pon can automatically remind you when you pass by a supermarket and still have items on your shopping list that you can buy there.
🛒 Here’s how it works:
✅ pon remembers the supermarkets where you shop.
✅ As soon as you get close to a saved shopping location, you’ll receive a notification.
✅ You can set whether you want to be reminded for each shopping list individually.
📌 Example:
You still have milk, pasta, and tomato sauce on your shopping list for Walmart.
➡️ pon recognizes that you’re passing by or are near a Walmart.
➡️ You’ll receive a notification:
📢 “You still have 3 items at Walmart: milk, pasta, tomato sauce – would you like to shop?”
🔧 Settings:
➡️ You can enable or disable shopping reminders for each shopping list.
➡️ Go to a list → Tap on the list name → Select “Notifications” → “Shopping Reminder”.
🔒 Privacy:
pon stores your locations locally on your device and uses geofencing to remind you about shopping. Where you are and where you shop is not known to us – this data is not transmitted to us!
📍 Note:
For shopping reminders to work, pon needs the “Always” location permission in the iOS settings. This is necessary for geofences (virtual location markers) to work in the background.
pon doesn’t know fixed locations like “Walmart” or “Target”; instead, it automatically learns where you check off your items. Over time, this creates a personal location recognition that adapts to your shopping habits.
How does it work exactly?
✅ If you’ve marked an item with “Where to buy” → Walmart and check it off in an unknown store, pon will ask you:
📢 “Is this a Walmart?”
➡️ If you answer “Yes”, pon will remember this location as Walmart.
➡️ If you answer “No”, pon will not store this location and will try again later.
➡️ If you answer “Never ask again”, this location will be ignored permanently.
📌 Important:
How can I block locations?
Sometimes you might not want pon to learn locations at a specific place (e.g., home).
➡️ If you accidentally check off an item at home and pon asks if it’s a supermarket, you can respond with “Never ask again”.
➡️ pon will remember this location as “blocked” and will never try to store a shopping location here again.
pon automatically remembers where you shop for your items. If a location was saved incorrectly or you no longer need it, you can manage it anytime.
📌 Here’s how to edit or delete locations:
1️⃣ Open a shopping list and tap on the list name.
2️⃣ Select “Shopping Locations” → “Manage Locations”.
3️⃣ On the map, you can select, edit, or delete saved locations.
💡 Add a new location manually:
✅ Simply press and hold your finger on any spot on the map – this will set a new location!
Some items can be bought at multiple stores – that’s exactly what the alternative locations in pon are for. This way, you can always see exactly where you can get your items without having to manually adjust your shopping list.
How does it work exactly?
✅ You can assign multiple shopping locations for each item.
✅ pon will primarily display the item under the supermarket you've set as the "main store."
✅ As soon as you approach an alternative location, the item will automatically move to the corresponding group.
📌 Example:
You usually buy milk at Walmart, but have Target as an alternative location.
Always the best overview of your shopping options
Since pon automatically groups your list by shopping locations, you can instantly see where you can shop the most.
📌 Example:
pon only asks for permissions when they are truly necessary – not because we collect data, but because the specific feature is designed to not work without that permission.
1️⃣ Location access – Why is it needed?
Certain features in pon are based on your current location so they can automatically work for you.
📍 Here’s why location access is needed:
✅ Location-based shopping reminders: So pon can remind you when you pass by a supermarket where you still have items on your list.
✅ Automatic grouping by shopping locations: So pon can recognize where you are and sort the shopping list accordingly (e.g., “Walmart” moves to the top when you’re there).
✅ Alternative locations: So items are automatically assigned to the store where you can buy them.
Example:
Imagine you have milk listed for both Walmart and Target as shopping locations.
➡️ When you’re at Target, pon will automatically move the item to the “Target” group.
➡️ If you lose track of the milk and leave the supermarket, pon will move it back to “Walmart” so you don’t forget the item.
Important: pon uses geofencing and does not store or transmit your location data! Everything happens locally on your device, and we don’t know where you shop or where you are.
2️⃣ Why is a user account needed?
A user account is required for features that relate to you as an individual or need to be synchronized across multiple devices.
👤 Here’s why an account is needed:
✅ Sharing shopping lists with others: So changes can be clearly attributed (e.g., “Lisa added milk”).
✅ Notifications about changes: So pon can notify you, for example, when your partner is shopping.
✅ Synchronization across multiple devices: So you can use your shopping lists on multiple iPhones or iPads.
Example:
You share your shopping list with your partner.
➡️ Without an account, pon wouldn’t be able to distinguish who made which changes.
➡️ With an account, you can see exactly that “Lisa just added butter” and receive a notification when your partner is shopping.
Important: pon does not store unnecessary data and does not analyze your shopping behavior. The account is only used to sync your lists across devices and share them with others.
No, the location-based reminders in pon have no noticeable impact on your battery life.
This is because pon uses geofencing for this feature – a particularly energy-efficient technology managed by iOS.
🔋 Why does geofencing save battery?
📍 Geofences are virtual "zones" that the iPhone monitors for pon.
✅ pon instructs iOS to watch certain places (e.g., your supermarkets).
✅ As soon as you approach one of these locations, the iPhone notifies pon without the app actively searching for your location.
✅ The iPhone determines the position in the background anyway – through cell towers, Wi-Fi networks, and other sensors.
Important: Geofencing uses NO constantly active GPS, so there is no noticeable battery consumption.
🔒 Privacy: What happens to my location data?
➡️ pon does not store or transmit location data.
➡️ Your exact location is only determined when you open the app.
✅ This is necessary to distinguish between nearby supermarkets and reorder the shopping list accordingly.
✅ pon then checks if your list needs to be reordered for the current supermarket.
➡️ In the background, pon does not know where you are – this information stays with iOS.
In short:
✅ In the background: pon only receives information from iOS when you approach a supermarket – but no exact location.
✅ When the app is open: pon determines your exact location to sort the list optimally.
✅ Your location data stays local on your device and is not transmitted to us or third parties.
🛠 Can I control the location usage?
Yes! You have full control at any time:
➡️ Settings → Privacy → Location Services → pon
➡️ The recommended setting is “Always” so that shopping reminders work even in the background.
If you don’t want to use geofencing, you can simply revoke location permission – pon will still work, but without automatic reminders and smart features like location-based sorting and more.