How to Use Don't Miss Birthdays
A complete guide to tracking birthdays and anniversaries, setting up notifications, comparing ages, exploring statistics, and managing your data.
Your dashboard for all birthdays and anniversaries.
How do I use the home page?
The home page displays all your saved profiles as full-width cards, one per row.
Each card shows:
- A gender icon (♀ for women, ♂ for men) next to the name, in the same color as the name.
- The name and nickname inline, formatted as "First Last - Nickname" when a nickname is set.
- A Birth row with a countdown ring (days remaining badge and alert dot for notifications), the full date label (e.g., "Birth: Monday May 12, 1990"), and the detailed age in years, months, and days.
- A Marriage row (when a marriage date is set) with the same ring + label + detailed time-married breakdown.
- A Special event row (when a special event date is set) with a flame icon, an orange progress ring, the full date label, and the detailed time-since-event breakdown.
Tools available on the page:
- If you haven't added anyone yet, the home page shows an Add a birthday button to get started.
- Use the search bar to find a profile by name.
- Open the Filters menu to combine two axes: a category filter (All, Women, Men, Married) and a birth month filter (All or any month from January to December). Selections cumulate, so "Women + May" lists only women born in May. Both selected filters are reflected in the page title with a
·separator (e.g., "Women · May"). - Tap the sort button to change the display order: by next event, name, oldest, or youngest. The next event option considers birthdays, marriage anniversaries, and special event anniversaries, picking whichever is closest for each profile.
- Tap a card to open the profile details.
- Long press a card to open quick actions: Call and Send SMS (shown only if a phone number is set), Edit, and Delete. Call opens the iOS Phone app and SMS opens iOS Messages, without leaving the home page.
How do I find a profile?
From the home page, you have several tools:
- Search bar: type a first or last name to instantly filter the list.
- Category filter: in the Filters menu, choose All, Women, Men, or Married.
- Birth month filter: in the Filters menu, open the month submenu to keep only profiles born in a specific month (or All).
- Sorting: tap the Sort by menu to order by next event, name, oldest, or youngest.
The two filters cumulate with each other and with the search. For example, you can list only women born in May, then search for "Marie" among them, sorted by age. The page title shows the active filters separated by · (e.g., "Women · May").
What is the Statistics tab for?
The Statistics tab is available from the bottom navigation. It opens a dedicated page with full-width charts computed entirely on-device from your profiles:
- Gender breakdown: donut chart showing the proportion of men and women, with percentages.
- Married vs single: horizontal bar chart showing the ratio of married vs single profiles.
- Age ranges: bar chart of decade-based age groups.
- Birth day of the week: a radar chart showing the distribution of birth days across the seven weekdays.
- Birthdays by month: bar chart of birthdays per month. The current month is highlighted.
- Marriages by month: bar chart of marriage anniversaries per month. Shown only if at least one profile has a marriage date.
- Special events by month: bar chart of special-event anniversaries per month. Shown only if at least one profile has a special event date.
The notification quota and the chronological list of every scheduled notification live in Settings > Alerts.
Add the people you care about and never forget their special days.
How do I add a birthday?
Tap the + button in the center of the bottom bar.
- Select the gender.
- Enter the first name (required, between 2 and 30 characters).
- Enter the last name (optional, maximum 30 characters).
- Choose the date of birth (from 1900 to today).
- If the date is February 29, choose whether to celebrate on February 28 or March 1 in non-leap years.
- Optionally, add a marriage date.
- Optionally, add a special event date (a move, memorial, first job, etc.). It works just like the marriage date but for any meaningful event.
- Enable or disable the birthday alert, the marriage alert, and the special event alert.
- Optionally, add a nickname (maximum 20 characters).
- Optionally, add a phone number (validated, E.164 format).
- Optionally, add an email address (validated).
- Optionally, select a blood type (A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+, O-).
Tap Save to create the profile.
Limit: you can save up to 512 profiles.
How do I add a marriage anniversary?
When adding or editing a profile.
- Tap the heart icon to add a marriage date.
- Choose the date using the date picker (from the birth date onwards).
- If the marriage date is February 29, choose the celebration date for non-leap years.
- You can enable a separate marriage alert.
Once saved, the marriage information appears in the profile details under the Marriage tab, with the number of years married, age at marriage, and upcoming anniversaries.
How do I add a special event?
Special events let you track any meaningful date for a person, beyond birthday and marriage. A move, a first job, a memorial, the day you met, etc.
- Tap the flame icon to add a special event date.
- Choose the date using the date picker (from the birth date onwards).
- If the date is February 29, choose the celebration date for non-leap years.
- You can enable a separate special event alert.
Once saved, the special event appears in the profile details under the Special tab, with the number of years elapsed, age at the event, and upcoming anniversaries. It behaves exactly like marriage but with a flame icon and an orange accent color.
