Camera Heart Rate

Camera Heart Rate is a free app that lets you measure your heart rate using the phone camera

Camera Heart Rate does not require an account and stores data only locally. The app integrates with Health so that you can push your heart rate data to the Health app if you prefer to keep your data in a centralized place or share it with other apps 

> When should you measure and why?

Measuring your heart rate first thing in the morning, you can obtain useful insights on your health and fitness. ​For example, your resting heart rate will reduce with increased fitness over periods of weeks or months. On the other hand, your resting heart rate can be a bit higher on a day to day basis if you are more stressed or getting sick

A simple measurement of your resting heart rate can help you better understand how you are responding to various stressors, so that you can potentially adjust your lifestyle accordingly

> How does Camera Heart Rate work?

Camera Heart Rate uses a technique called photoplethysmography (PPG for short), which consists in detecting changes in blood volume during a cardiac cycle, by illuminating the skin and measuring changes in light absorption. PPG has become quite a popular non-invasive method for extracting physiological measurements such as heart rate

> Is my data safe and how can I export it?

You can export your data using Dropbox or email. You can also link Camera Heart Rate with the Health app to push your measurements to Health in case you'd like to keep your data in a centralized place or share it with other apps

> Which phones are supported?

All iPhones from the 4S onward are supported

> How accurate is Camera Heart Rate?

Camera Heart Rate is powered by HRV4Training, the first validated camera-based heart rate variability (HRV) app. You can find our validated paper here: https://www.hrv4training.com/publications.html 

You can learn more at cameraheartrate.com