# Row Smarter > Row Smarter is a rowing computer for iPad and iPhone. It reads an indoor > rowing machine over Bluetooth and shows live pace, power, stroke rate, heart > rate, the force curve of every stroke, and technique analysis. It is in > open TestFlight beta and is aiming for the App Store in mid-September 2026. ## Pages - [Home](https://rowsmarter.app/): what the app does and which hardware it works with. - [Compatible rowing machines](https://rowsmarter.app/compatibility): what SmartRow, PM5 and FTMS machines report. - [How to read a force curve](https://rowsmarter.app/force-curve): the catch, peak, release, common shape problems and fixed scale. - [Rowing app alternatives](https://rowsmarter.app/alternatives): an honest comparison with ErgData, RowsAndAll, EXR, ErgZone and stock WaterRower monitors. - [Questions and answers](https://rowsmarter.app/faq): direct answers to the common questions. - [Privacy policy](https://rowsmarter.app/privacy): what data is handled and where it goes. - [Terms of use](https://rowsmarter.app/terms): the terms, including the Pro subscription. - [Support](https://rowsmarter.app/support): how to get help. - [ROWFILE/1 format](https://rowsmarter.app/rowfile): the published schema for Row Smarter session archives. - [Everything, as one file](https://rowsmarter.app/llms-full.txt): the whole site as plain text. ## Platform - One universal app. iPad with iPadOS 18 or later, iPhone with iOS 18 or later. - Native SwiftUI. No web views. - Published by Yottabyte Solutions B.V., incorporated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. - The TestFlight beta is open at https://testflight.apple.com/join/gb5jmBdd. - It is not on the App Store. Mid-September 2026 is the aim, not a promised date. - The current beta unlocks every Row Smarter Pro feature in that build without a charge. ## Hardware - Works with any rowing machine that speaks the Bluetooth FTMS standard. - Works with a [Concept2 indoor rower fitted with a PM5 monitor](https://www.concept2.com/product/338). - Works with a [WaterRower fitted with a SmartRow sensor](https://smartrow.fit/smartrow-for-waterrower/). - Works with any heart rate strap that speaks the standard Bluetooth Heart Rate Service. A strap is optional. - The force curve needs a PM5 or a SmartRow. A plain FTMS machine does not transmit one, so on one of those the app cannot draw it. - Drive-to-recovery ratio needs drive timing, which a PM5 and a SmartRow send and a plain FTMS machine does not. - Pace, power, stroke rate, distance and heart rate work on all of them. ## Available in the current TestFlight beta - A configurable live dashboard for pace, power, stroke rate, distance, heart rate, work, calories and the force curve where the machine sends it. - Full session history with samples and strokes, force-curve and technique analysis, comparisons, trends, records, recovery and capacity. - Forty-five workouts, a flexible workout builder and five multi-week plans. Plans adapt from completed sessions and sync through private iCloud storage. - Visual target bands and spoken coaching for pace, power, heart rate and stroke rate. - Pace boats for a fixed target, a workout plan or a previous session. - Live public and private racing with friends. - Optional Apple Health reading and completed-workout writing. - Heart-rate repair that keeps the original reading and raw beat intervals. - ROWFILE/1, CSV and TCX export; ROWFILE/1, TCX, FIT and SmartRow CSV import. - Every feature normally covered by Row Smarter Pro is open to beta testers. ## Data and privacy - There is no Row Smarter account, no email address and no password. - The app has no analytics, advertising, tracking or location access. - Sessions, strokes, saved workouts and training plans are stored on the device. - Sync carries sessions, saved workouts and training plans through the athlete's private iCloud CloudKit database, and settings through their private iCloud key-value store. No Row Smarter server is involved. - Sync is active. A session rowed on one device appears in History on another signed in to the same iCloud account. - Apple Health is optional. Read: body mass, height, date of birth, biological sex, resting heart rate, heart rate samples. Written back: the completed rowing session with its distance, active energy and heart rate. - Workout sharing by link is built for the coming release, not the current TestFlight build. Creating a link will upload that full session, including recorded heart data. Anyone with the link can download it for thirty days. - Live racing transmits performance data, but never heart data. ## Racing - Racing is optional. Joining a race is free; creating one needs Row Smarter Pro. - The app sends the chosen display name, a generated identifier not linked to the Apple ID, and live elapsed time, distance, split, power and stroke rate. - It also sends the join code for a private race and App Attest data proving the request came from a genuine copy of the app. - Heart rate and every other health value are never transmitted. - A finished race is deleted automatically thirty days after it ends. - Opening the race screen contacts the server to list races. Staying out of it means the app makes no racing requests. ## Subscription - Row Smarter Pro is sold as a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. - Prices are shown in the App Store in the buyer's local currency. Purchases go through Apple, who also handle refunds. - Pro unlocks: structured workouts and training plans, the workout builder, session analysis, trends and records, recovery and capacity, racing your own recorded sessions, creating races, export, and spoken live coaching. - Free forever: every live metric while rowing, the force curve, the whole session