# Bifocal

> Bifocal, the DBT app for iOS, is a private, offline-first DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) companion and diary card app. The name is unrelated to eyewear or opticians. Diary cards, DBT skills and progress notes live on the device and in the user's own private iCloud account, with no account, no advertising and no network connection required. Usage analytics are optional and off by default.

Bifocal is an independent iOS app built by a fellow DBT patient. It is a self-management tool for the time between therapy sessions, not a replacement for treatment or a source of medical advice.

## Key facts

- **Product name**: Bifocal: Your DBT Companion
- **Short name**: Bifocal, the DBT app for iOS (not an eyewear or optician brand)
- **Platform**: iOS
- **Category**: Health & Fitness (mental health, Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
- **Price**: Free download, optional £3.99 lifetime upgrade. One-time purchase, no subscription and no advertising.
- **Version**: 1.9.4 (checked 21 October 2026)
- **Released**: 2025-10-02
- **Developer**: Henry Lightfoot, independent developer
- **App Store ID**: 6753108675
- **App Store**: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bifocal-your-dbt-companion/id6753108675
- **Wikidata**: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141804564
- **Website**: https://bifocalapp.com
- **Language**: English
- **Content last updated**: 2026-10-21

## What Bifocal does

### DBT diary cards

One diary card per day. Emotions, urges and the skills used are recorded on a single card, and entries are timestamped and grouped by week so patterns are visible without exporting anything.

### Chain Analysis and session exports

A target behaviour can be taken apart link by link in Chain Analysis, from vulnerability factors and the prompting event through each link in the chain to the consequences. Diary cards export as a facsimile of the official DBT diary card sheet, so the page taken to a session is the layout a DBT therapist already reads.

### DBT skills and learning content

Every DBT skill is paired with learning content, including TIPP skills for high-distress moments, and all of it runs offline.

### Journal and weekly review

A journal lists diary entries, wins and skills recorded locally on the device, making it possible to review a week and notice patterns over time.

## Privacy model

- **No account**: no sign up, no email address, no profile. The app opens straight into the current diary card.
- **On-device storage**: entries are kept in a local database on the iPhone, plus the user's own private iCloud account if they choose to sync.
- **Offline-first**: diary cards, skills and past entries work with no network connection.
- **Analytics off by default**: usage analytics are opt-in and, when enabled, send anonymised signals through TelemetryDeck. No advertising and no cross-app tracking.

## FAQ

### Is Bifocal a replacement for therapy?

No. It is a self-management tool for the time between sessions. Users are expected to keep working with a clinician, and to contact their local emergency number if they are in immediate danger.

### Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign up, no email address and no profile.

### Where is my data stored?

In a local database on the iPhone as well as the user's own private iCloud account.

### Does Bifocal work offline?

Yes. Diary cards, skills and past entries all work with no network connection.

### How much does Bifocal cost?

Bifocal is free to download. Bifocal Pro is a one-off £3.99 lifetime upgrade; there is no subscription and no advertising. The App Store listing shows the current price in each country.

### Which platforms are supported?

iOS only.

## Guides

- [DBT guides index](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/): every published guide.
- [Best DBT Apps for iPhone: A Practical Comparison](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/best-dbt-apps-for-iphone/): The best DBT apps for iPhone, compared on diary cards, Chain Analysis, offline access, privacy and cost, including Bifocal, DBT Coach and DBT Pal.
- [Chain Analysis in DBT: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/dbt-chain-analysis-guide/): Chain analysis is a DBT tool for understanding what led to a problem behaviour. Learn the seven steps, how to map each link, and how to turn it into a plan.
- [DEAR MAN in DBT: How to Ask for What You Need](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/dear-man-dbt-interpersonal-effectiveness/): DEAR MAN is the DBT skill for asking for what you need. Learn each step with scripts and examples, plus when to use GIVE and FAST instead.
- [How to Build a DBT Crisis Plan (With a Skills Ladder)](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/dbt-crisis-plan-skills-ladder/): A DBT crisis plan decides which skills you use at which level of distress. Learn how to build one with a skills ladder, a template and a rehearsal routine.
- [How to Track DBT Progress: A Week-by-Week Method](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/how-to-track-dbt-progress/): A practical method for tracking DBT progress: what to record each day, which patterns to look for each week, and how to review a month of skills in 20 minutes.
- [How to Use a DBT Diary Card: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/how-to-use-dbt-diary-card/): A practical guide to the DBT diary card: what to track, how to rate emotions and urges, and how to use the card in and between therapy sessions.
- [Life Worth Living Goals in DBT: How to Set Them](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/dbt-life-worth-living-goals/): Life worth living goals give DBT skills a reason to be used. Learn what they are, how to write one, and how to use it when distress makes quitting feel easier.
- [Radical Acceptance in DBT, Explained](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/dbt-radical-acceptance-explained/): Radical acceptance means accepting reality as it is without approving of it. Learn the DBT skill, how it differs from resignation, and how to practise it.
- [The Dime Game in DBT: How Hard Should You Ask?](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/dbt-dime-game-explained/): The Dime Game is a DBT exercise for deciding how firmly to ask for something or say no. Learn the ten questions, the scoring and how to use the result.
- [TIPP in DBT: Fast Relief for Overwhelming Emotions](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/what-is-tipp-skill-dbt/): TIPP is a DBT distress tolerance skill: cold water, intense exercise, paced breathing and paired muscle relaxation. Here is how to use it when emotions spike.

