Monitoring
Choose a quiet threshold, leave If Quiet running, and let normal Mac activity refresh the deadline.
Support
Let’s get your signal through.
Setup guidance and straight answers for If Quiet. If something still isn’t right, email us and include the details listed below.
Recipients
Give each person a separate subject and message, preview it privately, and disable any recipient without deleting them.
Connection
The service check-in timestamp shows the last time the remote deadline was successfully confirmed.
Common questions
Before you send an email
What does If Quiet consider activity?
If Quiet uses the elapsed idle time reported by macOS. Keyboard, pointing-device, and other normal system input can reset that idle timer. The app does not inspect the content of the input.
How often does the app contact the service?
The app checks the local idle timer every five seconds. While activity continues, it sends a remote check-in no more than about once every 15 minutes. Choosing Check In Now sends one immediately.
What does “Service check-in” mean?
It is the date and time the remote service last accepted a check-in. The service uses its own receipt time to calculate the deadline, so changing the Mac’s clock cannot extend it.
Can I review a message without notifying its recipient?
Yes. Open Settings → Recipients and choose Preview. Enter an email address you control and If Quiet will send the exact saved subject and message there with a [PREVIEW] label. The intended recipient is not contacted and remains marked untested.
How do I test the intended address?
Open the recipient’s ellipsis menu and choose Send Test to Recipient. The email prefixes the saved subject with [TEST] and does not change or trigger the real deadline. Direct tests are optional; If Quiet warns before you arm delivery with an untested destination.
Why didn’t a test email arrive?
Confirm the recipient address, check spam or junk folders, wait a few minutes for the receiving provider, and look for an error in If Quiet. Some corporate systems quarantine automated mail. If it still does not arrive, contact support with the attempt time and recipient domain—but do not send us the private message text.
Can I keep a message but stop it from sending?
Yes. Use the recipient’s ellipsis menu and choose Disable Recipient. The address and message remain saved until you enable or remove that recipient.
What happens while monitoring is paused?
No deadline is enforced and no final messages are sent while paused. Resuming creates a fresh deadline using the currently configured quiet threshold.
Does the Mac have to remain online?
It needs internet access periodically to advance the remote deadline. Once a check-in is accepted, the service owns that deadline independently. If the Mac stays offline, the service cannot know about later local activity.
Is delivery guaranteed?
No email system can guarantee final delivery. If Quiet records the mail server’s acceptance and retries temporary failures, but recipient servers can delay, filter, reject, or bounce a message. A direct test is the best way to verify a destination; if discretion matters more, use a private preview and keep other human safety plans in place.
Is If Quiet an emergency service?
No. If Quiet is a supplemental check-in tool, not a monitored alarm, medical device, or replacement for emergency services. If someone may be in immediate danger, contact local emergency services directly.
Still need a hand?
Email support@ifquiet.app with your macOS version, If Quiet version, approximate failure time, and the exact error shown. Never send credentials or private message contents.