history and each session's summary, Apple Health, importing old sessions, and joining a race someone else created. ## Files - A .rowfile is the current lossless session archive in the published ROWFILE/1 format. Its container framing, entry names and JSON field list are documented at https://rowsmarter.app/rowfile. - Current export: ROWFILE/1, CSV and TCX. FIT export is built for the coming release and is not in today's TestFlight build. - Current import: ROWFILE/1, TCX, FIT and SmartRow CSV. This includes files from ErgData or another app when that app exports TCX or FIT. - A .rowfile can be shared directly today. Sharing one by a thirty-day web link is built for the coming release. - Row Smarter does not upload to Strava, the Concept2 Logbook or any other service today. The athlete exports a TCX and uploads it themselves. ## Training - A library of 45 workouts across seven categories: endurance, threshold, VO2max, race pieces, anaerobic, power, and pyramids and ladders. - Five multi-week plans: the Pete Plan, a beginner Pete Plan, the Wolverine Plan, a beginner base plan and a marathon build. - The Pete Plan follows the published plan by Pete Marston, the Wolverine Plan the one by Mike Caviston. Neither is an official version and neither coach is involved with Row Smarter. - Plans adapt the next session from the last completed one. - Heart rate zones come from a maximum measured across the athlete's own sessions, or one they type in. An age formula is only the fallback. Zone models: percentage of maximum, and Karvonen. - Live coaching speaks cues on the device. It records no audio and uses no microphone. ## Built for the coming release, not in the current beta - Workout sharing by a thirty-day link. - FIT export. FIT import is already available. - A personal stroke signature: reference curves by stroke-rate band, comparison with that reference, shape drift under fatigue, and reference-based live cues. - Benchmark performance goals with an optional deadline. - On-device training reminders, including quiet hours and one missed-session nudge. No server or push service schedules them. - Sync Doctor, including detection of a stalled iCloud import path and a user-triggered rebuild of sync state. ## Roadmap after the release - Row Smarter has an active roadmap with many more features planned. - Third-party integrations are a priority. Direct Concept2 Logbook sync is the headline planned integration, but it is not available and has no promised date. Today the athlete exports a TCX file and uploads it themselves. - Other third-party integrations are under consideration, not promised. ## Validation notes - SmartRow has run on real hardware. Concept2 PM5 support is implemented from Concept2's published interface but has not met a real PM5 yet. - The iPhone app is built and simulator-tested; no iPhone hardware has run it. - The HealthKit path is built and wired but has not written to a real Health store yet. - Public racing is deployed and tested with two clients, but not yet with two real rowers on two iPads. - Trends are built but have not been viewed against a real accumulated history. ## What it does not do - It does not upload sessions to any third-party service. - It does not require or offer an account. - The app does not collect analytics, advertising identifiers or location. - It does not transmit heart rate or any other health value during a race. - It is not a medical device and gives no medical advice. - It is not on the App Store yet. ## Contact - Support, beta feedback and press: support@rowsmarter.app and https://rowsmarter.app/support. - Privacy requests: privacy@rowsmarter.app. - Company: Yottabyte Solutions B.V., incorporated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. --- # Indexed public pages in full Generated from the page bodies themselves, so this section cannot drift from what a visitor reads. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/ # A rowing computer for your iPad and iPhone Row Smarter reads your indoor rowing machine over Bluetooth and gives the numbers that matter the space they need to be readable while you row. ## What it does - Live pace, power, stroke rate, distance and heart rate, stroke by stroke. - The force curve of every stroke (https://rowsmarter.app/force-curve), on a fixed scale so strokes stay comparable. A Concept2 PM5 and a SmartRow send one; a plain FTMS machine does not. - Technique: stroke length, drive-to-recovery ratio and consistency, as far as your machine measures them. - A pace boat to race a target split or a previous session. - Heart rate zones from a maximum measured in your own sessions, or one you type in. The age formula is only the fallback. - A library of 45 workouts across seven training categories. - Multi-week training plans, including the Pete Plan, the Wolverine Plan and beginner versions of both, each one adjusting to how your last session actually went and syncing through your private iCloud database. - Plans that adapt the next session from your last completed one. - Live target coaching for pace, power, heart rate and stroke rate. - Full session history with force-curve and technique analysis. Export a complete ROWFILE/1 archive (https://rowsmarter.app/rowfile), CSV or TCX. Import ROWFILE/1, TCX, FIT and SmartRow CSV files. - Heart-rate repair that filters an isolated bad strap reading without throwing the original measurement away. - Live racing with friends, including private races opened with a join code. ## Coming in the release The next build is finished and being prepared for the planned mid-September release. It adds workout sharing by link, FIT export, a personal stroke signature with reference-curve and fatigue comparisons, benchmark performance goals, on-device training reminders