Send a WhatsApp message for me
iOSThere is no API to send on the user's behalf.
NiaIt resolves the contact, writes the text and opens the conversation. You press send, and the card says "ready to send", never "sent".
Honesty
What iOS will not allow
This page exists because the alternative is you finding out on day one. Each row says what you would want, why iOS does not allow it, and what Nia does instead.
The rule that governs all of this.
If something cannot be done all the way, the answer is "I cannot do that on the iPhone, but I can leave it ready for you in X". Never a "done" that is not true.
Messages and calls
Send a text on its own
iOSMessages always requires the user to press send.
NiaIt opens the composer with the recipient and the text already in.
Place a call without confirmation
iOSiOS puts its own confirmation on any call an app starts.
NiaIt resolves the contact and starts the call; you confirm.
Know who "mum" is
iOSThere is no family relationship API for apps that are not Apple.
NiaIt matches the word against names and nicknames in your address book; if in doubt, it asks which one.
Voice
Make "Hey Nia" work with the app closed
iOS"Hey Siri" does not run in iOS: it runs on a coprocessor of the chip that no app can use. And iOS never relaunches for audio an app you closed by hand.
NiaIt does not pretend. The doors that do open with the phone locked are Siri, the Action button, Control Center and Shortcuts.
A wake word cheap enough to leave on
iOSA dedicated engine needs a paid license and a model trained in the vendor's console.
NiaAn energy gate measures every chunk and only hands the recogniser what might be a voice. On iOS 26 it uses the new recogniser, built for audio that never stops.
A wake word in a language the device cannot recognize
iOSiOS only ships offline recognition for some languages, and for the rest the audio would have to leave the phone just to hear one word.
NiaThe switch stays off with the reason written next to it. Audio never leaves the phone just to detect the phrase, in any language.
Never lose the microphone
iOSA call, an alarm, Siri or another app recording will take it.
NiaIt lets go cleanly, asks for it again with retries, and meanwhile shows "paused" with the reason, never "listening".
Automating
Create an iOS Shortcut
iOSThere is no public API; the private one is grounds for App Store rejection.
NiaIt writes the Shortcut file itself, signs it and opens Apple's import sheet. Until you press Add, it does not exist, and the card says so.
Schedule a Shortcut for a time
iOSA Shortcut file carries actions, not triggers. Automations are created by hand and no API reaches them.
NiaIt never says a shortcut is scheduled. A phrase trigger is a Nia skill; a clock trigger is a Nia routine.
Check that a Shortcut of yours exists
iOSNothing allows listing the user's shortcuts.
NiaIt answers that it cannot verify it, and is forbidden from saying it is ready. The real check happens on the first run.
Run a routine to the exact second with the phone asleep
iOSiOS hands out background time when it sees fit.
NiaA local notification at that time, the action runs when you tap it, and a server push as a safety net.
Data and apps
Read the screen or the clipboard on its own
iOSThere is no screen reading, and the clipboard has warned since iOS 16.
NiaOnly when you ask ("reply to this message"), reading the clipboard once.
Play inside Spotify or YouTube Music
iOSNeither of them exposes playback to another app.
NiaIt resolves the exact song and opens that service on it. The result says which app it opened, never that it is playing.
Turn by turn navigation inside Nia
iOSNeither MapKit nor any other app lets a second one draw or drive a live route.
NiaIt says how long it takes and opens Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps on the route. It never reads the way out loud.
Opening hours and ratings when finding places
iOSMapKit search exposes neither of the two.
NiaIt returns the places and says which filter it could not apply, instead of inventing that they are open.
Invite somebody to a calendar event
iOSEventKit's attendee list is read only.
NiaThe proposal travels to the group and the event is created by the phone of whoever accepts, with EventKit. Nothing is ever written into somebody else's calendar.
Know which of your contacts use Nia
iOSThere is no API, and uploading an "anonymized" address book protects nothing: the whole number space is walked in minutes.
NiaThe address book never leaves the phone. Inviting is a single use code written into WhatsApp or Messages.
Subtasks, tags and smart lists in Reminders
iOSNone of that is in EventKit: Apple's own app gets there through a private route.
NiaIt offers what EventKit exposes, meaning title, notes, link, priority, date, alarms, recurrence, list and completion, and promises nothing more.
Delete a photo it has just saved
iOSDeleting needs full access and always shows the system confirmation.
NiaImage cards carry no undo: Nia tells you where the image is.
Questions
Questions about the limits
Is Nia always listening?
No. The wake word "Hey Nia" is switched on by hand in Settings, with its battery warning, and it only works with the app open or with background audio mode on. With the app closed, Nia does not listen, and that is not a fault: iOS does not allow it to any app other than Siri. While it is listening, the orange microphone indicator is on, as it should be.
Can Nia send a WhatsApp message for me?
It leaves it written and open, and you press send. That is not a decision Nia makes: iOS gives no app a way to send a WhatsApp message, send a text or make a call on your behalf. Nia resolves the contact in your address book, writes the message and opens the app on the right conversation. It will never tell you it has sent it.
Can Nia delete photos from my camera roll?
Not on its own. iOS requires its own confirmation prompt every time an app wants to delete something from the camera roll, so Nia does not do it without you: it tells you where the image is and you delete it yourself from Photos. What it does delete without asking is what you do not want inside the image, which is another matter.
Is there an Android or web version?
No. Nia is an iPhone app and half of what it does, meaning EventKit, HomeKit, AlarmKit, PhotoKit, Shortcuts and Health, is iOS. A version that could not touch any of that would not be Nia.
And even with all of that, it does 63 things
The ones iOS allows, done to the end. The ones it does not, said to your face.
Free to start. Requires iOS 18. In English and Spanish.