Help & Support

For help and support you can contact us by email at [email protected]

MVO — User Guide

MVO is a browse-first app for iPhone: built-in browser, favorites library, and on-device cache for media. The app has three main tabs: Browser, Favorites, and Collections. The last tab you used is restored when you reopen the app. When something is playing, a mini-player appears above the tab bar. The app uses dark mode by default and contains no third-party ads.

Favorites

The Favorites tab is your main library. It lists every favorite you have saved.

What you see in the list

Each row shows a thumbnail, title, author, and the date the favorite was added. A small icon on the right shows the cache status:

  • A dotted circle means the favorite is a link only (not yet saved to cache).
  • A document icon means the favorite has a saved page snapshot (frozen HTML from when you added it).
  • A filled down-arrow circle means the media is in cache.
  • An exclamation mark means the last cache attempt failed.

Search

Pull down or use the search field at the top. The prompt reads Search favorites. Search matches the favorite name only.

Sort order

On the main Favorites tab, items are always sorted by Recent (newest first) when you open the screen. There is no sort menu on this tab.

Toolbar

  • Settings (slider icon, top right) opens the settings sheet.
  • When Premium limits apply, a red badge shows how many free favorite slots you have left. Tap it to open the Premium sheet. See the Premium and free limits section below.

Tap a favorite

  • If the favorite has cached media, playback starts. The mini-player appears. The play queue is built from all cached favorites in the current list (respecting any search filter).
  • If the favorite has a saved page snapshot (no media, added from the Browser when no media was found), the app switches to the Browser tab and opens the frozen page from cache. The address bar shows a document icon and the favorite title (not the local file path).
  • If the favorite is a link only, the app switches to the Browser tab and opens the original page URL.

Row actions

You can open the action menu in two ways:

  • Long-press a row.
  • Swipe right on a row and tap Action (or use a full swipe).

Both show the same menu:

  • Select — enters multi-select mode and selects that row.
  • Save to cache — saves the media to your device. Only shown when the favorite is not yet in cache.
  • Try again to save to cache — shown when the previous cache attempt failed.
  • Collections — opens a sheet to add or remove this favorite from collections.
  • Edit — opens a dialog to edit the title and author. Enter the new values and tap Save.
  • Delete — removes the favorite and its cache immediately from the list.

Swipe left on a row (or use a full swipe) and tap Delete to remove the favorite.

After deleting a favorite (single or batch), a banner appears at the top of the screen for about five seconds with Undo. Tap Undo to restore the favorite(s). Swipe the banner up to confirm the deletion immediately, or wait until the banner disappears to make it permanent.

Multi-select mode

Enter multi-select by choosing Select from the action menu. While in this mode:

  • Tap rows to select or deselect them. A checkmark appears on selected rows.
  • The tab bar is hidden.
  • A bottom bar offers:
    • Done — exits multi-select and clears the selection.
    • Add to collection — opens a sheet to add all selected favorites to a collection.
    • Delete — removes all selected favorites immediately (same Undo banner as a single delete).

Saving to cache from Favorites

When you choose Save to cache or Try again to save to cache, the app first checks the URL (same preflight as when adding from the Browser):

  • Media found — a blocking overlay appears with title, URL, and progress. You can tap Cancel to stop the job. When caching completes, the favorite name and author may update from media metadata.
  • Collection detected — an alert asks whether to cache only the current media or import the entire collection (new favorites, collection tag, and batch cache jobs).
  • No media found — an alert asks whether to save the page to cache instead. If you confirm, the app loads the page in the background, saves a frozen HTML snapshot and a preview image when available, and clears the error state on the row.

If you are over the free favorite limit, the Premium sheet opens instead of starting a cache job. See Premium and free limits.

Page snapshots require a network connection to load the live page. They are not offered on cache-restricted domains.

Empty state

If you have no favorites (or search returns no results), you see No favorites yet with the message Add pages from the browser to see them here.

Collections

The Collections tab lets you group favorites into named collections (tags).

Collections list

Each row shows the collection name, a badge with the number of favorites in it (if any), and the date the collection was created.

Create a collection

Tap the + button in the top left. Enter a name in the Create a Collection dialog and tap Create. Empty names are ignored.

Sort collections

Tap the sort icon (up/down arrows) in the top right. Choose one of:

  • A-Z — alphabetical by name.
  • Z-A — reverse alphabetical.
  • Recent — newest collections first (default).
  • Oldest — oldest collections first.

Your choice is remembered the next time you open the app.

Open a collection

Tap a collection row to see all favorites in that collection. See Collection detail below.

Edit or delete a collection

  • Long-press a row and choose Edit to rename it, or Delete to remove the collection.
  • Swipe left on a row and tap Delete to remove the collection.