and a Sync Doctor for diagnosing iCloud trouble. Those features are not in today's TestFlight build yet. ## There is more on the roadmap Row Smarter has an active roadmap with many more features planned after this release, especially ways to work with other rowing services. Direct Concept2 Logbook sync is the headline integration: it is planned, not available today, and has no promised date. For now, export a TCX file and upload it yourself. The rowing app comparison (https://rowsmarter.app/alternatives) explains where that leaves Row Smarter beside other choices. ## Works with Any FTMS-compliant rowing machine, a Concept2 PM5, and a WaterRower fitted with a SmartRow sensor. Plus any standard Bluetooth heart rate strap. See the machine-by-machine compatibility guide (https://rowsmarter.app/compatibility) for the exact measurements each source can provide. FTMS is the Bluetooth SIG's Fitness Machine Service, the standard most modern ergometers speak. ## On screen iPad Rowing. Every number sized to be read from the handle. The workout library and the training plans. History, kept in full rather than summarised. Before the first stroke. Settings, including calibration and zones. iPhone In beta, aiming for the App Store in mid-September 2026. You can row with it now: the TestFlight beta is open and runs on iPad and iPhone. Join the TestFlight beta. You will need Apple's free TestFlight app. Send beta feedback through support (https://rowsmarter.app/support). More detail is on the questions and answers (https://rowsmarter.app/faq) page. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/compatibility # Which rowing machines work with Row Smarter? Row Smarter connects over Bluetooth to a WaterRower with SmartRow, a Concept2 PM5, or any rowing machine that follows the FTMS standard. The measurements differ because the machines do not send the same data. ## Does Row Smarter work with a WaterRower and SmartRow? A SmartRow sensor measures the WaterRower at the pulley. Row Smarter reads distance, elapsed time, current and average pace, current and average power, stroke rate, stroke count, work per stroke and stroke length. It also records the 24 force samples that make up each stroke. SmartRow firmware that reports drive time supplies it directly. On older firmware, Row Smarter derives drive time from the measured force samples and labels the timing as derived. Recovery time follows from the gap between strokes. SmartRow does not report heart rate, so that reading comes from an optional Bluetooth heart rate strap. This is the connection tested on real rowing hardware. ## Does Row Smarter work with a Concept2 PM5? A Concept2 PM5 reports distance, elapsed time, current and average pace, power, stroke rate, stroke count, calories and drag factor. Its stroke data adds drive length, drive time, recovery time, work per stroke, peak force, average force and the force curve. Row Smarter can also read heart rate when the PM5 reports it. Important. This support is implemented from Concept2's published Bluetooth specification and covered by decoder tests. It has not yet met a real PM5. Treat it as software-complete, not hardware-verified. ## Does Row Smarter work with an FTMS rowing machine? FTMS is the Bluetooth Fitness Machine Service. Its Rower Data message can contain stroke rate, stroke count, distance, pace, power, energy, heart rate and elapsed or remaining time. Each field is optional. Row Smarter uses distance, pace, power, stroke rate, stroke count and heart rate when the machine actually sends them. ## Can an FTMS rowing machine send a force curve? A plain FTMS rower does not send a force curve, drive and recovery timing, stroke length or per-stroke force through that standard message. Row Smarter cannot reconstruct measurements that never crossed the Bluetooth link. ## Missing is not zero Every live machine reading is optional inside Row Smarter. If a rower omits power or heart rate, the screen shows that reading as absent. It does not turn the missing value into 0 W or 0 bpm. Zero means the machine measured zero. A blank means it did not provide a measurement. ## What should you choose? Choose SmartRow or a PM5 when the shape of each stroke (https://rowsmarter.app/force-curve) matters. Choose any FTMS rower when the core live numbers are enough. A standard Bluetooth heart rate strap can add heart rate on every path. For workouts, history and racing beyond the hardware connection, see what Row Smarter does (https://rowsmarter.app/) and the honest comparison with other rowing apps (https://rowsmarter.app/alternatives). --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/force-curve # How to read a rowing force curve A force curve shows how hard you load the handle from the catch to the release. Its shape tells you when the drive produces force, whether that pressure is held, and whether the stroke runs through in one piece. A smooth rowing force curve Force rises quickly after the catch, reaches one rounded peak near the first third of the drive, then tapers smoothly to the release. - - - Catch Peak Release Force Progress through the drive ## The catch The catch is the instant the drive begins. Force starts near zero, then rises as the legs connect to the handle. A useful curve rises firmly without a vertical spike. A spike followed by a collapse means the load arrived but was not carried into the drive. ## The peak The peak is the strongest point of the stroke. On the reference curve above it arrives near the first third of the drive, while the legs are still working, and rounds into a loaded middle. The exact height changes with effort. The position and shape are more useful than chasing the tallest possible point. A late peak means the strongest force arrived after