> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting the App

> Download the Pigeonhole app for iPhone or Android, sign in, and set it up the first time you open it.

The Pigeonhole app gives you everything in the parent portal on your phone: your child's journal and diary, news from the nursery, invoices, forms and reports. It also sends you notifications, so you hear about new photos and messages as they happen.

You can use the app, the website, or both. They show the same information, and anything you do in one appears in the other.

## Download the app

> [card] [App Store (iPhone and iPad)](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/pigeonhole-nursery-management/id6749538936)
>
> Search for **Pigeonhole Nursery Management**, or tap here on your iPhone.

> [card] [Google Play (Android)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pigeonhole.nurserymanagement)
>
> Search for **Pigeonhole Nursery Management**, or tap here on your Android phone.

## Sign in

1. Open the app and tap **Sign in**.
2. Enter the email address your nursery has for you.
3. Sign in the same way as on the website: with a passkey, or with the code we email you. See [Login & Authentication](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/parents/login-authentication.md).

![The Pigeonhole app's sign-in screen with the Sign in button](https://mintcdn.com/pigeonholeearlyyearsltd/0iAp9ehr6Gpe17ae/images/app-sign-in.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=0iAp9ehr6Gpe17ae\&q=85\&s=a5335857f091c2f2134c4e022c239bed)

## Setting up the app

The first time you open the app on a phone, it walks you through a few quick steps. You can tap **Skip** at any point and change everything later in **Me → Notifications & settings**.

1. **Welcome**: a quick look at what's in the app. Tap **Get started**.
2. **Stay in the loop**: tap **Turn on notifications** to hear about photos, news, invoices and forms. Your phone then asks you to allow notifications. Tap **Not now** if you'd rather decide later.
3. **What would you like to hear about?**: if you turned notifications on, choose which kinds you want. See [Notifications](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/parents/notifications.md).
4. **Keep it private**: if your phone has Face ID or a fingerprint reader, you can lock the app with it. See [Face ID and Privacy](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/parents/face-id.md).

![The app's first-time setup on the Stay in the loop step, with Turn on notifications and Not now](https://mintcdn.com/pigeonholeearlyyearsltd/0iAp9ehr6Gpe17ae/images/app-parent-onboarding.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=0iAp9ehr6Gpe17ae\&q=85\&s=e856aa3cbeafe2f8bca55b3ef9c4934f)

> [!NOTE]
>
> The setup only appears once on each phone. If someone else signs in on the same phone later, the app keeps the choices already made, and they can change them in **Me → Notifications & settings**.

## Staying signed in

* **With Face ID or a fingerprint turned on**, you stay signed in. Each time you unlock the app, your sign-in is renewed. You only need to sign in again if you don't open the app for 10 days.
* **Without it**, you'll be asked to sign in again every 10 days.

## Links from emails

If the app is installed, links in emails from your nursery open straight in the app, on the right page. Without the app, they open in your browser as usual.

## Signing out

Open **Me** and tap **Sign out**. You'll stop getting notifications on this phone until you sign in again.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### My nursery has more than one site, or my children go to different nurseries

Open **Me** and tap **Switch nursery**. When you tap a notification or a link about another of your nurseries, the app switches for you.

### I also work at the nursery

See [If You Work at the Nursery](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/parents/staff-and-parent.md).

### Can I still use the website?

Yes. Everything in the app is also on the website at [pigeonholeapp.co.uk](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/app).


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