side.
• Out of gallery: to take practical photos (parcels, receipts, instructions, screenshots…) out of your stream of memories, select them then tap "Move out of gallery". They stay backed up and can be found in "Collections" › "Out of gallery", from where you can put them back at any time. You can set a "Maximum folder size" there: beyond it, the oldest ones go to the trash.
• Collage: select several photos and tap "Collage" to put them together in a single image, with the layout, borders, background and title of your choice. Your creations are kept in "Collections" › "My collages".
• My keyring: a password manager for storing your passwords, codes, payment cards, bank accounts and ID documents. It's turned on from Account & Settings › My account › Security & Privacy › My keyring. It's protected by a master password that only you know: Mon Écrin can't read it, and without this password or your recovery key, its contents can't be recovered.
• Family: in Account & Settings › My account › My family, "Create a family" lets you, if your plan is designed for several people, invite your loved ones to share its storage with an "Invitation code". Has someone close to you given you a code? Choose "Join a family" and enter it. The storage is shared, but everyone keeps their own files.
• Mon Écrin on the web: Account & Settings › My account › My Écrin on the web opens your space on monecrin.com in the browser, so you can find all your files on a big screen.

Updates

• Google Play updates Mon Écrin like your other apps, automatically if automatic updates are turned on in the Play Store. Otherwise, open the Mon Écrin listing in the Play Store and tap "Update".
• If your version is too old, the "Mandatory update" message appears: "This version of the application is no longer supported." Tap "Update": the Google Play listing opens.
• Just after an update, the gallery may take a few moments to rebuild itself from your Écrin: your photos and videos reappear on their own, nothing is lost.
• The installed version is shown in Account & Settings › About.

Uninstall

1. To uninstall, open the Mon Écrin listing in the Play Store and tap "Uninstall", or press and hold the app icon and choose to uninstall (the wording depends on your phone).
2. Uninstalling removes the app from this phone, but doesn't touch the photos on your phone, your account or the files already backed up: they stay in your Écrin, available on monecrin.com and on your other devices. Your subscription also continues: it's managed in My subscription, from your web account area or from Google Play depending on where you took it out.
3. The phone stays in your list of devices. If you reinstall Mon Écrin on the same phone, it's recognised ("Welcome back!"): your setup is restored and files already backed up aren't sent again. To free up its place, remove it from "My devices" in your Mon Écrin space.
4. Not to be confused: "Sign out" (Account & Settings › My account › My profile) simply stops Mon Écrin on this phone, without deleting anything online. "Delete my account", in the "Danger zone" of the same screen, closes the account for good: after you type "DELETE", the account is deactivated within 24 hours and your data is kept for 30 days before being erased. Until the deletion has taken effect, "Cancel deletion request" stops it. The photos on your phone are not affected.

Common problems