OrionianBackup and restore
Cycle keeps your journal on your phone, so a copy is yours to make. There are four ways, each one your choice, and Orionian never receives any of it.
Each part below quotes Cycle's Backup and export screen, word for word.
Google backup
If backup is on in your phone's settings, Android saves Cycle to your Google account about once a day, end to end encrypted with your screen lock, so only you can open it. Your newest days may not be in it yet: before you change phones, open backup settings and tap Back up now.
On Android 9 and later it holds your journal, your settings and your reminders. Whether you have Pro stays out: on a new phone, Google Play says what you own. When Cycle is installed again, Android puts its backup back.
Without a screen lock
Your phone has no screen lock, so Android doesn't back up Cycle: the backup would have nothing to encrypt it with. Set a screen lock, or save a backup file below.
On Android 8
On Android 8, Google's backup can't be end to end encrypted, so Android saves only Cycle's settings there, never your journal. To keep your days safe, save a backup file below.
Phone to phone
Setting up a new Android phone? Choose to copy apps and data from this one, and Cycle comes along with everything in it.
On Android 9 and later your journal, settings and reminders go straight from one phone to the other, with or without a screen lock.
On Android 8
Setting up a new Android phone? On Android 8, copying apps and data brings Cycle's settings but not your journal. Save a backup file below and open it in Cycle on the new phone.
Backup file
A file sealed with a passphrase, to keep anywhere: Drive, email, a computer. It opens in Cycle on any Android phone. If the passphrase is forgotten, no one can open the file, Orionian included.
Tap Save a backup file, choose a passphrase and type it twice, then pick
where to save the file on Android's save screen. It's named with the day's date, such as Cycle backup 2026-10-25.json.
Choose a passphrase
You'll need it to open the file. Nothing can recover a forgotten one, so keep it somewhere safe. A few words make a strong one.
A forgotten passphrase can't be recovered by anyone. The key that seals the file is made from the passphrase alone (AES-256-GCM, with PBKDF2 and 600,000 rounds), and Orionian never has it.
Restore from a file
In Backup and export, tap Restore from a file, pick the file and type its passphrase. If Cycle already holds days, it asks “Replace with this backup?” and shows what each has: the backup replaces what's on the phone.
On a new phone, you can start from the file: on Cycle's first screen, tap Bring your history or a Cycle backup.
Spreadsheet
Every logged day as a CSV file, for a spreadsheet, a doctor or another app. It isn't sealed: anyone with the file can read it. Moving to an iPhone? Android's backups can't go there, but this file can.
Tap Save as a spreadsheet and pick where to save it. It's the only way to take your days to an iPhone.
Back up now
Google backup runs about once a day, so your newest days may not be in it yet. Before you change phones:
- In Cycle, open Settings, then Backup and export.
- Tap Open backup settings. Your phone's backup settings open; on some phones, Settings opens at its first page instead.
- Tap Back up now.
Or save a backup file: it holds every day up to the moment you save it. On Android 8, where Google backup holds only Cycle's settings, the backup file is the way to keep your days.
Questions
Write to hello@orionian.com. What Cycle keeps and where it goes is in the privacy policy.