A top banner with Undo appears for about five seconds; tap it to restore the collection. Swipe the banner up to confirm the deletion immediately, or wait until the banner disappears to make it permanent.

Deleting a collection does not delete the favorites inside it. They stay in your library.

Empty state

If you have no collections, you see No collections yet with the message Create one with the + button.

Collection detail

When you open a collection, you see a filtered favorites list — the same layout as the Favorites tab, but only items in that collection.

Differences from the main Favorites tab:

  • The navigation title is the collection name.
  • The background is solid (no wallpaper).
  • The toolbar has a sort menu only (no Settings button).

Sort options for favorites inside a collection:

  • A-Z, Z-A, Recent, Oldest — same as elsewhere.
  • Random — shuffles the list using a saved order. Choosing Random again gives a new shuffle.

Search, row actions, multi-select, caching, and playback work the same as on the main Favorites tab.

Collections sheet (from a favorite)

When you choose Collections on a favorite, or Add to collection in multi-select mode, a sheet opens:

  • Collections (single favorite) — tap a collection to add or remove the favorite. A checkmark shows membership.
  • Add to collection (multi-select) — tap a collection to add all selected favorites to it.

Tap Cancel (top right) to close without changes.

If you have no collections yet, the sheet says No collections and Create collections in the Collections tab first.

Browser

The Browser tab is the starting point for MVO's browse-first workflow: visit sites in-app, then save pages and cache media to your library. When you reopen the app, the Browser reloads the last page you were viewing (or the cached page snapshot, if that file is still on the device). If you had cleared the page, you see the empty start screen again.

Before you load a page

When no page is loaded, an empty state shows Start browsing now and prompts you to tap the address bar to visit a site.

Browsing a page

Once a page loads, you see the web content and a loading bar at the top while the page loads. You can use the system swipe gestures to go back or forward in history.

If the page fails to load, an overlay shows Cannot connect with a Retry button.

Browser controls

Top row (left to right):

  • Back (chevron) — goes back one page in history. Disabled when there is no history. When you are viewing a cached page snapshot with no web history, Back returns to the browser home screen (bookmark grid). If you followed a link from that snapshot, Back uses WebKit history first.
  • URL bar — shows the current address. Tap it to edit with the current URL prefilled. The field reads Search or enter URL. Submit with the keyboard Go key to load a website or run a DuckDuckGo search. Editing appears in a bottom inset above the tab bar. When viewing a cached page snapshot, the top bar shows the favorite title (not the local file path) and the edit field starts empty.
  • Clear (X) — opens the same URL editor with an empty field, ready for a new address or search. Disabled when no URL is loaded.

While editing, the bottom inset shows the text field and a Cancel (X) control to close editing without navigating.

Second row:

  • Add (accent button, full width) — adds the current page to your library. See Adding a favorite from the Browser below. Disabled when no page is loaded or there is a load error.

Adding a favorite from the Browser

Tap Add on a loaded page:

  • If the page is already in your favorites, an alert says Already in favorites.
  • If you are at the free favorite limit, the Premium sheet opens. See Premium and free limits.
  • On Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, or Vimeo, an alert explains that caching is not available and asks whether to add the page as a favorite link. Tap Cancel or Yes. No media check runs on these sites. See Sites where caching isn't available.
  • On other sites, the app checks the URL for media. While checking, a loading overlay appears briefly.
  • If no media is found, an alert explains that the page will be saved to cache and added to favorites. Tap Cancel or Yes. While saving, a Saving page to cache… overlay appears. The app stores a single frozen HTML file on your device (images and CSS inlined where possible; scripts removed). Links are kept as on the original page and open normally when you tap them in the cached view. If capture fails, the favorite is still added as a link only.
  • If the URL is a collection (multi-entry page), you can choose Only one media or All the collection.
  • On success, the app switches to the Favorites tab. Caching starts automatically when the site allows it.

Settings

Open Settings from the Favorites tab toolbar (slider icon). The settings sheet opens with Done in the top right to close it.

iCloud library backup

Your favorites, collections, and browser bookmarks are automatically backed up to your iCloud account (Apple ID). If you delete the app and reinstall it, or set up a new iPhone with the same iCloud account, your library metadata comes back.

What is backed up: favorite titles, URLs, authors, collection names and membership, bookmark bar entries, playback resume positions, and cache status flags.

What is not backed up: cached media files, thumbnails, and saved page snapshots on disk. After reinstall or on a second device, favorites appear as links until you save them to cache again on that device.

iCloud sync requires you to be signed in to iCloud on the device and to have iCloud enabled for this app in Settings → Apple ID → iCloud. If you switch to a different iCloud account, the library on the device is replaced by the library tied to the new account.

In Settings → Info, the app shows Library synced with iCloud when this feature is active.

