Help and support

Getting started

1. Open the app and allow camera access.
2. Move back until your face, shoulders and both hands are in view.
3. In good lighting, try opening your mouth, blinking and moving your arms and fingers.
4. Use Record to start and stop, then save from the preview.

The app starts in Skeleton only. Use the five small buttons above Record to choose a cat, tiger, rabbit, chimpanzee or dog. Face selection is on the capture screen. Choose Camera + Skeleton in Settings if desired. Avatar recordings contain no camera footage. The camera button beside the animal buttons previews and records camera video without skeleton or animal overlays. This mode includes actual faces and surroundings.

2D display

All five animal faces use rounded shapes and soft shading. Blinks close the eyelids and hide the pupils; gaze, eyebrows, cheeks and mouth movements animate the same face in preview and recording. Arms, palms and fingers are filled in the selected animal color with soft shading, clear edges and finger joint lines. The T-shirt is filled white. Hands and forearms are drawn in front of the face and shirt so signing remains visible; the sleeves cover their arm roots. Shoulders and the torso suppress small tracking fluctuations. Head position, size and tilt are stabilized independently of small expressions. Turns and nods produce subtle changes inferred from the eyes and nose in the camera image. Legs, feet and a neck model are not drawn.

Tracking uses camera images. Depth is not acquired. Brief tracking gaps use bounded predictions from previously observed points; prolonged losses stop prediction.

If the camera does not work

Check camera permission for Sign Motion in iPhone or iPad Settings.

If another app is using the camera, stop its capture.

If hand or face lines do not match

Avoid backlighting and keep your fingers visible and your hands apart. Tracking can be inaccurate or incomplete when body parts are hidden, outside the frame or moving quickly.

The app is not a medical measurement tool and cannot diagnose gaze or eye movement.

Capture and recording rates

Choose 30 fps or 60 fps in Camera frame rate; 60 fps is the default when no rate has been selected.

Saving recordings

On iPhone or iPad, stop recording and choose Save to Photos or Share. Permission to add to Photos is requested when saving. Exported MP4 files play in apps such as QuickTime Player.

Avatar recordings include rendered facial and body movements. Microphone recording is off by default and can be enabled in Settings. Close retains the local video; use the trash icon to delete it. Delete exported copies separately in Photos or the selected destination.

Captions and trimming

Use the scissors button on the capture screen to select a video from Photos or reopen the previous recording. Use the captions icon to add multiple captions and set their start and end times, color, size and position. Trim to the desired range. Editing exports a copy with audio and keeps the original unchanged. Imported videos retain their original footage and are not converted to avatars.

Requirements

iPhone and iPad: iOS or iPadOS 18 or later, with an available camera.

Camera tracking does not need an account, microphone or internet connection. Visiting these pages and sending email require a connection.