Frequently Asked Questions

About Cefalea

What is Cefalea?

Cefalea is a private personal headache diary. It records timing, intensity, symptoms, possible factors, medication, what helped, optional attachments and location, and a changing pain timeline so you can preserve details and discuss a clearer history with a clinician.

Is Cefalea medical advice or an emergency service?

No. Cefalea is a record, not a diagnosis, medical device, monitoring service, or treatment recommendation. It does not determine causes or tell you what medication to take. For a new, sudden, unusually severe, changing, or concerning symptom, contact local emergency services or a qualified health professional.

Tracking and records

How do I record a headache?

Use the Track tab to start a live session, or add a past entry from History. Starting is intentionally quick. You can add intensity, pain position, symptoms, possible factors, medication, attachments, and notes while the session is active or complete the details later.

Why does Cefalea ask how I feel during an episode?

Optional check-ins turn a single severity value into a timeline: for example, severe at the start, medication after five minutes, water after twenty minutes, mild after forty minutes, and ended after an hour. You choose the reminder interval and can disable these notifications.

What happens when I stop tracking?

The timer stops first. Cefalea then offers an optional reflection about what helped, including hydration, a dark room, medication, rest, professional care, telemedicine, or a hospital visit. You can skip it and edit the entry later.

Can I start or stop without opening the app?

Yes. Cefalea exposes native actions to Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, Live Activities, Control Center, the Action button, Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, Apple Intelligence where available, app-icon quick actions, and the cefalea://tracking/start and cefalea://tracking/stop links. Availability depends on the device, language, region, and installed Apple software.

Privacy and security

Can the developer see my headache diary?

No. Normal app use does not send the diary to a Cefalea server, and Cefalea has no account system, advertising SDK, or analytics SDK. The Developer cannot remotely read your entries. If you deliberately send health information to support, the Developer receives what you chose to submit.

How is local data protected?

Cefalea stores its database, attachments, thumbnails, and temporary exports inside the app container using Apple’s Complete Data Protection class. Files are encrypted on disk and unavailable to the app while the iPhone is locked. Optional Face ID or Touch ID adds an app-level lock; biometric matching is performed by iOS, and Cefalea never receives your biometric template.

Does iCloud make my diary end-to-end encrypted?

Cefalea can sync diary records through your private CloudKit database. Apple encrypts CloudKit data in transit and at rest. Cefalea does not claim that ordinary CloudKit diary records are end-to-end encrypted or inaccessible to Apple. Attachments remain local unless you explicitly export or share them.

How do I delete or export my data?

Use Cefalea’s edit, delete, and export controls for the local diary. Manage separate Apple Health samples in Apple Health and private iCloud data through Apple’s controls. Exported files are no longer protected by Cefalea after they reach Files, Mail, Messages, another app, or another person, so the app shows a warning before sharing.

Apple Health, location, and attachments

What does Cefalea read or write in Apple Health?

After granular permission, Cefalea can write headache and supported positive symptom samples such as fever, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and sinus congestion. It can read those categories plus sleep, water, caffeine, and alcoholic-drink data as optional context. Context is not copied into the diary or treated as proof of a trigger.

Is location required?

No. Location is optional. If enabled, Cefalea asks for permission only when the feature needs it. A saved place can help you remember the context of an episode and appear as a small map. You can remove it from an entry or disable permission in iOS Settings.

What attachments are supported?

An episode can include selected photos, a voice recording, and selected documents. Cefalea copies only items you choose into its protected app container. Voice recordings and other attachments use the same local file protection as the diary and remain local unless you export or share them.

What happens during a packaged-food lookup?

Only after you scan or enter a barcode and choose to look it up does Cefalea send that barcode and ordinary connection data to Open Food Facts. It does not send the associated episode, medication, symptoms, notes, attachment, location, Apple Health information, or identity. Community product information can be incomplete or outdated; always check the current package, especially for allergies.

Purchase, refund, and availability

Is Cefalea a subscription?

No. Cefalea offers seven days with all features and no automatic charge. The trial does not become a subscription. After it ends, continued access is a single, non-consumable Lifetime Access purchase. The App Store shows the applicable local price before confirmation.

How do I restore a purchase or request a refund?

Use Restore Purchases in the app for a previous Lifetime Access purchase made with the same Apple Account. Refunds are processed by Apple through its standard refund process; Apple determines eligibility under its rules and applicable consumer law. Mandatory local remedies remain available where the law provides them.

What does “Lifetime Access” mean?

It means access to the purchased Cefalea functionality for as long as the app remains available and compatible with your device. It is not a promise that the app, every feature, updates, support, or compatibility will continue forever. Mandatory consumer rights are not reduced by that name.

Accessibility, languages, and support

Which languages are supported?

Cefalea and this website are available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French, and German. Language availability for Siri, Apple Intelligence, and other system features also depends on Apple.

What accessibility features are supported?

Cefalea is ready for daily use with Dynamic Type, VoiceOver labels and reading order, comfortable touch targets, semantic light and dark colours, Reduce Motion support, and alternatives to gesture-only interaction. Accessibility testing continues with every release. A formal independent accessibility audit has not yet been completed.

How do I report a bug or accessibility barrier?

Open a request at support.ezequiel.app. Include the iPhone model, iOS version, the screen or action involved, what happened, and what you expected. For accessibility issues, include the assistive technology or display setting if you can. Avoid attaching private health information unless strictly necessary.