Sync and ad-free time

Where to find sync #

Sync lives in Settings › Sync. A cloud icon in the top bar (the side rail on a larger screen) shows its state at a glance, and tapping it opens the same page. The icon changes as things move: synced, changes waiting, syncing, offline, or a failed sync. A small ! on the icon means sync is paused (see below).

What syncs #

Your progress is saved on your device first, so lessons and reviews work offline. When you are connected it syncs to your account, and signing in on another device brings it with you. That covers:

• Lessons: which lessons you have finished, and your progress through the course.
• Flashcards: your review schedule and review history, plus notes and other changes you make to cards.
• Settings: your preferences follow you between devices.

Settings › Sync lists Flashcards and Lessons separately, each with when it last synced and how many changes are still waiting.

The three buttons #

• Sync now sends any changes still waiting on this device straight away. It is only active when something is waiting. You rarely need it, because sync runs on its own.
• Reconcile sends every lesson finished on this device to your account again. Use it if a lesson you finished here does not show up on another device.
• Forget local drops any lesson reset made on this device and reloads your lesson progress from your account. Lessons you reset on this device come back. Changes still waiting to sync are kept. Because it overwrites what this device has, it asks you to confirm first.

Ad-free time and sync time are one clock #

Ad-free time and sync time are the same thing: one clock on your account. While it is running you see no ads and your progress syncs to the cloud.

You add time to it by:

• buying ad-free time in the shop with lingots (from 30 minutes to 24 hours; quests are a good way to earn the lingots),
• supporting Open Lingo on Ko-fi,
• in the iOS beta, watching a rewarded ad.

The web app does not show ads.

When the time runs out #

Nothing is lost. Your progress stays saved on your device, and you can keep doing lessons and reviews as normal.

If sync limits apply to your account, flashcard reviews and card notes stop uploading to the cloud until you add more time: the cloud icon gets its ! and Settings › Sync says sync is paused. The changes wait on your device and upload once the clock is running again. Lesson progress keeps syncing, and downloading your progress is never blocked.

Sync limits are not switched on for everyone yet. If they do not apply to your account, sync keeps working whether or not you have ad-free time left, and Settings › Sync shows no cloud sync timer.