New · iOS Companion/TestFlight beta

iPhone companion.
Score from anywhere.

Sightline Companion turns your iPhone into a silent, internet-free remote for the Mac app. Score intervals, mark targets, and log ABC events from across the room. The Mac stays the system of record. Tethered scoring goes straight to it; untethered observations wait on the phone until their local transfer is confirmed.

Join the TestFlight →Requires Sightline on macOS · Bluetooth LE
  • Haptic-only · no sounds or banners
  • No internet, no server in the path
  • iOS 17+ · macOS 13+ · Bluetooth LE
9:41􀟝􀛭
Connected · Session active
Interval Scoring
Interval07 / 20
Elapsed 03:30:30 / interval
Tap to mark · Hold to capture note
Score
ABC
Voice
Paired with
MacBook Pro · Session owner
Link Scope

The phone and the Mac are your own devices, paired directly over Bluetooth. No server sits between them, and the Mac stays the system of record.

Why a companion

Observation doesn't always happen at a desk.

01

Heads-up from anywhere in the room.

Stand near the student. Sit at the back. Follow a recess movement. In a tethered session, the phone runs the interval clock, target buttons, and ABC keys while the Mac writes the record. In an untethered observation, the phone writes and retains the local journal until it reunites with the Mac and the Mac confirms transfer.

02

Silent by design.

Haptic feedback only: no clicks, chimes, or banner pop-ups. Notifications are globally suppressed during an active session. Your phone is invisible to the student and the adults around them.

03

Voice notes without cloud transcription.

In a tethered session, audio streams over L2CAP to the Mac's local Whisper sidecar. During an untethered observation, it stays on the phone until its encrypted local transfer to the Mac. No cloud transcription, no ambient mic activation.

Three companion modes

Matched to the recording method on the Mac.

Switch modes on the phone follows the session configuration on the Mac. No menu-diving, no method mismatch.

Interval

Partial, whole, or momentary. The phone drives the interval clock with haptic boundaries and fat-finger target buttons scaled for gloves or cold rooms.

  • 20-interval raster preview
  • Haptic at every boundary
  • Long-press to append interval note
ABC

ABC

Three columns of tag chips (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence) pre-loaded from the Mac's per-student tag set. Tap a chip in each column; the Mac assembles the chain.

  • Recent-chain shortcut (tap to repeat)
  • Free-text consequence via dictation
  • Works paired with interval timing

Voice notes

Hold the mic button to record. In a tethered session, audio streams to the Mac over the encrypted local link and is transcribed promptly. In an untethered observation, the phone retains captured audio with the local journal until reunion and confirmed transfer, then the Mac transcribes it locally.

  • Tethered: encrypted BLE L2CAP stream
  • Untethered: retained until confirmed transfer
  • Transcription runs on the Mac, not cloud
  • Auto-stops on release or 2-min cap
Setup

Pair once. The rest is invisible.

Setup takes under a minute. Once paired, the phone wakes into your active session automatically. No menus, no re-entering device IDs.

  1. 1

    Open Sightline on Mac · Settings → Companion

    Click Start pairing. The Mac begins advertising a short-lived pairing code.

  2. 2

    Install Sightline Companion on iPhone

    TestFlight link lands in your beta invite email. Tap the code shown on your Mac and confirm. Bluetooth handles the rest.

  3. 3

    Start a session on the Mac · the phone follows

    The companion wakes automatically into whatever recording method you configured. Close the session on the Mac and the phone returns to idle.

Privacy manifest

Companion sends no observation data to Sightline.

Companion has no vendor backend and its observation workflow stays on your paired devices. During the TestFlight beta, Apple may provide crash diagnostics and tester-submitted feedback with device and build metadata.

  • Observation data Companion sendsNone
  • Tracking & third-party SDKsNone
  • Network requestsNone outside local BLE
  • MicrophoneOn user tap only · local transfer to Mac
  • Location, Photos, ContactsNever requested
Full privacy architecture →
Common questions

What schools ask us first.

Do I need the Mac app to use Companion?

Yes. Companion works only with a paired Sightline Mac. In tethered mode, it scores the active Mac session. For an untethered observation, you first send the setup from the Mac; the phone stores the session locally until it reunites with the Mac and the Mac confirms transfer.

Does it work without Wi-Fi?

Bluetooth LE only. No Wi-Fi, no cellular data used. If both devices are on airplane mode with Bluetooth enabled, the pair still works.

Is this on the App Store?

Currently in closed TestFlight beta alongside the Mac app beta. Public App Store release follows the first Mac 1.0 GA.

Does it drain my phone battery?

Screen-off BLE draw is negligible. Expect ~3–5% per hour of active session with screen on, <1% per hour with the phone locked and the link running in the background.

Can my district's MDM approve it without a data agreement?

Requirements vary by district. Companion sends no observation data to Sightline or another vendor server, and its privacy manifest declares no developer data collection or tracking. Your district's procurement or MDM team decides whether an agreement or approval is required.

TestFlight

Pocket-sized remote.
Classroom-grade rigor.

The companion is included free with every Sightline beta. One join form, both platforms.

Request beta access →

iPhone · iOS 17+ · macOS 13+ · Bluetooth LE