Answers for scanning menus, your dietary profile, plans and billing, and eating out safely with AlignEat.

This article explains how to change the visual appearance of AlignEat and what the Reduce Motion setting does. Color scheme You can choose from three options in Appearance settings: - Auto: the app follows your device's system setting and switches between light and dark automatically. - Light: the app always uses a light background. - Dark: the app always uses a dark background. Your choice is saved on your device. How to change it 1. Open the app and go to Settings. 2. Tap Appearance. 3. Select Auto, Light, or Dark. The change takes effect immediately. Reduce Motion AlignEat respects the Reduce Motion setting on your device. When Reduce Motion is turned on in your device's accessibility settings, the app shows a calmer, mostly static interface. Animations are minimized throughout. You do not set this inside AlignEat. It is controlled from your device's system accessibility settings (iOS: Settings, Accessibility, Motion; Android: Settings, Accessibility, Remove Animations). Good to know - Your color scheme choice is stored on the device, not your profile. If you sign in on a new device, you will need to set it again. - Reduce Motion is especially helpful if animations cause discomfort. - Dark mode does not affect scan results or any dietary information. Related: Notification settings, Change your language, including Arabic and right to left

Getting started

Create your account: phone code, Apple, Google, or guest

This article walks you through the sign-in screen and explains your options for creating or accessing an account. Your sign-in options When you open AlignEat for the first time, you land on the sign-in screen. You have four ways to continue: - Phone number. Enter your mobile number and AlignEat sends a one-time code by SMS. Enter the code to sign in. - Sign in with Apple. Use your Apple ID. Your email address can be kept private using Apple's relay service. - Sign in with Google. Use your Google account to sign in quickly. - Continue as guest. Try the app without creating an account. You can scan menus right away, but your dietary profile is not saved across devices and some features are limited. After you sign in Once you are signed in, AlignEat shows a consent screen. It explains how your data is used and what privacy choices you have. Review it and confirm to continue. You are then taken through a short onboarding flow where you set up your dietary profile. This only takes a few minutes, and you only need to do it once. Upgrading from guest to a full account If you started as a guest and want to save your profile and access all features, you can create a full account from the Profile tab at any time. Good to know - You do not need to remember a password. Sign-in is handled through your phone number, Apple, or Google. - Guest mode is a good way to explore the app before committing to an account. Related: Set up your dietary profile, What AlignEat is and how it works

Dining with others: family and groups

Add and manage family members

This article shows you how to add people to your family and keep their dietary profiles up to date. What is a family member? A family member is a dietary profile you create inside your own account. You control what restrictions, allergies, and preferences are saved for that person. Family members do not need their own device or AlignEat account. Add a family member 1. Open the app and go to your profile or family section. 2. Select the option to add a family member. 3. Give the profile a name and fill in their dietary restrictions and allergies. 4. Save the profile. Repeat these steps for each person you want to add. Edit or remove a family member - To update a profile, open the family member's entry and edit their details. - To remove a family member, open their profile and choose the delete or remove option. Changes take effect the next time you run a scan that includes that person. Seat limits The number of family members you can add depends on the seats included in your plan. If you have reached your limit, you will need to remove an existing member or check the plans section of the app to see your options. Good to know - Keep each person's profile accurate and current, especially if their allergies or intolerances change over time. - Always confirm each person's allergies directly with restaurant staff before ordering on their behalf. - You manage all family profiles yourself. If the person you are adding is old enough to manage their own restrictions, consider inviting them to join a group instead. Related: Family profiles and groups: what is the difference, Scan a menu for the whole table

Scanning menus

Scan a menu by photo or QR code

This article shows you the three ways to scan a menu in AlignEat so you can quickly find dishes that work for your dietary needs. How to start a scan Open the app and go to the Scan tab. You will see two options: 1. Take a photo. Point your camera at the physical menu and take a photo. Hold the phone steady, fill the frame with the menu, and make sure the text is sharp and in focus. The app will read the menu and return results in a few moments. 2. Scan a QR code. If the restaurant provides a QR code menu, point your camera at the code. The app will detect it and begin scanning automatically. What happens while you wait While the scan runs, the app shows you progress steps: reading the menu, recognising dishes, matching to your profile, and ranking results. This usually takes a short time. Once the scan is complete, you will see a list of dishes with a status for each one. The statuses tell you which dishes look safe, which can be adjusted, and which to avoid. Good to know - If the scan returns a low confidence result, the photo may not have been clear enough. Try taking a new photo in better light. - If you see a network error or timeout, check your connection and tap retry. AlignEat reads what is printed or mentioned on the menu. Always confirm your allergies and restrictions with restaurant staff before ordering and eating. Related: Tips for an accurate scan, Read your results: compatible, ask, avoid

Safety, trust, and troubleshooting

Contact support and vote on new features

If you need help or want to shape what AlignEat builds next, this article shows you where to go. Getting support You can contact the support team directly from inside the app. Head to the Profile area and look for the support or help option. From there you can send a message and the team will get back to you. Use this if you: - Cannot sign in or access your account. - Found a bug or something is not working as expected. - Have a question about your data or privacy. - Need help with anything not covered in these articles. Voting on features and submitting ideas AlignEat has a community and roadmap area where you can: - Vote on upcoming features. Tell the team what matters most to you. - Submit your own ideas. Suggest something you would like to see in the app. - See what has already shipped. Browse the history of updates and additions. You can find this area from the Profile section of the app. Good to know - The more detail you give when reporting a bug, the faster the team can investigate. Mentioning what you were doing, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened is very helpful. - Feature votes are a real signal. The team reviews them when deciding what to build next. - For urgent issues such as account access problems, reaching out through the in-app support channel is the fastest path to a response. Related: I cannot sign in or I did not get my code, How we protect your privacy

Plans, trials, and billing

Restore your purchases

This article explains how to restore a subscription you already paid for after reinstalling the app or switching to a new device. When to restore purchases Your subscription is tied to your App Store or Google Play account, not to a specific device. If you: - reinstall AlignEat, - switch to a new phone, or - sign in on a second device, the app may not show your premium status right away. Restoring purchases tells the app to check your store account and reactivate your access. How to restore 1. Open AlignEat and go to the subscription screen. 2. Tap Restore purchases. 3. The app contacts the App Store or Google Play and checks your purchase history. 4. If an active subscription is found, premium access is restored automatically. This takes only a few seconds. You do not need to buy anything again. If restore does not work Make sure you are signed in to the same App Store or Google Play account you used when you first subscribed. Restoring from a different store account will not find your original purchase. If you are on the correct account and the restore still fails, check that your subscription has not expired or been cancelled. You can verify this in your app store account settings. Good to know - Restore purchases is for subscriptions you already paid for. It cannot apply a new subscription or extend a cancelled one. - If you bought a subscription on iOS, it can only be restored on an iOS device with the same Apple ID. - Contact support if you believe your subscription is active but the restore is not working. Related: Manage or cancel your subscription, Free and premium: what each one includes