We’ve been taught for years on iOS you swipe right to go back and you only swipe down to dismiss bottom sheets/pop-overs that have a bar at the top.
I don’t understand the reasoning behind this interaction decision. It’s just frustrating having to reset muscle memory just for Clear…
You’ll get used to this. Clear has its own little way of navigating, and aside from a poor starting implementation here and there it doesn’t take long to not confuse it with other apps (and wish other apps were as easy as Clear). There’s also the invisible back button down at the bottom, which is what I use. If that weren’t there then yeah the swipe down/pinch might be pretty cumbersome as the only option.
Nah, I don’t want to get “used to it”. Swipe right is a universal back navigation. Why are they actively avoiding it. It’s likely intentionally being obtuse. The “invisible” back button should be optional on top of this convention
Many apps use cards that you swipe down to dismiss. Apple Podcasts does this. Anyway, no interest in arguing, but I highly doubt what you’re seeking will ever be a thing in Clear.
I already acknowledged this
Please read before you reply with this kind of exasperated tone. The screens in Clear are not cards or sheets. They’re full pages. This has been the interaction pattern for years and Clear is ignoring this in favour of its own patterns.
We have tested edge swipe to go back a couple times over the years (internally) and we keep running into the same frustrations with it.
It’s just not 100% reliably consistent. When testing there are times I will accidentally swipe a row instead of going back, and this is more annoying in Clear’s context where it immediately checks something off and shuttles to the bottom of the list.
Also more subjective, but to me the gesture doesn’t feel great… like the corners are sharp, or if your phone has a case it seems to exacerbate the first issue too and is inconsistent to trigger.
It’s still possible we will revisit and reconsider this in the future, but if we did, I think it would have to be an opt-in setting.
Agree 100%, Phill. The back button is great anyway.
I do really miss the pinch to go back from the classic days. It would fold the whole page down in the middle to reveal the level up page. Whatever happened to this?
Pinch shut to exit is still an active gesture, let me know if it is not triggering for you, that would be a bug that we should fix.
If you’re specifically asking about the animation, we just dropped the folding analogy in general with 2.0, I would say because it fits in with certain interactions but not the whole, and prefer something that is more consistent through the app.
I returned to Clear a few months ago and I didn’t even know about that pinch-to-exit functionality – I love it! So much better than the two alternatives.
It reminds me how important is for you folks to prioritize on-boarding and user manual videos and/or text – I really feel they will help you grow the app and also appease confused users and reviewers.
Also I suggest you respond immediately to those App Store one-star reviewers as many of them quickly give up in frustration, unnecessarily. A daily effort in that direction will also no doubt keep your AppStore rating high…ergo more Clear subs and a sustainable app.
Thanks for Clear, I cannot tell you how much I like using it every day, and how much it helps my attention-challenged brain.
Edge to edge swipe did work in Clear for years. I used it daily, did not injured my fingers 
and as I already mentioned I still miss it. I would pay for it! Like to see it as opt in feature.
Agree!
But then that begs the question why is the complete action a swipe right? Other apps have also successfully implemented short and long swipes left. It would free up the swipe back. I swear it was there before.
Yeah, this was real good and a very good re-inforcement of the interaction.
I would say Clear weighs things a little differently than most apps, like it prizes being very focused/distraction-free while listing, and making checking off and clearing away things extra satisfying.
The edge-swiping was added later in 1.x during a period where Realmac was updating it themselves. But if I remember correctly it was followed up quickly with a setting and making it opt-in after complaints from accidental triggers. (And for what it’s worth I believe it would side swipe between your lists, and not exit to the previous level.)
That’s not to say we haven’t made mistakes ourselves in design changes or new additions! But it really makes me want to figure out a version that could somehow sidestep the accidents if we add similar functionality back.
The recent changes to navigation gestures have been difficult to adapt to. I recall questioning why the pinching gesture no longer produces a folding effect; unfortunately, the explanation I received was unsatisfactory. Although I’ve continued using the app, the lack of that visual feedback has significantly dampened my experience. I find myself using the app less frequently, perhaps because the joyful aspect has diminished, leaving it feeling more serious and practical. Still captivating, yet perhaps a bit less enjoyable?
I so rarely use the pinch gesture I didn’t even notice the change in animation. I like that the gesture exists but at this point there are three back gestures and to me pinch, while cool, is the least efficient. Everyone’s different though.