Help & documentation

Getting started

1. Create your account. Choose Create account and enter your email (a quick automatic bot check runs on that page; use a real, non-disposable address). We'll send you a 6-digit code (it expires in 10 minutes; check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive, or request a new one after a minute). Enter the code, then choose a password of at least 12 characters. A long passphrase (several unrelated words) is both easier to remember and stronger. The code only confirms your email address — it has nothing to do with your encryption key and can't be used to open your records.
2. Save your recovery key. Right after signup you'll see a recovery key like BVW6P-G17Q7-…. Download it or copy it somewhere safe and off this device (a password manager, or printed and stored with important papers). It's shown only once. See why it matters.
3. Add your details. In Profile, add your name, date of birth (needed for Phenotypic Age), sex (for sex-specific reference ranges) and height (so BMI only needs your weight).
4. Enter your first results. Open Log results, pick the date of your test, add the panels on your lab report (e.g. CBC, Lipids) and type in the values. Blank fields are skipped.
5. Explore. Your Dashboard now shows a card for each marker. Click any card for its full history, averages, reference ranges and background information.

SECURECORDS is a tracker, not a diagnoser. It shows your values against standard reference ranges and published estimates — it never interprets them or gives medical advice. Always discuss your results with a qualified health professional.

Your privacy & encryption

Your records are end-to-end encrypted. In plain terms:

• Everything you enter is encrypted in your browser before it's sent. Our servers store only scrambled data (ciphertext) they cannot read.
• The key that unlocks your data is itself locked with your password and, separately, with your recovery key. We never receive either one, so we can't unlock your data — and neither could anyone who broke into our servers.
• We can see your email address, how many records you have and when they were saved — but not what they are: not which tests you track, your values, dates, notes, your name, date of birth, sex or height.
• Your data is decrypted only in the browser tab you're using, and only while it's open and unlocked.

What this means for you

• After reloading the page (or opening a new tab) you'll be asked to unlock again — with your password, or with a passkey if you've set one up on that device. The decryption key is deliberately kept only in memory.
• Auto-lock: after a period without activity (30 minutes by default) the app locks itself and clears decrypted data from the tab. Change this in Settings → Privacy & security.
• We can't reset your password. If you forget it, your recovery key is the only way back in. If you lose both, your records can't be recovered by anyone — including us. Email or two-factor codes can't recover encrypted data either.
• Exports aren't encrypted. PDF reports and JSON/CSV downloads are created on your device as ordinary files. Anyone who gets a copy can read it — share them carefully and delete copies you no longer need.

Signing in & your account

Signing in

Enter your email and password on the sign-in page. The first step can take a second or two — your device is doing the heavy key-derivation work that keeps your password safe.

"Unlock your records"

If you're still signed in but the page was reloaded or auto-locked, you only need to unlock: choose Unlock with passkey if this device has one (see Passkey unlock), or enter your password.

"Too many attempts"

To protect against password guessing, sign-in attempts are limited per minute. Wait a minute and try again.

Signing out

Use Sign out at the bottom of the sidebar (on a phone: the icon in the top bar, or More → Sign out). This clears everything from the browser tab.

Changing your password

Settings → Privacy & security. You'll need your current password. Your records aren't re-encrypted; only the locked copy of your key is replaced. Other devices are signed out.

Deleting your account

At the bottom of Settings. It permanently deletes your account and every record and can't be undone — download your data first if you want to keep it.

Forgot your password? The recovery key

Your recovery key is the only way to regain access if you forget your password.

1. On the sign-in page choose Forgot password? Use your recovery key.
2. Enter your email and recovery key. Capitals, spaces and dashes don't matter, and the key contains a built-in check, so a typo is caught immediately.
3. Choose a new password.
4. You'll be given a new recovery key — the old one stops working. Save the new one straight away.

Lost your recovery key but still know your password? Sign in and generate a new one in Settings → Privacy & security. Do this as soon as you notice.

A passkey is not a recovery method. Passkeys only unlock a device where you're already signed in. If you've forgotten your password, you still need your recovery key.

Passkey unlock (Face ID, fingerprint, Windows Hello)

After a reload, a new tab or an auto-lock, SECURECORDS asks you to unlock your records. With a passkey you can do that with Face ID, a fingerprint, Windows Hello or your device PIN instead of typing your password. It's optional and set up separately on each device.