the legs should have established the drive. The back and arms are finishing work the legs did not put in early enough. That can feel hard while producing a slower, less connected stroke. ## The release After the peak, force should taper as the legs finish, the body swings and the arms draw through. A smooth tail shows that pressure was carried and then shed. A sudden cliff means the handle went light before the release. ## What a double bump means Two peaks with a dip between them mean the drive lost force and then found it again. Often the legs loaded the handle, the connection broke during the body swing, and the arms made a second effort. Row Smarter detects clear dips stroke by stroke. It names a repeated technique fault only when the pattern appears on two strokes in three. ## Why the scale stays fixed Row Smarter draws calibrated curves against a fixed 0 to 600 newton scale. If every stroke were stretched to fill the graph, an easy stroke and a hard stroke would look equally tall. Autoscaling hides the change you opened the graph to see. A fixed scale lets height mean force from one stroke to the next. Shape remains useful when a source has not established a newton calibration, but the app labels that curve as uncalibrated. It does not attach an invented unit. ## Compare like with like A curve is a series of samples, not a continuous measurement. Shape comparison needs the same machine source, compatible calibration and comparable sampling. Stroke rate matters too. A 20 spm drive and a 34 spm drive are not the same task. Row Smarter keeps the source and sampling details with the stroke. Its current session analysis can describe peak position, fullness, consistency and repeated breaks in force. Personal reference curves by stroke-rate band and fatigue comparison are built for the coming release, not today's TestFlight build. See which machines provide force curves (https://rowsmarter.app/compatibility), or compare Row Smarter with other rowing apps (https://rowsmarter.app/alternatives). --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/alternatives # Rowing app alternatives, compared honestly The right rowing app depends on the machine and the job. Row Smarter is strongest as a large live rowing computer with a private, detailed stroke history. Other products are better at several things. ## Concept2 ErgData ErgData is Concept2's free first-party PM5 app. It sends workouts directly to the Concept2 Online Logbook, where PM-recorded pieces can be marked verified and entered in rankings. It also joins Concept2's wider challenge and Logbook system. Row Smarter cannot replicate that network and does not upload to the Logbook today. Choose ErgData when verified Concept2 results, rankings and automatic Logbook history are the priority. ## RowsAndAll RowsAndAll is stronger for deep post-workout analysis in a web browser. It can compare selected strokes and force curves across workouts, combine many data sources and support on-water analysis. Row Smarter is an iPad and iPhone app centred on the live indoor row and the private history that follows it. Choose RowsAndAll when the main job is detailed post-hoc analysis at a computer. ## EXR EXR turns rowing into movement through 3D worlds. It has virtual courses, avatars, events, challenges and broad platform support. Row Smarter has boats for pacing and racing, but no virtual scenery or game world. Choose EXR when immersion and virtual courses make indoor rowing easier to return to. ## ErgZone ErgZone has a mature workout and coaching ecosystem, community challenges, broad third-party integrations and automatic verified Concept2 Logbook uploads. It also shows PM5 force curves and live curve deltas. Row Smarter should not claim those ideas as unique. Choose ErgZone when programmed training, coach distribution and connected services matter most. ## The stock WaterRower S4 or S5 monitor The stock monitor wins on simplicity. It is already attached, needs no phone or tablet, and shows the basic row without opening an app. The S4 shows time, distance, pace, watts, calories and stroke rate. Row Smarter asks for another screen and a compatible Bluetooth path in return for a larger display, stored sessions and analysis. Choose the stock monitor when you want to sit down, row and leave the result on the machine. ## What Row Smarter does differently Row Smarter keeps a more complete private record than a summary log. It stores every sample, every stroke and every force curve the machine provides. It keeps the heart strap's beat-to-beat intervals and the original heart-rate reading before repair. That record supports technique analysis now and new analysis over old sessions later. - An iPad-sized live display designed to be read from the handle. - Force curves on a fixed scale, plus peak position, fullness, consistency and repeated-break analysis. - Sessions and plans synchronised through the athlete's private iCloud database. - Live public or private racing, plus pace boats and races against a previous session. - No Row Smarter account for the personal training archive. No single item in that list makes every other app obsolete. The combination is the reason to choose Row Smarter. ## The roadmap, without pretending it has shipped Direct Concept2 Logbook sync is planned because manual export is a real disadvantage. It is not available today and has no promised date. FIT export, personal stroke signatures and workout sharing by link are built for the coming release but are not in the current TestFlight build. Read the machine compatibility details (https://rowsmarter.app/compatibility), learn how to read a force curve (https://rowsmarter.app/force-curve), or try the current TestFlight beta. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/faq # Questions and answers Each answer stands on its own. If one of them is wrong, or the question you have is not here, write to support (https://rowsmarter.app/support). ## Which rowing machines does Row Smarter work with? Row Smarter works with any rowing machine that speaks the Bluetooth FTMS standard, with a Concept2 indoor rower fitted with a PM5 monitor, and with a WaterRower fitted with a SmartRow sensor. It scans for all three and connects to whichever it finds, so there is nothing to configure. ## Which heart rate straps work with Row Smarter? Any strap or armband that speaks the standard Bluetooth Heart Rate Service, which is almost all of them. Row Smarter connects to it directly, so no vendor app and no proprietary pairing is involved. A heart rate strap is optional and the app records a full session without one. ## Does Row Smarter run on iPhone as well as iPad? Yes. Row Smarter is one universal app that runs on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later and on iPhone with iOS 18 or later. The layout adapts to the screen it is on. ## Do I need an account to use Row Smarter? No. Row Smarter has no account, no email address and no password. It works the first time you open it, and nothing is registered anywhere. ## What syncs between my iPad and my iPhone, and how? Rowing sessions, saved workouts and training plans are built to sync through your private iCloud CloudKit database, and your settings through your private iCloud key-value store. Both use your own iCloud account; there is no Row Smarter server involved. Sync is on. Rowing on the iPad and picking up on the iPhone works, and a session rowed on one appears in History on the other. ## Does my rowing data leave my device? Only if you choose to send it. Live racing transmits performance data but no heart data. The workout-link feature in the coming release will upload a full session, including recorded heart data, only when you create a link; that copy expires after thirty days. The Row Smarter app has no analytics, advertising or tracking. ## How do I share a workout? Today, share the session's .rowfile from its export screen. That one file carries the complete session and the recipient can import it into Row Smarter. Sharing by web link is built for the coming release but is not in the current TestFlight build; those links will work for thirty days. ## What does Row Smarter Pro cost? Row Smarter Pro is sold as a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The price is shown in the App Store in your local currency, and the app shows what each option costs before you confirm anything. Purchases go through Apple. ## What does Row Smarter Pro unlock, and what is free? Pro unlocks structured workouts and training plans, the workout builder, session analysis with its charts and technique reading, trends and records, recovery and capacity, racing against your own recorded sessions, creating races, export, and spoken live coaching. Free forever: every live metric while you row, the force curve, your whole session history and each session's summary, Apple Health, importing your old sessions, and joining a race someone else created. ## What file formats can I export a session to? Row Smarter currently exports a complete ROWFILE/1 session archive, CSV tables and TCX. The .rowfile is the copy to keep or send to another Row Smarter user; TCX is the copy most training sites read. FIT export is built for the coming release but is not in today's TestFlight build. Export is a Row Smarter Pro feature. ## Can I import from ErgData or another rowing app? Yes, when the other app exports TCX or FIT. Save that file to Files or iCloud Drive and choose it in Row Smarter's Import sessions screen. Row Smarter also imports its own .rowfile archives and SmartRow CSV history exports. It previews what the file contains and what detail is unavailable before writing anything. ## What is planned next, and will Row Smarter work with my Concept2 Logbook? Row Smarter has an active roadmap with many more features planned, especially third-party integrations. Direct Concept2 Logbook sync is the headline integration, but it is planned rather than available and has no promised date. Today, export a TCX file and upload it to the Logbook yourself. Other third-party integrations are under consideration, not promised. ## What hardware do I need to see the force curve? A Concept2 PM5 or a WaterRower with a SmartRow sensor. Both transmit the force of each stroke, and Row Smarter draws it on a fixed 0 to 600 newton scale so strokes stay comparable. A plain FTMS rowing machine does not send a force curve, so on one of those the app cannot show it. ## Where do the heart rate zones come from? From your maximum heart rate, which Row Smarter takes from the highest figure measured across your own recorded sessions, ignoring isolated spikes, or from a value you type in yourself under Body measurements. An age-based formula is only the fallback when there is neither. Zones can be straight percentages of your maximum or the Karvonen model, which also uses your resting heart rate. ## What does live racing send to the race server? The display name you chose for that race, an identifier the app generated that is not linked to your Apple ID, your elapsed time, distance, split, power and stroke rate while you row, the join code if the race is private, and App Attest data proving the request came from a real copy of the app. Heart rate and every other health value are deliberately excluded and are never transmitted. A finished race is deleted automatically thirty days after it ends. ## Which training plans are included in Row Smarter? Five: the Pete Plan, a beginner Pete Plan, the Wolverine Plan, a beginner base plan and a marathon build. Each one sets your next session from how the last comparable one went, so the numbers move with you rather than sitting in a fixed table. The Pete Plan follows the published plan by Pete Marston and the Wolverine Plan the one by Mike Caviston. Neither is an official version and neither coach is involved with Row Smarter. ## How many workouts are in the library? 