Help

Everything Low on Milk can do, and how to do it. Where the phone app, a phone’s browser and a computer work differently, choose the tab for the one you’re using.

Getting started

Low on Milk is one list for your home that remembers what you usually buy. Things stay on the list between shops: tick them off when you’ve got them, and put them back when you need them again, so you never have to type the same things every week.
  • A list is for one home or one kind of shopping, like “Home” or “Party”.
  • A list is split into groups, which are where things live at home, like “Fridge” or “Bathroom”. Putting them in the order you walk round the shop makes the list follow your route.
  • Each group holds items, like “Milk” or “Toothpaste”.
Sign in with one of the accounts shown on the sign-in screen. There’s no password to remember.
Open Low on Milk in your web browser. On a big screen, your lists are down the left-hand side and the one you’re using fills the rest. On a small screen, such as a phone’s browser, it looks and works like the phone app.
Not sure what a button does? Rest the mouse pointer on it to see its name.

Lists

  • To make a new list, click the + next to “Lists” on the left (or New list on a small screen), type a name and click Create list.
  • To rename, share or delete a list, click the three dots next to its name.
  • Inside a list, the three dots at the top right also let you rename it.
  • Your own order: the three dots next to a list also have Pin to top, Move up and Move down. Pinned lists come first. The order is just for you: the people you share a list with keep their own.
  • Copy this list (in the same menu) makes a new list with the same groups and items. Choose All unticked, so everything on it is to get, or As they are, so ticked things stay ticked.
  • Archive list (in the same menu, for whoever may delete it) puts a list away for everyone on it without deleting it. Find it under Archived lists at the bottom of your lists, where it can be read but not changed. Put it back returns it.
  • Save as template (in the same menu, Full Fat) keeps the list’s groups and items, so a new list can start from it: choose it under Start from when you make a list. Replace a template saves the list over one of yours. See, rename or delete them in Templates.
Only the list’s owner can delete it (on a circle’s list, the circle’s owner and anyone they let manage lists). Deleting a list removes it for everyone it’s shared with, and can’t be undone.

Groups

  • To add a group, open the three dots at the top of a list and choose New group. Give it a name and a colour (the last swatch lets you pick any colour you like), then choose Create group.
  • Each group has its own three dots. They let you add an item to it, tick or untick everything in it, rename it or change its colour (Edit group), and move it up or down the list.
  • You can only delete a group once it’s empty. Move or delete its items first.
  • After you’ve done a couple of shops, the three dots at the top of the list may offer Sort groups the way you usually shop. It puts the groups in the order you tick things off in the shop. It only shows when that order is different from the one you have.

Adding items

The Add an item box at the top of a list is for adding things (Settings can move it to the bottom). The coloured button on its left shows which group new items go into; choose it to pick a different group. The + next to a group’s name also adds straight into that group.
  • Type a name and press Enter, or choose the + at the end of the box.
  • As you type, things already on your list are suggested. Choosing a ticked one puts it back on the list, so you don’t end up with two of the same thing.
  • Things you’ve bought in the last month show as Recently bought next to the box, most recent first. Choose one to put it back on the list.
  • To add several things at once, separate them with commas: “milk, bread, eggs”. Anything already on the list is put back rather than added twice.
  • To say how many, type the number with the name: “2 milk” or “milk x2” adds Milk × 2.
  • Made a mistake? Choose Undo in the message that pops up at the bottom.
  • Press the / key anywhere on a list to jump straight to the box.
  • Use the up and down arrow keys to pick a suggestion, then press Enter. Press Escape to close the suggestions.
  • You can paste a list with one thing on each line, and each line becomes its own item.

Ticking things off

  • Tap an item to tick it off. Tap it again to put it back on the list.
  • Ticked items stay on the list, faded and crossed out, ready for next time. Each group shows how many things are left to get.
  • To hide ticked items, use the eye button at the top of the list. Use it again to show them.
  • Starting a fresh shop? Open the three dots at the top of the list and choose Untick everything.

Finding things and buying again

  • Search: choose the magnifying glass at the top of a list (or Search this list in its three dots) and start typing. The list shows only the items that match, ticked ones too.
  • Everything you’ve bought: the clock button at the top of a list shows everything you’ve ticked off, with when you last bought it. Sort it by Last bought or Not bought in a while, pick the things you need, and put them all back on the list in one go.
  • Recent changes: on a list you share, open the three dots at the top and choose Recent changes to see who added, ticked, changed or deleted what in the last 30 days.

Sending or printing a list

For someone who doesn’t use the app, send them what’s left to get, under its groups. Open the three dots at the top of a list, or the three dots next to it on your lists.
Choose Copy as text, then paste it into a message or email. Print lets you choose what goes on the page (ticked items, notes and how many, prices, blank lines, two columns), then opens it ready to print. Your choices are kept for next time.

