What Happens If I Uninstall?
What uninstalling or signing out does to your data, and how to get it back.
What happens to your Kinu data when you uninstall comes down to one thing: whether you have Kinu Plus with sync turned on.
With Plus sync, your data is encrypted on your device, backed up to our servers, and waiting for you. Reinstall, sign in with the same account, and everything comes back just as you left it.
On the free plan, your data lives only on your device. Uninstalling or signing out removes it, and there is no server copy to restore from. So before you do either, it is worth saving a copy.
Here is exactly what happens in each situation.
You have Kinu Plus with sync
You are protected. Your data is encrypted on your device, then backed up to our servers in the background.
Reinstall Kinu
Download it again from the App Store or Google Play.
Sign in with the same account
Use the same Apple, Google, or email login you had before.
Your data comes back
Kinu downloads and decrypts your data, and it appears automatically.
Your people, moments, voice notes, important dates, private notes, Relational Compass settings, and lenses all return.
Make sure you can still sign in to your account. Your backup is tied to it, so if you permanently lose access to the account, the server copy cannot be restored to you. If you ever change your login method, confirm the new one works before you uninstall.
Photos and voice notes are kept on your device when you sign out, so a Plus sign-in on the same device can re-link them right away. After a full uninstall, they download again with the rest of your synced data.
You have an account but no Plus
Your account is preserved, so you can sign back in after reinstalling. But sync is a Plus feature, which means there is no server backup of your Kinu content. Your people, moments, notes, and the rest live only on the device, and uninstalling removes them.
If you are thinking about uninstalling and want to keep your data, you have two options:
- Export your data to a file first, so you have a copy you control.
- Subscribe to Kinu Plus and let sync finish before you uninstall, so your data is backed up and syncs across your devices.
What about signing out?
Signing out also removes the local data from your device. This is intentional. It keeps one account's data from showing up if someone else signs in on the same phone.
How sign-out behaves depends on your plan:
- Kinu Plus. Kinu makes sure your latest changes have synced before it clears anything. If sync cannot finish, for example because you are offline, sign-out is cancelled so nothing is lost. Once it completes, sign back in any time and your data syncs down again.
- Free plan. Signing out removes your local data for good. Kinu warns you first and offers to export a copy before you continue.
Kinu works fully offline once you are signed in. You do not need a connection to add people or moments. For Plus users, sync runs quietly in the background whenever you are back online.
Quick reference
| Your situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Kinu Plus, sync active, uninstall or sign out | Your data is safely backed up. Reinstall or sign back in to restore it. |
| Account, no Plus, uninstall or sign out | Account preserved. Local data is removed. Export first to keep a copy. |
A note on uninstalling vs. deleting your account
Uninstalling removes the app and its local data, but your account and any Plus backup stay intact, so you can come back. If you want to remove your account and everything on our servers permanently, that is a separate action. See deleting your account.
Related
Exporting Your Data
Save a copy of your Kinu data to a file you control.
How Sync Works
What syncs, when, and how it stays encrypted.
Restore Purchases
Get your subscription back after reinstalling.
Deleting Your Account
How to permanently remove your account and server data.
Still need help? Contact support