45 workouts across seven training categories: endurance, threshold, VO2max, race pieces, anaerobic, power, and pyramids and ladders. You can browse them all for free. Rowing one as a structured session with targets and countdowns is a Row Smarter Pro feature. ## Does Row Smarter work offline? Yes. Rowing, recording, the force curve, history and Apple Health all work with no network at all, because the rowing machine talks to the app over Bluetooth and everything is stored on the device. Live racing needs a connection. Creating or opening a workout share link will need one when that feature reaches the app. ## What does the current TestFlight beta include? The current beta includes the live dashboard, session history and analysis, force curves on SmartRow and PM5, workouts and iCloud-synchronised training plans, live coaching, pace boats, racing with friends, Apple Health, heart-rate repair, file import and export, and every Row Smarter Pro feature. Workout links, FIT export, the personal stroke signature, performance goals, training reminders and Sync Doctor are built for the release but are not in this TestFlight build yet. ## When will Row Smarter be released? Row Smarter is aiming for the App Store in mid-September 2026. That is an aim rather than a promised date. The TestFlight beta is open now on iPad and iPhone. ## How do I get help with Row Smarter? Email the address on the Row Smarter support page at https://rowsmarter.app/support and a person reads it. Saying which rowing machine you use, which heart rate strap if any, your device model and its iOS or iPadOS version, and what you expected instead of what happened, makes almost any problem quicker to fix. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/privacy # Privacy policy Last updated 4 September 2026 The short version. Your rowing data is stored on your iPad or iPhone and, when you use iCloud, synchronised through your private iCloud database to your other Row Smarter devices. There is no Row Smarter account. The app contains no analytics, advertising or tracking. The coming workout-link feature uploads a workout only when you ask it to. Live racing is optional and sends performance data, never heart rate or other health data. ## Who is responsible The controller of your personal data is Yottabyte Solutions B.V., incorporated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For any question about this policy or your data, write to the address on https://rowsmarter.app/support. ## Data stored on your device and in iCloud Your rowing sessions, strokes, saved workouts, training plans and settings are stored on your iPad or iPhone. If you are signed in to iCloud, Row Smarter synchronises them so they are available on your other devices running Row Smarter. Sessions, saved workouts and training plans travel through your private CloudKit database. Your settings, which are a few kilobytes of preferences, travel through your private iCloud key-value store. This includes heart-rate readings recorded with a session. The app does not send a workout to the Row Smarter server unless you create a share link. Deleting a session in the app removes it from the synchronised library. Deleting the app removes its local copy but does not by itself guarantee removal of a copy already in iCloud. ## Files you choose to import You can choose a ROWFILE/1 archive, TCX or FIT file, or SmartRow CSV history from Files or iCloud Drive. Row Smarter reads the file only after you select it, imports the sessions you confirm, and stores them in the same local and optional iCloud-synchronised library. It does not upload the original file to Row Smarter. ## Workout links in the coming release When the workout-link feature reaches the app, creating a share link will upload a copy of that workout to the Row Smarter server. The copy contains the full session, including heart-rate readings and beat-to-beat heart data when you recorded them. Anyone with the link can download it, and the server deletes it automatically after thirty days. The current TestFlight build does not upload workouts this way. ## Apple Health If you grant permission, Row Smarter reads the following from Apple Health: body mass, height, date of birth, biological sex, resting heart rate and heart rate samples. It uses them only to calculate calorie burn, training zones and the maximum heart rate shown in the app. If you grant permission, it writes your completed rowing sessions back to Apple Health, with their distance, active energy and heart rate. Health data is never used for advertising or sent as part of a live race. Heart-rate readings recorded with a session can be included in your private iCloud-synchronised library and, in the coming release, in a workout link you choose to create. Declining Health access leaves the rest of the app fully usable. ## Live coaching Live coaching analyses the rowing metrics already on your device and speaks cues on the device. It does not record audio, use the microphone, or send coaching data anywhere. ## Live racing, which is optional When you join a race, the app sends to the race server: - The display name you choose for that race. - An identifier the app generates for you. It is not linked to your Apple ID or your device. - Your live position while you row: elapsed time, distance, split, power and stroke rate. - For a private race, the join code you enter; if