Holding
a key.
Somebody wants to block apps on their own phone, and wants you to say yes or no when they ask.
The whole job
They ask. You tap yes or no. About five seconds.
Nothing is blocked until you have read what you are agreeing to and tapped yes.
Will I be pestered?
Only one ask can be waiting at a time. Tapping again sends the same ask, and a new one cannot start until the last is answered or has run out.
Most of it is designed never to reach you. Under the ask button there is a plain way to close the screen without sending anything. Somebody seeing your name and deciding it is not worth the message is the point of this app, more than the block is.
Will I be woken at three in the morning?
No. Nothing is sent to you between 10pm and 7am, in your own time zone. It is on from the moment you accept, with no form to fill in.
Can I see their phone?
No, and there is no setting that would let you. Almost none of it reaches the app at all.
What you see
- What they asked for
- The reason they typed
- How long they asked for
- Whether their phone is still checking in
- If it goes quiet for a day and a half, or the app is deleted and put back
- If they use a way out, and if the key is ending
What you never see
- Where they are
- Their messages
- Their browsing
- Which apps and sites they picked. Apple seals those even from the app
- How long they spend on anything
- Their other blocks, or who else holds a key
What if I do not answer?
A block opens on its own eight hours after they ask. Nobody is stuck because you were in a meeting, and not answering is not something you have to explain.
So an ask made at three in the morning reaches you at seven, and has opened by eleven whether you got to it or not.
What if I want to stop?
They can stand you down whenever they like. It takes 24 hours and you are told, so a key never quietly stops working.
You can give one key back on its own. Their block stays exactly as it is and nothing on their phone unlocks; they are told when nobody is left holding it. Nothing to write, nothing to explain.
What does it cost me?
Nothing, ever. No account, no password, no card, no email address. The person being blocked pays for the app; holding their key is free.
What you are actually promising
Not that they cannot get round it. Anybody can delete an app, and deleting this one takes the block with it. The promise is that they cannot do it quietly: their phone stops checking in, and you are told.
You are told a fact, never what it might mean.