Help centre
Questions, answers, and a person at the end.
Most things are answered below. If yours is not, the form at the bottom reaches the people who build the app.
Frequently asked
The short answers
Grouped the way people ask them. Open any question; the rest stay out of the way.
Getting started
Which iPhones work?
Any iPhone that runs iOS 26. SwingMirror uses the front camera and Apple's on-device body tracking, so no LiDAR or Pro model is needed.
iPhone only for now. The layout is built around a phone standing upright on a tripod or leaning against your bag, and we would rather ship the iPad version when it is as good.
Where do I put the phone?
Two to three metres away, at about hip height, with the front camera facing you so you can see the screen. A small tripod or a phone clip on your bag is ideal; a wall or a bench works.
Stand so your whole body, club included at the top of the swing, is inside the frame. The phase rail at the bottom reads Address once the app sees you settle.
Do I have to press anything?
No. Tap Start once. From then on the app watches for a swing, replays it in slow motion the moment you finish, and goes back to watching. Saving is a gesture too: raise your left hand above your head during the replay.
Stop returns you to the home screen and turns the camera off.
Does it need an internet connection?
No. Detection, replay and saving happen on the phone. The app has no account and makes no network calls.
Detection
How does it know I swung?
The app tracks your body with Apple's pose estimation and follows your hands relative to your shoulders and hips. Hands still and together at address, rising above shoulder height, then falling fast and rising again: that shape is a swing. The rail steps through Address, Top, Impact and Finish as it happens.
Practice swings count. If you want only real shots kept, use the save gesture only after those.
It did not notice my swing.
Nearly always framing. Make sure your hands are visible at address and stay in frame at the top; a phone placed too close cuts them off. Face the camera as you would face a mirror, not down the target line.
Give it a beat at address. The app wants to see you settle before it arms; the instruction changes to Swing when ready.
Left-handed golfers?
Detection is symmetrical, so left-handed swings are detected the same way. The save gesture is the left hand above the head for everyone, whichever hand you play with.
Does it work indoors or at night?
It works wherever the camera can see you clearly. Indoor ranges and net setups are fine with normal lighting. In very dim light the camera slows down and tracking gets jumpy, so replay quality drops before detection fails.
Replay and saving
How much of the swing is replayed?
From about a second before you start the backswing to a second after you finish, taken from a rolling buffer the app keeps of the last five seconds. Nothing older than that is ever kept unless you save it.
Which speeds are there?
Quarter, half and full speed. Tap the speed readout at the top left of the live screen to cycle; the setting is used for the next replay and shown on the replay deck.
How do I save a swing?
While the replay is playing, raise your left hand above your head and hold it for about a second. The clip lands in your Photos library and the app confirms with Saved to Photos.
The right hand is ignored on purpose, so you can gesture, wave or shield your eyes without saving by accident.
Can I watch the last swing again?
Yes. Review, on the home screen and at the top of the live screen, opens the most recent captured swing with normal playback controls.
Privacy
What does the app send anywhere?
Nothing. There is no account, no analytics, no advertising and no server. Camera frames live in memory for a few seconds and are discarded. A clip is written only when you make the save gesture, and only to your own Photos library.
Why does it need Photos permission?
Only to add saved clips. The app asks for add-only access, which lets it write a video without reading anything in your library.
Troubleshooting
When the app says something you did not expect
The rail stays on Address and reads Stand in frame.
Why
The app does not see a full body, or the hands are hidden at address.
What to do
Move the phone back until head and feet are both visible with room above your head, and face the camera.
It shows Swing when ready but never moves to Top.
Why
The hands are not being tracked past shoulder height, usually because they leave the frame at the top.
What to do
Step back or lower the phone slightly so the top of the swing stays inside the picture.
The replay is choppy or dark.
Why
Low light makes the camera drop frames, so there is less to replay.
What to do
Add light or move to a brighter bay. Outdoors this does not happen.
Raising my hand did not save.
Why
The save gesture is the left hand only, held above the head for about a second while the replay plays.
What to do
Raise the left hand clearly above the head and hold until the confirmation appears.
Camera access needed.
Why
Camera permission was declined when first asked.
What to do
Tap Open Settings in the app, or go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera, and enable SwingMirror.
Contact
Tell us what happened
We read everything and answer by email, usually within two working days. If a swing was missed, a note on where the phone stood and what the light was like helps a lot.
Your message and email are stored only to answer you. See the privacy policy.