FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Last updated: 15 October 2026
Quick answers about using Colour Within, managing subscriptions, sharing finished pages, and getting help.
-
Is there a guide to using the app?
Yes. The Colour Within app guide covers choosing an artwork, the colouring tools, the highlight and area numbers, timelapses, sharing, My Work, settings, and sending feedback.
-
What does the ad-free subscription unlock?
Colour Within is free with ads. You will see banner ads in the Library, and full-screen ads when you open an artwork or leave one you have coloured in, before you share from My Work, and sometimes when the app reopens the page you were colouring. Opening or leaving today's Daily page never shows an ad, and there are never ads while you are colouring. The ad-free subscription removes all of these ads, and that is the only difference.
To subscribe, open the Settings tab in Colour Within and tap Remove ads. You can choose a monthly or yearly plan.
- No paywalled artworks. Every page in the library is available on the free tier.
- No paywalled tools or features. Paintbrush, Pencil, Bucket Fill, Eraser, highlight styles, and timelapses with music are available to everyone.
- No paywalled tiers. There is one subscription, and it removes ads.
The free experience and the ad-free experience differ only in the absence of ads.
-
What do I need to run Colour Within?
Colour Within is iPad only and needs iPadOS 18 or later. It works in both landscape and portrait. Apple Pencil is recommended but not required, as you can colour with your finger.
The first time you open the app, it needs an internet connection to download a starter set of pages. After that, you need a connection to get new artworks, but pages you have already downloaded work offline.
-
Why did a tiny area fill in by itself?
A few areas are too small to show a number, even at full zoom. Colour Within fills these for you once you have coloured the areas around them. If you would rather find and colour them yourself, go to Settings and turn off Automatic Fill. The change takes effect the next time you open a page.
-
Can I make the area numbers bigger?
Yes. Go to Settings > Label Size. You can use your iPad's default text size or set a custom size. Numbers appear as you zoom in, so zooming in further also helps in small areas.
To keep numbers showing after you colour an area, turn on Keep area numbers visible in the highlight menu while colouring.
-
Can I change how the highlight looks?
Yes. While colouring, use the Highlight button in the toolbar to switch the border and background on or off, then tap Customise to choose their colours, line style, and pattern. You can also do this from Settings > Highlight. See the app guide for every option.
-
Can I turn off timelapses or their music?
Yes. In Settings, turn off Create Timelapse Videos to stop making timelapses, or turn off Add Music to Timelapses to make future timelapses without music. Videos you have already made do not change.
Timelapses are made on your iPad and are only shared when you choose.
-
An artwork won't open. What should I do?
If an artwork has trouble opening, Colour Within tries again by itself, then shows a message that lets you try again. Your saved progress is not deleted. If trying again does not help, email team@colourwithin.app with the artwork's name and we will help.
-
How do I manage or cancel my subscription?
Colour Within subscriptions are managed through the App Store. To cancel or change your subscription:
- Open the Settings app on your iPad.
- Tap your name at the top, then tap Subscriptions.
- Find Colour Within in the list and tap it to manage or cancel.
Alternatively, open the App Store, tap your profile icon, then tap Subscriptions.
-
How do I restore a subscription I already purchased?
If you reinstall Colour Within or switch to a new device, you can restore your subscription without being charged again:
- Open Colour Within and tap the Settings tab.
- Tap Restore Purchases, just below Remove ads.
Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple Account you used to purchase the subscription. Restoration is free and immediate if an active subscription is found. If none is found, Colour Within tells you so. On the same Apple Account, your subscription is usually recognised automatically, without needing to restore.
-
How do I delete a drawing?
To delete a colouring session from My Work:
- Open the My Work tab.
- Press and hold the drawing you want to delete until a context menu appears.
- Tap Delete and confirm when prompted.
To delete everything in My Work at once, go to Settings and tap Clear My Work. This removes every started and finished page from your iPad, but does not affect your subscription or downloaded artwork.
Deleted drawings cannot be recovered, so please make sure before confirming.
-
Can I sell prints, products, or downloads made from Colour Within pages?
No, not without written permission. Your colouring choices are yours, but the original artwork, line art, palettes, and app content remain protected.
If you want to use a Colour Within page in press, education, reviews, accessibility writing, or another context that does not fit ordinary personal sharing, contact us first at team@colourwithin.app.
-
How do I request deletion of my data?
Your drawings, colouring sessions and timelapses are stored entirely on your device and are not uploaded to any server. To delete this data:
- Delete individual drawings from the My Work tab (see above).
- Delete all of them at once with Clear My Work in Settings.
- Delete the Colour Within app from your iPad, which removes all locally stored data.
If you have concerns about data collected by third-party SDKs (Google Mobile Ads and the Google User Messaging Platform, TelemetryDeck or Meta), please contact us at team@colourwithin.app and we will assist you in submitting a data deletion request to the relevant provider.
-
The app crashed. What should I do?
Colour Within does not embed Firebase Crashlytics or any other third-party crash reporter. Crash information reaches us only if Share With App Developers is turned on (Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements → Share With App Developers). You can change this at any time. With it on, Apple shares your crash logs with us through App Store Connect. Without it, we don't see your crashes.
With the same setting on, iPadOS also lets the app send us a short summary of each crash through TelemetryDeck: the type of crash, your device model, iPadOS version and app build number. A daily report adds how often the app exited and why, and its peak memory use. It never includes your artwork, stack traces or anything you have typed. The privacy policy has the details.
Either way, if you can describe what you were doing when the crash occurred, email team@colourwithin.app with the details so we can track it down.
-
How do I report a problem or provide feedback?
Please email team@colourwithin.app with a description of the problem or feedback. Screenshots and short screen recordings are very helpful if the issue is visual. You can also tap Send Feedback in Settings, under About, to reach our support page.
If you enjoy Colour Within, a rating on the App Store helps other people find it. Tap Rate Colour Within in Settings, under About.
-
Why did Colour Within reopen the page I was colouring?
If you come back to Colour Within within four hours of leaving it, the app takes you straight back to the page you were colouring. If you close the page yourself before leaving, the app opens normally instead. On the free tier, an ad may sometimes show before the page reopens.
-
Is Colour Within available on iPhone or Mac?
Colour Within is iPad only. There are no current plans for an iPhone or Mac version, but we appreciate the interest.
Need more help?
If your question is not answered here, email team@colourwithin.app or visit the support page.