Why a subscription now?

A subscription model allows me to dedicate my time to Somnus without it feeling like a burden. I want to keep this going for as long as I’m in this career—at least another 15 years.

I created Somnus by myself over seven years ago, and I use it for every case I do. Somnus is still just me—I handle all the design, icons, coding, website, and support, including responding to every email. There is no “team”!

As a full-time Anaesthesiologist, maintaining and improving Somnus takes a significant amount of my spare time. Having Somnus as a one-time purchase all these years has meant that it generates very little income—around $100 per month. There are users who’ve had it for five years, only ever paid $30, and have received updates and support throughout. Many have also suggested features, all of which I’ve implemented—at no extra cost.

In fact, many users have urged me to move to a subscription model over the years, saying it was well worth it for what it offers..

I had a ‘lifetime subscription’—why do I have to pay now?

Firstly, there really is no such thing as a “lifetime subscription.” Apps either offer a licence fee or are free with the option of subscriptions.

Somnus used to be a single licence fee app with no subscription. Now, it’s a free download, but a subscription is required to add data to your database.

See HERE for information about the EULA which I’ve used since the beginning.

I only recently bought Somnus, now I have to subscribe?

Yes, I understand this is frustrating.

To ease the transition, I removed the licence fee from the previous version of Somnus from early February 2025. If you purchased Somnus in December or January, just before this change, you you may be eligible for a refund through the App Store - otherwise, feel free to get in touch with me directly.

Why not just create a new version instead of switching to a subscription?

There is no simple way to transition from a one-time purchase to a subscription model—any approach would face opposition.

Since I’m not a professional developer, I wanted to make this transition as smooth as possible without risking database corruption. That’s why I introduced the change alongside a major UI update to the app, with no changes made to the underlying database.

I can’t access my data!

Your data should always accessible, whether you subscribe or not.

What you cannot do without subscribing (beyond the free 2-month trial) is create new data. However, you can still import “Somnus Data” files from colleagues if needed.

If you try to save or duplicate a new item—such as a Case or Patient—without a subscription, you’ll be directed to the Subscription Page.

I thought carefully about this. Even without a subscription, you still have full access to your data, can export it, and can analyze it - it is not locked behind a paywall - and you can export it to use in a generic spreadsheet app, or another app of your choice.

To export your data as a generic spreadsheet, select “Spreadsheet (CSV)” as the export option when viewing all Cases.

How can I delete my account & Somnus?

There is no “Somnus account,” and as per my Privacy Statement, I do not collect any data from Somnus. All data is saved in your private iCloud account, which only you have access to.

To delete this data on your iPhone:

Go to → Settings → iCloud → Storage → Somnus

You can delete the data from there. Once deleted, it cannot be recovered. More information on how to delete data on all devices is HERE.

Why didn’t you notify users?

Because I don’t collect any user data, I have no way to directly contact existing users about upcoming changes - and I don’t want to start collecting your data just for that purpose.

I did what I thought was the best I could: I removed the licence fee from the old version of Somnus for a few months, with a banner on the App Store informing users of the impending switch to a subscription model. This is my first time rolling out a major update through the App Store, and I really appreciate your patience - especially if things were confusing during the transition. Could have handled this better.

I understand that many people don’t look closely at app update notes, so it may have been easy to miss.

There were two other hurdles that made communication difficult:

1. My old website was hacked, and I lost access to the one avenue I had to communicate to users - some of you may have noticed it vanished. I had to abandon the domain and rebuild it from scratch (which is why you’re now seeing this new Squarespace site appearing).

2. By the time all this had happened, I was already deep into developing version 10. Technically, there was no safe or practical way to release an interim version of version 9 with an in-app notification or pop-up without risking causing further issues. Even changing the website details for the App Store page alway requires uploading an entirely new binary.

Are there going to be other changes like this?

No - I don’t plan on making any further changes to pricing for the foreseeable future (and by that I mean many, many years). I also won’t be changing what a lack of subscription allows.

Your data will never be locked behind a paywall. You will always be able to access, export, and analyse it—even without a subscription and you will continue to receive free app updates as I don’t plan on creating multiple versions of Somnus.

If the subscription price ever changes, that’s managed automatically by Apple. They periodically adjust prices to account for currency fluctuations and inflation across regions. This is not something I control - Apple handles it based on the pricing tier I’ve set.