## DBT skills glossary

- [DBT skills glossary](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/): every skill, grouped by the four DBT modules.
- [Mindfulness WHAT and HOW](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/mindfulness-what-and-how/): DBT mindfulness has three WHAT skills (observe, describe, participate) and three HOW skills (non-judgmentally, one-mindfully, effectively). Here is how each one works.
- [Wise Mind](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/wise-mind/): Wise Mind is the DBT state of mind that holds reasonable mind and emotion mind together. What it feels like, how to find it, and what it is not.
- [STOP](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/stop/): STOP is a DBT distress tolerance skill: Stop, Take a step back, Observe, Proceed mindfully. How to use it when an urge is about to make a decision for you.
- [ACCEPTS](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/accepts/): ACCEPTS is a DBT distress tolerance skill with nine ways to take your attention off an overwhelming moment, from Activities and Contributing to Sensations and Vacation.
- [Pros and Cons](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/pros-and-cons/): The DBT pros and cons skill compares acting on an urge with resisting it, in the short and long term. A four-cell table that gets you through a crisis without deciding by impulse.
- [Emotion regulation model](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/emotion-regulation-model/): DBT explains an emotion as a chain: vulnerability, prompting event, interpretation, body response, action urge and aftereffects. Understanding the chain shows where to intervene.
- [Check the Facts](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/check-the-facts/): Check the Facts is a DBT emotion regulation skill: name the emotion, separate the event from the interpretation, then test it against evidence before acting.
- [Opposite Action](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/opposite-action/): Opposite action means acting against an emotion's urge when the emotion does not fit the facts. Here is when it applies, when it is unsafe, and how to do it all the way.
- [ABC PLEASE](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/abc-please/): ABC PLEASE is the DBT skill for reducing vulnerability: Accumulate positives, Build mastery, Cope ahead, and PLEASE — treat illness, eat, limit mood-altering substances, sleep, exercise.
- [Cope Ahead](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/cope-ahead/): Cope Ahead is a DBT skill for rehearsing a difficult future situation in detail, including the coping skill you will use, so the plan survives when stress narrows your thinking.
- [Build Mastery](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/build-mastery/): Build Mastery is a DBT emotion regulation skill: do one thing each day that creates competence and a sense of control, starting small and increasing the difficulty.
- [GIVE and FAST](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/give-and-fast/): GIVE and FAST are DBT interpersonal effectiveness skills: GIVE keeps the relationship (Gentle, Interested, Validate, Easy manner); FAST protects self-respect (Fair, no Apologies, Stick to values, Truthful).

## Links

- [Home](https://bifocalapp.com/)
- [Features](https://bifocalapp.com/#features)
- [DBT guides](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/)
- [DBT skills glossary](https://bifocalapp.com/dbt-skills/)
- [Best DBT apps for iPhone](https://bifocalapp.com/blog/best-dbt-apps-for-iphone/)
- [About the author](https://bifocalapp.com/about/)
- [Privacy policy](https://bifocalapp.com/privacy/)
- [Support](https://bifocalapp.com/support/)
- [RSS feed](https://bifocalapp.com/rss.xml)
- [App Store listing](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bifocal-your-dbt-companion/id6753108675)
- [Wikidata item](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141804564)
- [Developer](https://henrylightfoot.co.uk)