Mon Écrin on iPhone

Install the app

1. The iPhone app is in private preview via TestFlight, Apple's testing service, ahead of its release on the App Store. It's reserved for invited people.
2. If you've received an invitation, first install the TestFlight app from the App Store.
3. Open the invitation on your iPhone, then install Mon Écrin from TestFlight. The app then appears on your Home Screen like any other.

Mon Écrin works on iPhone with iOS 16 or later. On iPad, the app installs in iPhone mode. Nothing is bought in the app: your subscription is managed on monecrin.com.

First launch

1. When you open the app, the "Welcome to Mon Écrin" screen introduces the service. Tap "Got it, continue".
2. On the "Your space" screen, already have an account? Tap "I already have an account", then sign in with your email address and password, with "Continue with Google" or with Apple. If you have turned on two-step verification, you'll then be asked for a code.
3. To create an account, tick "I confirm that I am at least 15 years old." and "I accept the terms of use and the privacy policy.", then choose "Continue with Apple", "Continue with Google" or "With an email address". By email: enter your name, your address and a password, tap "Create my account", then enter the 8-digit code you receive by email.
4. The "Mon Écrin, what for?" screen presents three ways to use the app, without asking you to choose anything: tap "Continue". Setup then takes three steps, with no settings to adjust: they're all in "My account & Settings".
5. Step 1, "Registering this iPhone": your iPhone is linked to your account. If your account has already reached its number of devices, Mon Écrin tells you right away, before any permission is asked.
6. Step 2, "Access to your photos": tap "Allow access to my photos". In the iOS window that follows, choose access to all photos: a partial selection doesn't let you back up everything. Your originals stay on your iPhone.
7. Step 3, "Everything is ready": tap "Start". The automatic backup of your photos and videos begins. If you're not on Wi-Fi, if Low Power Mode is on or if your iPhone's storage is almost full, the screen tells you. By default, the backup uses Wi-Fi, and mobile data for small files.
8. Mon Écrin doesn't ask for notifications during setup. To be told about a shared album, a document that's about to expire or files leaving your phone, open My account & Settings › My account › My notifications › On this iPhone and tap "Allow notifications". If you've already refused them, turn them back on in the iPhone's Settings.

What you can do

• Getting around: the app has the sections "Gallery", "Collections", "My keyring" (if you've turned it on), "Documents" (if you back up your documents) and "My 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 "My account & Settings", the "Synchronisation" card and its "View details" link open the backup progress view. There you'll find "Back up now", "Pause" (until tomorrow morning or indefinitely) and "Resume backup". During the first backup, a banner at the top of the sections also leads to this view.
• Adjusting the backup: My account & Settings › My backup › Backup settings. There you choose "Automatic backup", "Back up videos", "Back up documents", the network (Wi-Fi only, Wi-Fi and mobile data for small files, or all networks) and conditions: "Only when plugged in", "Pause on low battery", "Back up at night" with its time range.
• Photo library: My account & Settings › My backup › Photo library shows the permission granted ("Full access", "Limited access"…), the number of photos visible to Mon Écrin and any files not backed up.
• Browsing the gallery: the "Gallery" section menu offers "Filter", "Mosaic" or "Square grid" display, and the "Trash". Tap "Select" to act on several photos: "Share", "Add to album", "Favourites", "Photo collage", "Move out of gallery", "Download", "Free up space" or "Delete".
• Collections: find your "Favourites", your "Recently viewed", your "Albums", your "Sharing", the "Computer folders", the "Out of gallery" folder and "My photo collages".
• Documents: once "Back up documents" is turned on, the "Documents" section lets you "Import a file" or "Scan a document" with the camera. These documents are kept safe just like your photos.
• Discovery: My account & Settings › Display › Discovery brings together the analyses of your photos (people, objects and themes), carried out on your iPhone.
• Freeing up space on the iPhone: My account & Settings › My backup › Free up space offers "Tidy up" (screenshots, small images, short videos, blurry photos), "Duplicates on this phone", "Files that can't be backed up" and "Space freed", which removes from the iPhone the photos already safe in your Écrin ("Free up space now"), batch by batch, after your confirmation each time. When the iPhone is almost full, Mon Écrin may also suggest it.
• Getting your files back: My account & Settings › My backup › Retrieve. "On this phone" puts back on the iPhone the backed-up memories that are no longer there. "Download everything" prepares a ZIP archive of your whole vault, to collect from a computer.
• Security: My account & Settings › My account › Security & Privacy lets you "Require Face ID to open Mon Écrin" (or Touch ID depending on your iPhone; failing that, the iPhone passcode is used) and adjust "Diagnostics and reports".
• Subscription and devices: My account & Settings › My account › My subscription shows your plan, the storage used and remaining, and the devices allowed. Nothing is bought in the app: your subscription is managed from your account area on monecrin.com. "My devices", in the same menu, lists the devices linked to your account.
• Help and language: My account & Settings › Help & support brings together the frequently asked questions and "Contact us". The app's language is changed in My account & Settings › Display › Language.
• 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

• During the preview, new versions arrive through the TestFlight app, which lets you know when a version is available: install it from TestFlight. The app doesn't update itself.
• An update keeps your account, your settings and your backup: you don't need to sign in again.
• The installed version is shown in My account & Settings › About (link at the bottom of the screen).

Uninstall

1. To uninstall, press and hold the Mon Écrin icon, choose "Remove App", then confirm.
2. Uninstalling doesn't touch the photos in your Photos app, your account or the files already backed up: they stay in your Écrin, available on monecrin.com and on your other devices. Your subscription continues: it's managed from your account area on monecrin.com.
3. Your iPhone stays linked to your account, even after uninstalling: when you reinstall, use the same account. If you want to use another account on this iPhone, the "iPhone already linked" screen offers "Start over".
4. Not to be confused: "Sign out" (My account & Settings › My account › My profile) stops the backup on this iPhone; your photos stay on the device, and those already backed up stay in your account. "Delete my account", in the "Danger zone" of the same screen, closes the account for good: the deletion takes effect within 24 hours and can be cancelled until then ("Cancel deletion request"); your files are then permanently deleted within 30 days.

Common problems