Setting it up

1. Open Settings → Passkey unlock on the device you want to use (on a phone: More → Settings).
2. Choose Set up passkey unlock on this device and read the short notes (below).
3. On the last step, check the device name (it's only for your list, and it's encrypted), enter your password and choose Create passkey. Your device then asks for Face ID, a fingerprint, Windows Hello or its PIN.
4. Done — the passkey appears in the list marked This device.

Changed your mind? On the last step choose Don't use a passkey on this device. That device keeps using your password and won't suggest a passkey again. You can still set one up later from the same place (Set one up anyway).

Unlocking with it

When the unlock screen appears, choose Unlock with passkey and confirm with your face, fingerprint or PIN. Your password always works too — just type it below. If you have passkeys on other devices but not this one, you'll see Use a passkey instead, which lets your browser offer a passkey from, for example, your phone.

Before you add one — worth knowing

• Anyone who can unlock the device — with their face, fingerprint or the device PIN — can open your records on it. Only add a passkey to a device that only you can unlock.
• Synced passkeys: if your passkeys sync (iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, a password manager), the passkey also works on your other devices signed in to that account. Protect that account with a strong password and 2-step verification.
• Keep your password and recovery key. A passkey only unlocks a device where you're already signed in. Signing in on a new device, after signing out, or after changing your password always needs your password.
• Lost or sold the device? Remove its passkey in Settings → Passkey unlock from any other device.

Managing your passkeys

• The list shows each passkey's device name, when it was added and when it was last used. You can have up to 10.
• Remove… stops a passkey unlocking SECURECORDS immediately. Your device may still list it in its own passwords/passkeys settings (for example, iPhone Settings → Passwords, or Google Password Manager); you can delete it there as well.
• To set up a passkey again on the same device, remove the old one first.

How it keeps your data encrypted

Your records are locked with a data key that only you can unlock. Your password locks one copy of that key and your recovery key locks another. A passkey adds one more locked copy, which only that passkey can open, and only after your device has checked your face, fingerprint or PIN. The passkey's secret never leaves your device, and we never receive your fingerprint or face, your PIN, or anything that could unlock your records. We store only the locked copy, when the passkey was added and last used, and the device name encrypted like everything else.

If it doesn't work

"This browser can't use passkey unlock"

Passkey unlock needs a recent browser and a device that can give passkeys a secret for encryption (a feature called PRF). Recent Chrome, Edge and Safari on most phones and computers support it; some older systems, some browsers and some security keys don't yet. Your password works everywhere.

"…can create passkeys but can't use them to unlock encrypted data yet"

The device made a passkey but can't provide that secret. Nothing was saved in SECURECORDS. You may want to delete the new, unused passkey from your device's passkey settings.

"This device already has a SECURECORDS passkey"

Remove the existing one from the list first, then set it up again.

"The passkey request was cancelled or timed out"

Try again, or unlock with your password.

The Unlock with passkey button doesn't appear

The device remembers which passkey belongs to it; clearing the browser's site data forgets that. Use Use a passkey instead, or unlock with your password and set the passkey up again.

The dashboard

• Greeting: your name and email, the date of your last reading and how many markers and readings you have.
• Phenotypic Age card: your research-based biological age estimate and its nine inputs (coloured by status — click one to open it). See Phenotypic Age.
• Range status card: how many of your markers' latest values are in range or outside it. Press Filter to show only those markers; press again (Clear) to show all.
• BMI card: your latest BMI, its WHO category, weight, height and trend.
• Marker cards: one per marker that has readings, showing its trend line, latest value and status (the coloured top edge: green in range, orange above, blue below). Click a card to open its detail page.

Keeping it tidy

• Search by name or category, or click a category chip to show just that category.
• Sort: group by category, outside-range first, recently updated, or A–Z.
• Grid / list: switch between cards and a compact list.
• Expand all / Collapse all category sections (when grouped by category). Your choice is remembered.
• Pin markers you care most about with the ☆ on a card — they appear in a Pinned section at the top.
• Hide a marker from its detail page. Its readings are kept; bring it back from Show hidden markers at the bottom of the dashboard.

Default layout, sort and which summary cards appear can be set in Settings → Dashboard.

Logging results

A whole lab report at once

1. Open Log results and set the date (and optionally the time) of the test.
2. Click a panel under Add a whole panel (e.g. CBC, Lipids) or search for single markers.
3. Type each value in the units shown next to the box. Each row shows the reference range and your last value for comparison.
4. Press Save. Only filled-in markers are saved.