Changing and deleting items

  • Move the mouse pointer over an item to show its pencil (edit) and bin (delete) buttons.
  • Or press and hold an item to change it.
When you change an item, you can rename it, add a note (such as a brand or size), add a link to a product page, move it to another group, or move it up or down within its group.
  • How many: use + and − to set a number, shown beside the name (“Milk × 2”). Clear takes it off.
  • Price for one: type what one costs. It’s kept for next time and shared with everyone on the list. The list menu then shows about how much is left to get and how much is ticked, and shopping mode shows how much so far.
  • Photo (Full Fat): add a photo so whoever’s shopping gets exactly the right one. It shows in the item’s details and, in shopping mode, as a small picture you can tap to see it large.
  • Spending (Full Fat, in the list menu) shows what the list cost this month, past months and each shopping trip, and lets you set a weekly or monthly budget for everyone on it. In shopping mode, Set a budget for this trip warns you before a tick takes you over.
  • Find at a shop: pick up to 3 shops in Your shops, and each item’s details get a button like Find at Tesco that searches that shop’s website for it.
  • Links: add a link to a product page or a recipe. A shop’s page (like one on tesco.com) is kept under that shop, so an item can have one for each shop as well as one other link; adding a second other link asks before replacing the first. Everyone on the list sees them, and the same item added to another of your lists gets them too. On a computer, the list menu’s Open unticked items at Tesco opens each item’s Tesco page, or a Tesco search for it, in its own tab.
  • Urgent: switch it on for something you need first. It goes to the top of its group with a mark, until it’s ticked.
  • Who’s getting it: on a list you share, choose who’s getting the item (or Me), so two of you can split the shop. Their name shows under the item until it’s ticked.
  • Move or copy to another list: sends the item to another of your lists, or to a new one. To do several at once, open the three dots at the top of the list and choose Move or copy items.
An item with a link shows a small arrow button that opens the link.
After deleting an item, choose Undo in the message at the bottom if you didn’t mean to.

Shopping mode

Shopping mode makes the list easy to use in the shop: big text, big ticks and nothing else to tap by accident.
Shopping mode comes with Full Fat. Without it, you can still tick things off on the list as usual.
  • Open a list and choose Shop at the top (or the basket button, Start shopping). Plan takes you back to adding and changing things.
  • Tap things as you put them in your basket. Ticked items fade; the eye button hides them altogether.
  • Urgent things come first in each group.
  • If someone’s named as getting things, you see what you’re getting and what no one is. Tap the names at the top to see other people’s things too.
  • Can’t find something? Choose the crossed-out trolley next to it. It stays on the list, and everyone sees “Couldn’t get it” with your name and when, until it’s ticked. Choose it again to take that off.
  • Choose Done when you’ve finished.
Most browsers keep the screen on while you’re in shopping mode. Some don’t, and then the screen goes off as usual.
Press Escape to leave shopping mode.

Sharing a list

Share a list with the people you live or shop with, and you’ll all see the same list. When someone ticks or adds something, everyone else sees it within about half a minute.
  • Open the list and choose the share button at the top (a person with a +), then Create invite.
  • Send the link or the invite code to the people you want to join. The link works for 7 days, and people who join stay in after that.
Click the copy button next to the link, then paste it into a message or email. Share invite opens your device’s own sharing options, where your browser offers them.
  • Joining: open the link you were sent and choose Join. If you’re not signed in, you can type your name and choose Join with your name, or sign in first.
  • Joining as a guest: joining with just your name makes a guest account on that device. Guests can do everything other members can, except invite people. If a guest signs out or clears the app, they can’t get back into the account, and a guest account nobody uses for a year is deleted.
  • If a link has expired or been cancelled, the page says so and helps you ask for a new one.
  • The share screen lists everyone on the list. Choose Leave next to your name to leave a list.
  • If you own the list, you can also remove people, and see the invites that haven’t expired yet. Choose Revoke to stop an invite working; people who already joined stay on the list.

Circles

A circle shares every one of its lists with everyone in it, so you don’t have to share each list on its own. You can be in more than one, say your household and your family, each with its own people and lists: up to 2 circles, starting 1 yourself. Full Fat (premium), coming soon, allows more.
  • Go to Settings, then Circles, then Start a circle and give it a name.
  • On the circle’s page, choose Create invite and send the link to the people you shop with. Only the circle’s owner, and anyone they let manage people, can invite people.
  • When they open the link and choose Join, they see all the circle’s lists.
When you make a new list, choose who sees it each time: one of your circles, or Personal (only you, unless you share it). Each circle’s lists are shown under its name, then your personal ones. Nobody in a circle sees your personal lists.
  • What people can do: a circle has one owner, who can do everything. Everyone else can add items and tick them off; a new member can do only that until the owner gives them more. On the circle’s page in Settings, under each person’s name, the owner switches on Edit items (change and delete items, organise groups), Manage lists (create, rename and delete the circle’s lists) and Manage people (invite and remove people). Choosing this comes with Full Fat: without it the switches are locked, and everyone keeps what they have. Only the owner can rename the circle.
  • Handing over: the owner can make someone else the owner from the menu next to their name. They stay a member who can edit items, manage lists and manage people, but renaming the circle, setting what people can do, handing over and deleting the circle pass to the new owner, who can also change what they can do or remove them.
  • Moving a list: from a list’s menu (⋮ beside it), its owner can move a personal list into the circle, if they can manage lists, and anyone who can manage lists can move a circle list out to their own personal lists. Before it moves, you’re told exactly who gains or loses it. People it’s shared with by link keep it: in the circle they can only add and tick items.
  • Leaving: choose Leave circle in Settings. You stop seeing the circle’s lists; your personal lists stay yours. The owner has to make someone else the owner first, unless they’re the only one left.