Discover everything about each person's milestones.
What information is available in profile details?
Tap a profile card on the home page to open the details.
Personal information card:
- First name, last name, and nickname.
- Tap "See all" to reveal gender, blood type, phone number (with call and message buttons), and email (with mail button).
Birthday tab:
- Countdown to the next birthday with a progress circle.
- Current age broken down into years, months, and days.
- Time lived in total months, weeks, and days.
- Date of birth in other calendars: Hijri, Hebrew, Persian, and Buddhist.
- Age milestones reached and upcoming.
- Birthday twins: other profiles sharing the same birthday.
- Full birthday history by year.
Marriage tab (if a marriage date was added):
- Number of years married.
- Age at the time of marriage.
- Marriage milestones and upcoming anniversaries.
Special tab (if a special event date was added):
- Number of years since the event.
- Age at the time of the event.
- Event milestones and upcoming anniversaries.
You can edit or delete the profile from the toolbar at the top.
Quick copy: tap the first name, last name, nickname, phone number, or email to copy it to the clipboard. A short confirmation toast appears.
Get reminded at exactly the right time.
How do alerts work?
When you add a profile, birthday alerts are enabled by default. Marriage alerts are disabled by default.
Global alert settings:
Go to Settings > Alerts to configure alerts for all profiles at once.
- Choose when to be notified: on the day itself, 1 day before, 1 week before, or disable notifications.
- Set the exact notification time (hour and minute).
- Birthday and marriage alerts are configured separately.
- Use the test button to verify your settings.
Per-profile alerts:
When adding or editing a profile, you can enable or disable birthday and marriage alerts individually.
Smart priority:
iOS limits the number of notifications to 64 at a time. The app automatically prioritizes the closest events: a birthday next week will always take priority over one in 6 months.
Smart notification grouping:
If multiple people celebrate on the same day, the app groups their notifications into a single notification to save slots. The title shows the count (e.g., "3 birthdays today") and the body lists the names. For large groups, only the count is shown in the title. This means you use fewer of the 64 available iOS slots while still covering everyone.
Visual indicators:
On each profile card, a colored dot at the top of each ring shows the alert status:
- Green: alert scheduled
- Orange: alert enabled but no slot available (64 limit exceeded)
- Gray: alert disabled
Notification permission:
The app will ask you to allow notifications when you add a profile or when you open a profile for the first time. If you declined, go to iOS Settings > Notifications > Don't Miss Birthdays and enable notifications manually.
Detailed notifications list:
In Settings > Alerts, tap "Show list" to see every scheduled notification in chronological order, with its type (birthday or marriage), the profile name, and the exact trigger date and time. The notification quota (X / 64) is also shown so you know exactly how many slots are used.
See the exact age difference between multiple people.
How do I compare ages?
Open the Compare tab from the bottom navigation.
- Select a reference person by tapping the first circle.
- Then select up to 21 people to compare by tapping the second circle.
The results are displayed on a timeline organized into three groups:
- People older than the reference.
- People the same age.
- People younger than the reference.
Each card shows:
- The full age difference in years, months, and days.
- The date when the reference will be (or was) the same age as the other person is today.
- If both people were born on the same day, a special message is displayed.
- If two people share the same first name, the full name is displayed on the relevant card to avoid confusion.
A legend at the bottom explains the timeline icons: birthday, older than reference, same age, and younger than reference.
The selection list is sorted alphabetically. Tap the Clear button at the top to reset your selection.
Keep upcoming events visible directly on your home screen.
How do I add the widget to my home screen?
Long press an empty area of your iOS home screen, tap the + button at the top, search for Don't Miss Birthdays, and choose between the Small or Medium size.
Both widget sizes show:
- A date header at the top in your accent color (month name and day name). The Small size additionally shows the day number.
- The closest upcoming birthdays and marriage anniversaries from your profiles.
- A "No event" label when there are no upcoming birthdays or anniversaries.
The Medium size also includes a mini-calendar with dots marking the days that have an event in the current month.
The widget refreshes automatically as your data changes and as time passes.
See all your events at a glance.
How do I use the calendar?
Tap the calendar icon on the home page (top right).
The calendar displays all 12 months of the current year.
- Colored days indicate a birthday or marriage anniversary.
- A small dot marks a holiday.
- Today is highlighted with a border.
- A badge on each month header shows the number of events.
Tap on a day to see the list of people celebrating that day, along with their age and event type.
Back up your data or transfer it between devices.
How do I export or import my data?
Export profiles:
Go to Settings > Import/Export and tap Export. All your profiles will be saved as a JSON file that you can store in Files, share via AirDrop, email, or any other method.
Import from JSON file:
Tap Import and select a JSON file from your device. The app validates each profile before importing. If any profile is invalid, the entire file is rejected with an error message. New profiles will be added and existing ones will be updated.