One reading at a time

Every marker's detail page has an Add a reading form with date, optional time and an optional note (e.g. "fasting" or the lab's name).

Special cases

• Blood pressure takes two numbers: systolic (top) and diastolic (bottom).
• BMI is calculated from weight and height. If your height is saved in your Profile, it's filled in for you.
• Decimals: use a point or a comma (5.5 or 5,5).
• Units: enter values in the units shown — these follow your unit settings.

Editing or deleting a reading

On a marker's detail page, click the point on the chart or Edit in the readings table. Change the values and press Save changes, or press Delete and confirm.

Biomarker detail pages

• Latest reading: the most recent value, its status and a bar showing where it sits against the reference range, with ticks for earlier readings.
• Average: your average over 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, all time or a custom date range — with min, max, the % of readings in range, and the change from first to last.
• Trend chart: hover (or tap) a point to see its date, value and status; click to edit it. Choose a time range, turn on Zoom to my values to see small changes, and show or hide life events.
• Your readings: every reading with date, time, value, status, note and when it was entered.
• Reference range: the range used for you, plus the standard ranges (by sex where they differ).
• About: general information on what the marker is, why it's measured and what can affect a reading. It's general education — not an interpretation of your results.

Tracking a new marker

Use Track a biomarker on the dashboard and search the list, or choose Add custom biomarker for anything not listed (enter its name, unit and reference range; optionally different ranges for men and women). A marker appears on the dashboard once it has at least one reading.

Reference ranges & statuses

• Values are compared with standard adult clinical reference ranges. Labs use slightly different ranges depending on their equipment and methods.
• In range — within the range. Above range / Below range — outside it. These are descriptions, not judgements: a value outside a reference range isn't necessarily a problem, and one inside isn't a guarantee. Ask a health professional what your results mean for you.
• Some ranges differ by sex (e.g. creatinine, hemoglobin, ferritin). They follow the sex set in your Profile.
• Use your lab's range: on a marker's detail page, choose Use my lab's range and enter the range printed on your report. Custom ranges are marked "your lab" and can be reset at any time.

Life events

Life events let you mark what was happening — a new medication, a diet change, an illness, starting exercise — so you can see it alongside your results.

• Add them in Life events: what happened, a category, the date, and whether it was a one-off, lasted for a while (with an end date) or is ongoing. Add a note if you like.
• Show an event on all charts or only on selected markers. The ＋ Add life event link under a chart pre-selects that marker.
• On charts, an event appears as a coloured pin with a dashed line; things that last also get a light shaded span. Hover or tap a pin for details.
• They're also listed on lab visit comparisons and can be included in PDF reports.

Life events are for your own context. SECURECORDS never suggests that an event caused a change in your results.

Lab visits

Lab visits groups your results by date into report cards. A date counts as a visit when it has at least one lab result (days with only home vitals, such as blood pressure, aren't listed).

• Open a visit to see every value from that day, grouped by category, with status and reference range.
• Compare with the previous visit (the default) or any other: you'll see the change for each marker and which ones moved into or out of range.
• If all nine inputs were measured that day, the visit shows its Phenotypic Age, calculated with your age on that date.
• Life events between the two visits are listed, and Export this visit as PDF creates a report for that date.

Phenotypic Age

Phenotypic Age is a research-based estimate of biological age from Levine et al. (2018, Aging 10:573), combining your age with nine routine blood markers: albumin, creatinine, fasting glucose, CRP, lymphocytes %, MCV, RDW, alkaline phosphatase and white blood cells.

• It needs all nine markers and your date of birth (Profile). Sex isn't part of the formula.
• The dashboard uses the latest value of each input — which may come from different dates. Lab visits show it for a single day when all nine were measured together.
• "Largest contributors" is a rough, directional indication of which inputs pushed the estimate up or down the most.
• It's an estimate from published research, not a diagnosis and not a measure of health on its own.

BMI & weight categories

BMI (Body Mass Index) is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared, rounded to one decimal.

Source: World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. WHO Technical Report Series 894. Geneva: WHO; 2000. Also used by Health Canada (Canadian Guidelines for Body Weight Classification in Adults, 2003) and the US CDC.

Applies to adults (18+). Not intended for pregnancy, and BMI doesn't distinguish muscle from fat. WHO notes lower cut-off points may apply for some Asian populations.