Copyright Notice

Opens the copyright page on the web.

Premium

Opens the Premium subscription sheet. Only shown when Premium is enabled in the app. See Premium and free limits.

Rate us on the App Store

Opens the App Store review page for the app. Not shown in AltStore builds.

Protect yourself, install a European VPN

Opens an external page in the system browser with information about installing a European VPN.

Playback

  • Audio only — when on, the player hides inline and fullscreen video for cached video tracks (artwork and controls only). Off by default on a fresh install. Does not change what is saved to cache.
  • Auto play next song — when on, playback continues to the next track in the queue when a song ends. When off, playback stops at the end of the current track (unless repeat is on).
  • Resume playback where you left off — when on, each favorite remembers where you stopped and resumes from that position next time. On by default on a fresh install.

Display

  • Force dark mode — when on, the app stays in dark mode.

Cleanup

Information

  • Number of favorites — total items in your library.
  • Size on disk — total cache size in megabytes (measured from cached media on device). Values load when you open this screen.

Actions

  • Clear cache — removes all cached media and marks favorites as link-only. Asks for confirmation with Cancel or Clear cache.
  • Delete all library — removes your entire library and all associated cache. Cannot be undone. Asks for confirmation with Cancel or Delete All.

Help

Opens the help page on the web.

Privacy and Terms

Opens the privacy and terms page on the web.

Our other apps

Opens the developer website.

Player and queue

When you play a favorite that has cached media, a mini-player appears above the tab bar on every tab.

Mini-player

The mini-player shows:

  • Artwork (or a placeholder icon).
  • Title and artist.
  • Play / Pause — toggles playback.
  • Next — skips to the next track. Disabled when the upcoming queue is empty and repeat is off.
  • Queue list (list icon) — opens the queue sheet.
  • A progress bar with elapsed time on the left and total duration on the right. Drag the bar to seek.

Other actions:

  • Close (X, top left) — stops playback and clears the queue.
  • Tap the title or artist area — opens the queue sheet.

For video tracks, a video preview strip appears unless Settings → Playback → Audio only is on. Tap it to open fullscreen video.

Queue sheet

Open the queue from the mini-player list button or by tapping the title.

The sheet has three sections:

  • Previously Played — tracks you already listened to in this session (dimmed).
  • Now Playing — the current track (highlighted). The list scrolls to this row when the sheet opens.
  • Upcoming — tracks still in the queue.

Actions in the queue:

  • Tap any Previously Played or Upcoming row to jump to that track.
  • Tap Now Playing to toggle play or pause.
  • Swipe to delete on an Upcoming row only — removes that track from the queue. You cannot delete past or current tracks this way.

The sticky footer at the bottom repeats the play controls and adds:

  • Shuffle — randomizes the order of upcoming tracks only.
  • Repeat — cycles through three modes:
    • Off — stops at the end of the queue.
    • Repeat All — loops the entire queue.
    • Repeat One — loops the current track. Pressing Next manually still advances to the next track.

Tap Done (top right) to close the sheet.

Fullscreen video

Tap the video strip in the mini-player to enter fullscreen. Use the system video controls for play, pause, scrubbing, and AirPlay. Swipe down to close fullscreen.

Lock screen and Control Center

When media is playing, you can control playback from the lock screen and Control Center:

  • Play, pause, next track, previous track, and scrub the timeline.

There is no Previous button in the in-app mini-player or queue — only on the lock screen and Control Center.

Premium and free limits

When Premium is enabled, the free tier allows up to 10 favorites.

Remaining slots badge

On the Favorites tab toolbar, a red number shows how many free slots you have left. Tap it to open the Premium sheet.

What happens at the limit

  • Adding a favorite — blocked when you already have 10 favorites. The Premium sheet opens. This applies when using Add in the Browser and any other add path.
  • Saving to cache — blocked when your library has more than 10 favorites. The Premium sheet opens instead of starting the cache job.
  • Adding an entire collection from the Browser — if the collection has more entries than your remaining slots, only as many as your slots allow are added.

Premium sheet

You can open the Premium sheet from:

  • The remaining slots badge on Favorites.
  • Settings → Premium.
  • Any blocked add or cache action.

The sheet title is Go Premium. If you are already subscribed, it shows Thank you instead.

The main message explains that Premium lets you grow your library beyond the free 10-favorite limit.

Inside the sheet:

  • Choose a subscription option to purchase.
  • Restore purchases — restores a previous subscription.
  • Legal links for terms and privacy.
  • Close (top right) — dismisses the sheet.

If you started an action (such as adding a favorite) and then subscribe, that action completes automatically after purchase.

When limits do not apply

In some builds (for example internal test builds or AltStore distribution), Premium may be disabled. In that case the badge, limits, and Premium menu entry are hidden.