Step 1: install and open PillPal
Install PillPal from Google Play and open it. A short setup asks what you take and when; there is no account and nothing to verify. You can skip it and add pills later from the Today tab. On an iPhone, the iPhone guide covers the same steps plus the home-screen widget.
Step 2: add the medication
Tap Add and start typing. The library suggests matches from 300+ medicines, vitamins and supplements with a short description to confirm the right one; anything missing can be typed as a custom name. Add the dosage as you know it and pick a colour so the list reads at a glance.
Step 3: choose times and days
Tap a time preset or add a custom time, add more for multi-dose pills, then choose the days: every day, weekdays, weekends or your own selection. Save, and PillPal schedules the reminders on the phone itself.
Step 4: allow notifications and check battery settings
Android 13 and later ask once for notification permission; accept it. Some manufacturers (Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus) also throttle background apps aggressively. If a reminder ever fails to arrive, open the phone's Settings, find PillPal under Apps or Battery, and set battery usage to Unrestricted so the scheduled reminder is allowed to fire.
Step 5: log each dose from the notification
When the reminder arrives, expand it in the notification shade. Taken logs the dose, Snooze brings it back in ten minutes, Skip records a deliberate miss. The Today screen updates immediately; if you tap the wrong button, undo from there.
PillPal is a reminder tool, not medical advice. Nothing here tells you what to take or how much; follow your doctor's or pharmacist's instructions.
Quick answers
Is there a home-screen widget on Android?
Not yet. The home-screen widget is iOS-only for now, showing doses left, a gold progress ring and your streak. On Android the same information lives on the Today screen and in the reminder notification itself, which carries the Taken, Snooze and Skip buttons, so nothing about logging a dose is missing; only the at-a-glance surface is.
Do reminders work if the app is closed or the phone is offline?
Yes. Reminders are scheduled with the system, so they fire with the app closed and with no internet. If a manufacturer's battery optimisation blocks them, set PillPal to Unrestricted battery use.
Does PillPal sync between my Android phone and an iPhone?
No. PillPal deliberately has no accounts and no cloud sync: your pills, schedules and dose history stay on the device. That is what lets it work fully offline with nothing to sign up for, but it also means two phones keep two separate lists. Setting the same pills up on a second phone takes about a minute each.
Try it on tomorrow's first dose
Add what you take, pick a time, and let PillPal do the remembering. Free to start, no account, works offline.
