Using Oveluni in your language: a guide to 11 languages

When you keep health records, what you need most is clarity: understanding at first glance what a button does or what a reminder says. In this guide we walk step by step through using Oveluni in your own language, what happens to your records when you change the language, and how to set date, time and appearance together.

Why keep your health records in your own language?

Health literacy is defined as the ability to find, understand and use health information. If you can't read a screen comfortably, each of these three steps gets harder: you might misread a field while setting up a medication plan, miss a reminder, or struggle to put together the note you want to share with your doctor.

An app that works in your own language eases that load. You read the options instead of guessing them, you enter a record quickly, and when you look back later you easily understand what you wrote. That is also why trusted health sources take care to offer information in many languages. When it comes to records about your own health, this clarity matters even more, because these are the records that will remind you, months later, of what you went through. If you'd like to add language support to your checklist when choosing an app, take a look at 6 things to check when choosing a health app.

Which languages is Oveluni available in?

Oveluni is available in 11 languages. Screens, buttons, reminders and summaries appear in the language you choose:

• Türkçe (Turkish)
• English
• Deutsch (German)
• Español (Spanish)
• Français (French)
• Português (Portuguese)
• Italiano (Italian)
• Polski (Polish)
• Ελληνικά (Greek)
• Svenska (Swedish)
• Gaeilge (Irish)

If you speak more than one language or live abroad, using the app in the language you read most easily is often a good place to start. What matters is that you don't hesitate while recording and that you understand right away what you wrote when you look back.

The language list covers not only the app's screens but also the text of reminder notifications. So a medication reminder that appears on your lock screen also shows up in a familiar language. If you don't want medication names to appear in notifications, you can also check the Notification privacy section in Settings.

Which language should you choose? Three example situations

The right language is the one you read with the least effort. If you're still finding it hard to decide, these examples may help:

• If you live abroad: Even if you speak your new country's language day to day, you may find health-related words easier to understand in your native language. Using the app in your native language and writing the notes you'll share with your doctor in their language can be a good balance.
• If you're helping someone close to you: If you're setting things up on your mother's or father's iPhone, set the app to the language they read most comfortably. Understanding what to do when they see a reminder matters more than the setup itself.
• If you're learning a new language: Using the app in the language you're learning can be tempting. But to leave no room for misunderstanding in important records like a medication plan, it's better not to start in a language you're not sure of.

Whatever you choose, your decision isn't permanent. You can change the language at any time and try a different one without losing your records.

Changing the language in Oveluni, step by step

The language setting takes just a few taps, and you can change it again whenever you like:

1. Open Settings. Whichever tab you're on, the gear icon at the top right opens the same Settings screen.
2. Scroll down to Appearance & language. Here you'll find the Appearance, Language and Date & time options.
3. Tap Language. At the top of the screen you'll see this note: “Choose the language that feels familiar. Your own entries are never translated.”
4. Choose your language. Tap the language you want to use in the list; your choice is applied to the app's screens.
5. Check a screen. Go back to the Today or Calendar tab and make sure the text appears in the language you chose.

What happens to your records when you change the language?

Changing the language only affects the app's own text. The medication names, notes and descriptions you enter are not translated; they stay exactly as you wrote them. This is a deliberate choice: a medication's name or a sentence your doctor said shouldn't change meaning through an automatic translation.

In the app's own words, language changes do not move a medication plan or rewrite recorded dates. So after you change the language:

• Your medication plans stay at the same times.
• Your period days, check-ups and daily check-ins stay on the same dates.
• Your notes keep appearing in the language you wrote them in.

When you restore from a backup, your appearance and language preferences are kept too. So when you move to a new iPhone or restore your backup, you don't have to set the language up again.

One thing worth keeping in mind: two languages can appear together in the same record. For example, if you switch the app to German, screen titles become German, but a note you wrote in English stays in English. This isn't a bug; your words are kept as they are. Writing your notes with their future reader in mind reduces this mix from the start.

Set date, time and appearance to suit you too

Just like the language, it matters that date and time feel familiar. In the Date & time section of Settings, you can choose Follow iPhone settings or set the time zone yourself. When you travel, period days keep their calendar date; we covered the details in tracking your period while traveling.

In the Appearance section, you can choose Light appearance, Dark appearance or Follow iPhone appearance. If you log records in the evening, Dark appearance may feel more comfortable; if you use the app in different light during the day, Follow iPhone appearance leaves the look to your phone's setting. Once you've set language, time and appearance, if you'd like to review which tracking areas you use, see the guide to turning tracking areas on and off.

Oveluni reflects your records; it doesn't diagnose, interpret or make predictions. Whatever language you use it in, for any question about a medication, a symptom or pregnancy, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Your records are stored on this iPhone; there is no automatic cloud backup or analytics tracking. You can find the app's other features on the Features page. Oveluni is coming soon to the App Store.

Sources

1. MedlinePlus: Health literacy
2. MedlinePlus: Health information in multiple languages