you create a race, a host token kept on your device so you can manage it. - App Attest data: an app-specific cryptographic key identifier and attestation or assertion that let the server check that a request came from a genuine copy of the app. This is what lets other rowers in the race see where you are. Heart rate and every other health value are deliberately excluded and are never transmitted. A finished race and its results are deleted automatically thirty days after it ends. Opening the race screen asks the server which races are running, so that is the point at which the app first makes a racing request. Stay out of the race screen and it makes no racing requests. ## What is not collected - No analytics or usage tracking of any kind. The app contains no analytics or advertising software. - No advertising identifiers, no cross-app or cross-site tracking. - No account, no email address, no password. - No location. The app requests no location permission. - No payment details. Subscriptions are handled entirely by Apple, and the developer never receives your payment information. ## This website This site uses Cloudflare Web Analytics. It reports aggregate, cookieless traffic, sets no cookies and does not track visitors across sites. ## Other permissions Bluetooth is used only to read metrics from your rowing machine and heart rate strap. Local network is used only by racing, to reach a race server on your own network. Both can be declined. ## Your rights Because your rowing and health data stay on your device, you control it directly: delete a session in the app, or delete the app. Health data is managed in Apple's Health app. For race data held on the server, you may ask for it to be deleted by writing to the address on https://rowsmarter.app/support. Under the GDPR you also have the right to access, correct or restrict processing of personal data, and to complain to your data protection authority. ## Children Row Smarter is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect data from them. ## Changes If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. Material changes will be noted in the app's release notes. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/terms # Terms of use Last updated 4 September 2026 ## Who you are contracting with Row Smarter is published by Yottabyte Solutions B.V., incorporated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Questions about these terms go to the address on https://rowsmarter.app/support. ## The app Row Smarter is a native rowing computer for iPad and iPhone. It reads an indoor rowing machine and a heart rate strap over Bluetooth, records what you row and shows it back to you. It is currently an open TestFlight beta and is aiming for the App Store in mid-September 2026. ## Row Smarter Pro Some features require Row Smarter Pro. Pro is sold as a monthly subscription, a yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Prices are shown in the App Store in your local currency before you buy, and the app shows what each option costs and what it unlocks before any purchase is confirmed. During the TestFlight beta, every Pro feature in the current build is available to testers without a subscription or charge. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before that period ends. Your Apple Account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period. Manage or cancel a subscription in Settings on your device, under your Apple Account, then Subscriptions. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription. The lifetime purchase is a one-time payment and does not renew. Purchases are made through Apple, not directly from us. Refunds are handled by Apple under the App Store terms, which is why we cannot issue one ourselves. Write to us anyway if something went wrong and we will help you with the request. ## Not a medical device Row Smarter shows measurements and training guidance. It is not a medical device and nothing in it is medical advice. Heart rate readings come from your strap and can be wrong. Judge your own effort, and take medical questions to a doctor. ## Live racing Racing is optional. When you race, the name you choose and your performance during that race are visible to the other rowers in it. Do not use a name you would rather strangers did not see. ## Your data What we hold and why is set out in the privacy policy (https://rowsmarter.app/privacy). ## Availability and changes We may change or withdraw features. If a change materially reduces what an active subscription bought, tell us and we will sort it out. The race server may be unavailable at times; the app records your rowing regardless. ## Liability Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. Subject to that, our liability arising from your use of Row Smarter is limited to the amount you paid for it in the twelve months before the claim. ## Law Dutch law applies, and the courts of Amsterdam have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, this does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory law of the country you live in. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/support # Support Questions, beta feedback, bugs, press enquiries and requests all go to the same place, and a real person reads them. Emailthe address on https://rowsmarter.app/support ## Try the beta The TestFlight beta is open on iPad and iPhone. Join it here, then send any feedback to the address above. Row Smarter is aiming for an App Store release in mid-September 2026. ## Before you write Including these makes a problem far quicker to fix: - Which rowing machine, and which heart rate strap if you use one. - Your iPad or iPhone model, and its iPadOS or iOS version. - What you expected, and what happened instead. ## Common questions ## The app says "Not connected" The app looks for an FTMS rowing machine, a Concept2 PM5 or a WaterRower with SmartRow. Make sure the machine is powered on and not already paired to another app or device, since most only allow one connection at a time. On a WaterRower with SmartRow, pull the handle once to wake the sensor. ## Can I try it without a rowing machine? Yes. In Settings, under Advanced, switch on Demo rower, then close and reopen the app. It replays a real recorded row so you can see everything the app does. ## My maximum heart rate looks wrong Apple Health has no maximum heart rate field, so the app works one out from your recorded heart rate. A faulty reading from a chest strap used to be able to set it too high. The app now ignores isolated spikes, and you can always set the value by hand under Body measurements. --- Source: https://rowsmarter.app/rowfile # ROWFILE/1 A .rowfile keeps one complete rowing session in one file. Row Smarter exports and imports it today. It carries the lossless session record alongside the CSV and TCX exports meant for spreadsheets and training sites. Sharing this file directly is available now. A web link that hands off the same archive is built for the coming release but is not in the current TestFlight build. ## Container framing The container is a deterministic concatenation, not a zip file. ASCII framing surrounds each entry's raw bytes: ROWFILE/1\n >> \n \n ...repeated per entry... manifest.json is written first. Readers must accept entries in any order, skip names they do not know and reject a name that appears twice. ## Entry names Row Smarter writes these fixed names: - manifest.json: archive version and writer details. - session.json: the lossless copy the importer trusts. - summary.csv: the session summary export. - samples.csv: recorded samples. - strokes.csv: recorded strokes. - rowingdata.csv: the rowingdata-style export. - beats.csv: raw beat-to-beat intervals. - session.tcx: the TCX export. The CSV and TCX entries are byte for byte the same as the loose exports. A stitched archive may have no session.json; in that case the importer recovers what it can from those entries. ## manifest.json formatVersion is the only required key. The other values may be absent when a tool stitches an archive from loose files. - formatVersion: integer. The current container format is 1. - sessionID: optional UUID string. - appVersion: optional string. - writer: optional string. Row Smarter writes RowSmarter; the recovery tool writes stitch-rowfile. ## session.json The session schema is version 1. Values are not rounded. Required keys are marked below; every other key is optional. Session - v: required integer, session schema version. - id: required UUID string, session identity. - start: required number, seconds since the platform Date reference date. - dur: required duration object; mov: moving-time duration object. - dist: required number, distance in metres. - name: workout name; tz: start time-zone identifier; utc: start UTC offset in seconds. - mass: athlete body mass in kilograms; age: athlete age in years. - maxW: maximum watts; minSplit: minimum seconds per 500 metres; maxSR: maximum stroke rate. - plan: the stored WorkoutPlan document; race: race object. - avgPace: average seconds per 500 metres; avgW: average watts; work: total work in joules; kcal: kilocalories. - strokeCount: required integer; avgSR: average stroke rate. - avgHR: average heart rate in beats per minute; peakHR: peak heart rate in beats per minute. - avgLen: average stroke length in centimetres; avgRatio: average drive-to-recovery ratio. - samples: required array of sample objects; strokes: required array of stroke objects; beats: required array of beat objects. - prov: provenance object; hk: HealthKit workout UUID string. Duration object - s: required integer, whole seconds. - a: required integer, attoseconds. Sample object - t: required duration object, elapsed time. - d: distance in metres; p: pace in seconds per 500 metres; w: watts. - sr: stroke rate; sc: stroke count; hr: heart rate in beats per minute. - df: drag factor; sl: stroke length in centimetres. - ap: average pace in seconds per 500 metres; aw: average watts; wj: work in joules. - hr0: raw heart rate in beats per minute. Stroke object - i: required integer, stroke identity; t: required duration object, start time. - dr: drive duration; rc: recovery duration; ds: true when timing was derived rather than reported. - d: distance in metres; w: average watts. - fc: force-curve object; pf: peak force in newtons; af: average force in newtons. - dl: drive length in centimetres; sd: stroke distance in metres. Force-curve object - f: required array of force samples. - dt: required duration object, sample interval. - cal: required boolean, whether the samples are calibrated. Beat object - e: required duration object, elapsed time. - r: required number, beat interval in seconds. Race object - id: required race identity; name: race name; dist: race distance in metres. - own: the athlete's participant identity; src: outcome source. - field: required array of competitors. Each competitor has required participant identity p, then optional display name n, lane l, rank r, distance in metres d, elapsed milliseconds e and finished flag f. Provenance object - kind: ergometer kind; erg: ergometer name; hrm: heart-rate monitor name. - app: app version; build: app build; ver: recording version. - si: sample interval in seconds; npc: force newtons per count; hrfix: heart-rate repair count. - imf: import format; isrc: import source app; iat: import time in seconds since the platform Date reference date; ifn: imported filename. - fid: session fidelity; mtd: whether moving time was derived.