Put a walk between you and the app
In Brain Off mode, breathing and waiting do not work. Social and video stay blocked until you scan the key you stuck by the door. If the key is out of reach, you get 3 emergency unlocks a month.
The key is an off-the-shelf NFC tag (about 10 for $4) or a printed QR code. No dedicated hardware to buy.
Brain Off is on
To unlock, scan the key you left by the door.
Emergency unlock: 2 left this month
Calls, messages, maps and payments keep working
Anything on your lifeline list gets through in every mode: the call from work, the map to the restaurant, the tap at the ticket gate, tomorrow morning’s alarm.
Six are checked from the start (phone, messages, maps, wallet, alarm, calendar). You can add more.
These keep working in every mode — even in Brain Off.
You can remove one, but we will ask you twice.
Count the hours you got back, not the urges you resisted
Blocked time adds up into a weekly, monthly and all-time total, converted into books and movies. The settings screen explains exactly how it is calculated.
Day 7 and day 14 get the biggest celebrations, so it does not stop working after one week.
This week
14h 20m
That is about
How this is calculated →
Three steps to set up
- 1
Pick the apps to block
Select social and video by category in one go. Lifelines are excluded from the start.
- 2
Create one mode
Start with "Night, 22:00-7:00". Commute and work presets are ready too.
- 3
Stick the key by the door
Register the NFC tag, give it a name, and put it at least ten steps from your bed.
Frequently asked questions
- Will my messaging apps be blocked?
- No. Phone, messages (including LINE), maps, payments, alarm and calendar are on the lifeline list and always allowed - even during Brain Off mode.
- Is there a way around it?
- Yes. You can remove the restrictions from Settings > Screen Time on iPhone. We cannot close that hole, so we do not hide it: turning it off is recorded and breaks your streak.
- What do I use as the key?
- An off-the-shelf NFC tag (NTAG213 / NTAG215, about 10 for $4) or a printed QR code. We do not sell hardware. Two keys - home and office - work well.
- How much will it cost?
- The plan is 600 yen a month or 3,900 yen a year, with a 7-day free trial and no ads. Final pricing is set at launch.
- Is there an Android version?
- iOS comes first; Android comes later. Sign up for launch news and we will tell you about the Android plan too.
We will email you when it launches
One email when the iOS release date is set. No sales pitches, and you can unsubscribe any time.
Just your email address. Used only for launch news.
Latest articles
See all articles →Writing about screen time, sleep and focus - based on published surveys and statistics.
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iOS Screen Time vs App Blockers: What Each One Can Do, and Where Both Stop
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7 Ways to Cut Back on Phone Use — Change the Conditions, Not Your Willpower
Seven ways to reduce heavy phone use, ordered by how much they tend to help. Since awareness alone barely moves the hours, each one changes a condition outside yourself: where the phone sits, what prompts you, and when.
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"Just five more minutes" is how bedtime slips by an hour. What actually helps with phones at bedtime is changing where the phone sits and what can interrupt you. Here are five concrete steps, with the survey data behind them.
Getting Your Commute Back From Your Phone — Different Plans for Morning and Evening
A 30-minute commute each way is 20 hours a month. Japanese survey data on what people actually do on the train, and a 30-second routine before boarding that changes how that time gets spent.
When YouTube Shorts Won't Stop — The Settings That Help, and the Ones That Don't
YouTube has in-app tools for watch time: a Shorts feed limit, break reminders, bedtime reminders and autoplay. Here is what each one does, where they stop working, and how to layer OS-level limits on top.