Habits run on cues
Much of what we repeat is triggered by context (a time, a place, a feeling, the thing we just did) more than by a fresh decision each time. That is why the questions ask what usually comes before, and when: the cue is the most useful place to change something.
Wood, W. & Neal, D. T. (2007). A new look at habits and the habit–goal interface. Psychological Review, 114(4), 843–863.
Change takes weeks, not days, and a missed day is fine
In a study of people building a new daily habit, it took a median of 66 days for the behaviour to feel automatic, with a wide range (18 to 254 days). Missing a single day did not meaningfully set people back. So the app talks about weeks and trends, and treats a hard day as information.
Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W. & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009.
If-then plans
Deciding in advance what you will do when a specific situation arises ("if it's 9 pm and I reach for my phone, I'll put it on the charger in the kitchen") reliably helps people follow through. A meta-analysis of 94 studies found a medium-to-large effect. Your move for a moment is an if-then plan.
Gollwitzer, P. M. & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.
Urges rise and fall
"Urge surfing" means noticing a craving as a wave in the body that builds, peaks and fades, rather than fighting it or giving in. In a study of student smokers, those taught a brief version smoked fewer cigarettes over the following week than those who weren't. The ride-it-out flow is built on it.
Bowen, S. & Marlatt, A. (2009). Surfing the urge: Brief mindfulness-based intervention for college student smokers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(4), 666–671.
Help at the moment it's needed
Support that arrives when someone is most at risk, and holds back when they aren't, is the idea behind "just-in-time adaptive interventions". It is why nudges aim for a few minutes before your usual window, why there is a daily limit, and why the app stays quiet when it isn't sure.
Nahum-Shani, I. et al. (2018). Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) in mobile health: Key components and design principles for ongoing health behavior support. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 52(6), 446–462.
Noticing is part of the work
Keeping track of progress toward a goal helps people reach it, more so when the record is written down. A log takes a few taps, and the check-in is one, because the noticing matters more than the detail.
Harkin, B. et al. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198–229.
A slip is not a verdict
Treating one lapse as proof that you've failed makes the next one more likely, and being kind to yourself after a setback makes it less likely. So the app never shames, never counts a slip against you, and asks what happened instead.
Marlatt, G. A. & Gordon, J. R. (Eds.) (1985). Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors. Guilford Press. · Wohl, M. J. A., Pychyl, T. A. & Bennett, S. H. (2010). I forgive myself, now I can study. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(7), 803–808.
What this is not
UnloopMe hasn't been tested in a clinical trial, and it isn't a treatment. The patterns it shows are estimates from what you log, and they say how sure they are. If a habit is harming your health, your money or your safety, a doctor or a specialist service can offer far more than an app can.