Undoing a change

After a change to a list, a message pops up at the bottom with an Undo button: ticking or unticking, adding, changing or deleting an item or a group, moving a group, and unticking everything. Choose Undo to put things back as they were, including an item moved to another group.
The message stays until your next change, until you close it with ✕, or until you leave the list (going into shopping mode keeps it). In a web browser it also stays if you reload the page.

Using it without signal

You can keep using your list without an internet connection, so a shop with no signal is fine. Your changes are kept and sent as soon as you’re back online, and you’ll get everyone else’s changes then too.
The sync symbol (a cloud) shows how it’s going:
  • Green: everything is saved.
  • Blue: your changes are being saved.
  • Amber: you’re offline, with the number of changes waiting to be sent.
  • Red: saving didn’t work. It tries again by itself, or choose the symbol to try now.
Once you’ve opened Low on Milk while online, your browser keeps a copy of it, so after that it opens and refreshes with no signal too, with your lists as you left them. Each time you open it online it picks up the latest version.
The sync symbol is at the top left, by the logo (on a small screen, at the top of the screen). Settings also has a Sync now button.

Settings and your account

On a big screen, open Settings by clicking your name at the bottom left. On a small screen, use the cog button on your lists, or the three dots at the top of a list.
  • Settings is a short menu. Account shows who you’re signed in as, lets you change your picture (one from an account you sign in with, a photo, or just your initials), shows the accounts you can sign in with (link another, or unlink one as long as you keep at least one), and is where you delete your account; Circle is where you start, run or leave a circle. The menu also shows how syncing is going. On a big screen, the menu stays on the left and the page you pick opens beside it.
  • Ad choices (under Privacy) is where you’ll choose whether adverts are based on you, once the free version shows them.
  • Under Lists, you can put the Add an item box at the bottom of the list, add new items at the bottom of their group instead of the top, and show who added each item (their initials beside it). These are just for the device you’re using.
  • Your shops picks up to 3 shops whose websites an item’s details can search for it.
  • Country says which country’s shops Your shops lists. At first it’s your device’s.
  • Appearance picks light or dark, or System to follow your device’s own setting. The choice is kept on each device separately.
  • Sign out removes your lists from this device; they’re still there when you sign in again. A guest account (joined with just a name) can’t be signed back into, so the app asks before a guest signs out.
  • Delete account (under Account) removes your account and the lists only you use, for good. Lists you share stay with the other people on them.
  • The terms of use set out the rules for using the app, and the privacy notice says what’s stored about you and why, and how the app uses your device’s storage. Both are linked at the foot of settings, on the sign-in screen and in the footer on the web. A new account ticks to agree to the terms when it’s made.

Questions and answers

  • Why haven’t my changes shown up for the others? Changes are sent within a second or two when you’re online, and everyone else gets them within about half a minute. If the sync symbol isn’t green, see Using it without signal.
  • Can I use it with no signal? Yes. Your changes are kept on your device and sent when you’re back online. See Using it without signal.
  • What if two people change the same thing? The change that reaches us last is the one kept. If something you did couldn’t be saved, a message says so, and Settings lists it under sync notices.
  • How do I share a list with my household? Share one list from its share button, or start a circle to share all of its lists at once. See Sharing a list.
  • Can the people I share with see my other lists? No. They see only the lists you share with them, and the lists of circles you’re both in.
  • How do I delete my account? In Settings, open Account and choose Delete account. Your account and the lists only you use are removed for good; lists you share stay with the other people on them.

Reporting a problem

If something isn’t working, tell us. Describe what happened, and send it. If you’re offline, the report is kept and sent when you’re back online.
Choose Report a problem in Settings, or in the bar along the bottom of the page if you’re not signed in. You can attach a picture, such as a screenshot, if it helps explain the problem.
Open What’s included on the form to see everything that’s sent with your report. Your list itself is only sent if you tick the box to include it.
For help with anything else, or if you’d rather write, email support@lowonmilk.com at any time.

Suggesting a feature

Missing something, or have an idea that would make shopping easier? Tell us; we read every suggestion. Only your idea, the app version and the kind of device are sent, never your lists. You need to be signed in to send one.