FAQ & Support
The effects
Does Thermal Camera measure real temperature?
No. Real thermal imaging needs a dedicated infrared sensor, which no iPhone or iPad has.
Thermal Camera maps the brightness of the ordinary camera picture onto thermal colour
palettes, so bright areas read as "hot" and dark ones as "cold". For real temperature
readings you need hardware such as a FLIR or Seek accessory.
What does the HUD show?
A crosshair, a colour bar for the current palette, and hot and cold markers that follow
the brightest and the darkest region of the picture live, the way a thermal imager marks
its own extremes. It also brackets the people it finds in the frame.
Does it work in complete darkness?
No. Every effect is built from the camera picture, so the camera needs some light to work
with. The Night mode effects brighten and tint a dim scene, which is a real help in a
low-light room, but in total darkness there is nothing for the camera to capture.
What effects are there?
Twenty, across three modes. THERMAL has eight false-colour palettes (Iron, White, Black,
Rainbow, Arctic, Lava, Glow, Amber). NIGHT has five (green and amber night vision, UV
blacklight, infrared, ghost). FX has seven (glitch, scanline, pixel, neon, x-ray, comic,
crystal). All twenty are part of Pro. Without a subscription you get the standard camera
and the gallery.
What is the detail overlay?
An MSX-style edge layer that draws contours on top of the colour, so faces, text and
objects stay readable instead of dissolving into the gradient. You can also turn any effect
up or down with the intensity slider.
Capturing
Where are my photos and videos saved?
Into the app's own gallery on your device, and to your photo library if you allow it.
Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Can I record video?
Yes, with Pro. Switch the shutter to VIDEO and record with sound, exactly as the effect
looks on screen.
Can I apply the effects to a photo I already have?
Yes, with Pro. Open the gallery and import a photo from your camera roll to run it
through any effect.
Apple Watch
How does the Apple Watch shutter work?
Apple Watch has no camera, so it works as a remote for your iPhone. Open Thermal Camera on
your iPhone and leave the camera screen showing, then open the app on your watch. You get
a live preview, a shutter button, a 3 or 10 second timer, a camera flip, and the Digital
Crown to change the effect. On models that support it, Double Tap fires the shutter.
The watch says "iPhone Not Reachable" or "Open Thermal Camera".
Keep the iPhone nearby and unlocked with Thermal Camera open on the camera screen, and
check that Bluetooth is on. The watch app needs watchOS 11 or later.
Subscription
What does Thermal Camera Pro unlock?
All 20 thermal, night vision and FX effects, the HUD, the MSX detail overlay, intensity
control, video recording and camera roll import. The standard camera and the gallery stay
free.
How do I cancel?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple, not by us. Open Settings > [your name] >
Subscriptions on your device, choose Thermal Camera and cancel there. Cancel at
least 24 hours before the period ends to avoid the next charge. You keep Pro until the
end of the period you have already paid for.
I am on the free trial and do not want to be charged.
Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, in the same Subscriptions screen. You keep
Pro for the rest of the trial.
I bought Pro but the app still shows it as locked.
Open Settings inside the app and tap Restore Purchases, making sure you are signed in with
the same Apple Account you bought it with. If it still does not appear, email us.
Can I get a refund?
Refunds are handled by Apple. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com,
sign in and choose the purchase. We cannot issue refunds ourselves.
Permissions and privacy
Why does the app want the camera?
Because the whole app is a camera. There is no live preview and no capture without it.
Why the microphone?
Only to record sound with your videos. Photos never use it.
Why photo library access?
To save your captures to your photo library. Importing a photo uses Apple's photo picker,
which hands the app only the photo you choose.
Does my camera feed leave my device?
No. Every frame is processed on device and discarded. Nothing from your camera, your
photos or your videos is uploaded. See the Privacy Policy for the
detail.
Devices
Which devices does it run on?
iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later, plus Apple Watch with watchOS 11 or later for the
shutter. Older devices work but render fewer frames per second on the heavier FX
effects.
Which languages is it in?
English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The app follows your device language.
Still stuck?
Write to support@appdepartment.co and tell us your device model, your iOS version and what happened. We read every message.