Units

Choose how values are shown and entered in Settings → Units:

• Lab results: SI units (used in Canada, the UK, EU and Australia — e.g. glucose 5.5 mmol/L) or US conventional units (e.g. glucose 99 mg/dL).
• Body measurements: metric (kg, cm, °C) or imperial (lb, inches, °F).

Your readings are always stored in SI units, so switching never changes your data — only how it's displayed and entered. PDF reports can use a different unit system from the app (handy for a doctor in another country).

PDF reports & exporting your data

PDF reports

PDF reports are part of the Plus and Pro plans. Open Export as PDF (on a phone: More → Export as PDF). Choose what to include on the left; the preview on the right updates as you go. On a phone, use Open preview.

• Report details: a title, who it's prepared for (e.g. your doctor) and notes such as questions for your appointment.
• Your details: tick which personal details appear in the header.
• Period and Markers: everything, outside-range only, pinned, by category, or hand-picked.
• Sections: summary table, Phenotypic Age, BMI, life events, and per-marker details (charts, statistics, readings, notes).
• Format: units and paper size (Letter or A4).

A downloaded PDF isn't encrypted. Anyone with the file can read it. Share it only with people you trust, prefer secure channels over ordinary email, and delete copies you no longer need.

Downloading all your data

Settings → Your data offers a complete JSON download of the whole account (every profile) on every plan, including Free — your data is always yours to take with you. A CSV of readings for spreadsheets is part of Plus and Pro, and covers the profile you're viewing.

Plans, billing & family profiles

What each plan includes

• Free: 500 stored readings, 3 custom biomarkers, every built-in marker, charts, lab visits, life events, Phenotypic Age, BMI and the complete JSON download.
• Plus ($8 CAD/month or $80/year): 5,000 readings, 25 custom biomarkers, PDF reports and CSV export.
• Pro ($15 CAD/month or $150/year): unlimited readings (fair use), unlimited custom biomarkers and up to 5 profiles.

End-to-end encryption is the same on every plan. Reading and custom-biomarker allowances count across the whole account, including every profile.

Upgrading, changing or cancelling

Open Profile → Plan. The bars there show how much of your plan you're using. Upgrade takes you to Stripe's secure checkout; your card details go to Stripe and never reach SECURECORDS. Manage subscription opens Stripe's billing page, where you can switch plan, change between monthly and yearly, update your card, download invoices or cancel. Paid plans renew automatically until you cancel. A cancelled plan stays active until the end of the period you've paid for; there are no refunds for partial periods (see our Terms of Use).

Limits and downgrades never lock your data

If you reach a limit, or move to a smaller plan, everything you've stored stays readable, editable, exportable and deletable. Only adding new readings, custom biomarkers or profiles pauses until you're back under the limit or upgrade. Additional profiles become read-only after leaving Pro — you can still view, export and delete them.

Family profiles (Pro)

• Add a profile in Profile → Profiles with a name and, optionally, date of birth and sex (used for reference ranges and Phenotypic Age).
• Switch between profiles with the Viewing buttons at the top of the Dashboard, Log results, Lab visits, Life events and Export as PDF pages. Everything you add goes to the profile you're viewing.
• Each profile has its own markers, readings, life events and reports. Units, dashboard layout and your lab's custom ranges are shared settings for the account.
• Profiles are encrypted like everything else — including which records belong to whom. Everyone in the account is unlocked by the same password, so use profiles for people whose records you already look after.
• Deleting a profile permanently deletes all of that person's records.

Profile & settings

Profile

Your plan and usage, the details of the profile you're viewing — name (for greetings and reports), date of birth, sex for reference ranges and height — and your family profiles on Pro. All personal details are encrypted like your records.

Settings

Units, appearance (light, dark or match your device), dashboard defaults and default chart period, privacy & security (auto-lock, change password, new recovery key), passkey unlock (set up, list and remove passkeys), your data (downloads) and account deletion. Preferences follow you to any device you sign in on, except the theme, which is per device.

Using SECURECORDS on your phone

SECURECORDS works in any modern mobile browser. The bottom bar gives quick access to Dashboard, Log, Visits, Events and More (Export as PDF, Profile, Settings, Help and Sign out). Charts respond to taps: tap a point for its details.

Frequently asked questions

Still need help?

Send us a message through the contact form. Please don't include lab results or other health information — messages aren't end-to-end encrypted the way your records are.