Validation rules:
- First name required (between 2 and 30 characters).
- Last name optional (maximum 30 characters).
- Gender: male or female.
- Birth date between 1900 and today.
- Marriage date on or after birth date.
- Special event date on or after birth date.
- Maximum 512 profiles total.
- File size: 5 MB maximum.
Switch between 14 languages.
How do I change the app language?
Go to Settings > Language.
- Select the desired language from the list.
- Restart the app to apply the change.
Supported languages: French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Turkish, Indonesian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Japanese, and Korean.
On first launch, the app automatically detects your device language and uses it if it is supported. Otherwise, English is used as the default.
If Arabic is selected, an additional option appears in settings to choose the month name style: Maghreb, Levantine, or Gulf.
Arabic includes full right-to-left (RTL) layout support, with all text, navigation, and UI elements properly mirrored.
Keep your profiles in sync across all your Apple devices.
Is my data saved on iCloud?
If iCloud is enabled on your device, your data is automatically synced across all your Apple devices signed in with the same Apple ID.
- Syncing happens in the background without any action needed.
- When you install the app on a new device, your profiles will load automatically from iCloud.
- If iCloud is unavailable or disabled, your data is stored locally on the device only.
- If you delete data, the deletion is also synced across all your devices via iCloud.
Automatic deduplication: if duplicate profiles ever appear after an app update or syncing across multiple devices, the app detects and removes them automatically on launch, keeping the most recently edited version of each profile.
How the app handles February 29 birthdays.
What about people born on February 29?
When you add someone born on February 29, the app asks you to choose how to celebrate their birthday in non-leap years:
- February 28: the birthday is celebrated on the last day of February.
- March 1: the birthday is celebrated on the first day of March.
The same choice is available for marriage dates falling on February 29.
This setting affects the calendar display, birthday countdown, and notification scheduling.
What is a leap year?
A leap year occurs every 4 years. It adds a February 29 to the calendar to compensate for the gap between the civil year (365 days) and the solar year (365.25 days).
Exception: years divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also divisible by 400.
Examples:
- 2024, 2028, 2032: leap years
- 1900: not a leap year (divisible by 100 but not 400)
- 2000: leap year (divisible by 400)
Delete data or reset settings.
How do I delete my data or reset settings?
Delete all data:
- Go to Settings and tap Delete all data.
- You will be asked to confirm.
- All profiles and all alerts will be permanently deleted.
- If iCloud is enabled, data will also be deleted from all your devices.
Reset settings:
- Tap Reset settings.
- All settings return to their defaults: haptic feedback, alerts (types and times), language (system detection), Arabic month style, and display filters on the home page.
- Notifications already scheduled in iOS are also cleared.
- Your profiles will not be deleted.
What is the profile limit?
You can save up to 512 profiles in the app.
This limit is designed to ensure the best performance and a smooth experience.
If you reach the limit, you can delete existing profiles to add new ones.
Discover our other applications.
What is the Our Apps page?
Open Settings > Our Apps to browse our other applications across iOS, Android, and the web.
Each entry shows an icon, the app name, a short tagline, and a platform badge (iOS, Android, or Web). Tap an entry to open it in the App Store, Google Play, or your default browser.
The list is delivered through Firebase Remote Config, so we can keep it up to date without releasing a new app version. If the list is empty or cannot be loaded, a centered empty state is shown.
How the app is funded and how to reach us.
How do ads work?
Don't Miss Birthdays is free and supported by advertising via Google AdMob.
- Interstitial ads appear occasionally after certain actions (not on every interaction).
- App Open ads may appear as a full-screen ad when you bring the app back from the background to the foreground. They are frequency-capped: at least 4 hours pass between two App Open ads.
- Ads do not interfere with your data or notifications.
- No personal profile data is shared with advertisers.
Ad consent:
- If you are in Europe (GDPR), a consent form will be shown on first launch to choose your ad preferences. You can change it anytime from Settings > Ad Preferences.
- On iOS, Apple may ask for tracking permission (App Tracking Transparency). You are free to decline - the app works perfectly either way.
How can I contact you?
You can contact us by email at contact@dontmissbirthdays.com.
Go to Settings > Contact Us to send an email directly from the app.
Feel free to write to us to:
- Report a problem
- Suggest an improvement
- Ask a question
We typically respond within 48 hours.
Is the app accessible?
Don't Miss Birthdays is designed to be accessible to everyone.
- VoiceOver: All buttons and interactive elements have descriptive labels read by VoiceOver.
- Navigation: You can navigate through all screens using VoiceOver gestures.
- Charts: Statistics cards include alternative text descriptions read by VoiceOver.
- State: Filter buttons and options announce their state (selected/not selected).
- Decorative elements: Decorative icons are hidden from screen readers to avoid clutter.