I'm obsessive about my phone, and those who are paying the bill are my two babies. When I get off work, I spend time with them, but the phone is glued to my hand. I'll catch myself looking up and I haven't been connecting with them at all. I'm getting better.
So I experimented with everything, including what all the usual advice on reddit says:
- Screen Time with passcode. This worked for several days. But I created the passcode so I knew it and I just typed in the passcode and unlocked. Nearly all of the iPhone blocker apps are built on top of Screen Time so they suffer the same problem. Screen Time can also be circumvented by a few tricks that I won't go into here.
- Handing over your passcode to a friend. Works, but sometimes I actually do need an app, say a web browser, and I can't keep bothering someone every time I need it locked or unlocked.
- A physical time-lock box. Yeah, this one actually does work, and I would recommend it. Just not if you need your phone - authenticator, phone calls, alarm, maps, banking apps, mobile wallet.
Next I discovered Assistive Access, which is built into iOS and substitutes the home screen with just the apps you select. Believe me, you'll end up so bored by your phone you won't want to use it. However, this method has the same flaw: it has its own passcode, and if you know it, you can get out of it.
But Assistive Access is cruel in one respect. When you create the passcode, it offers to add a recovery Apple Account. If you pass on that, and you don't remember the passcode, there is no freakin way out. Your only escape hatch is erasing your phone and restoring everything, and you do not want to do that.
So the fix: don't know the passcode.
Honestly, you don't need my app for this. Let a friend or your partner set the Assistive Access passcode for you, skip the recovery account, and you're done. If that works for you, great.
I wanted to get this done myself every time, on demand, without relying on someone. However you do it I am sure you will like it. This is the only thing that has worked for me and I am reclaiming my evenings.
That's what Screen Fasting does:
1. Select the duration of your fast.
2. We create a 4 digit passcode, you type it in as a 14-15 digit sequence with fake outs and deletes. Once setup is complete, you can't remember what you actually typed.
3. Until the time you selected runs out, there is no way back. When it does, we send you the passcode by email.
So don't just click everything when selecting your allowed apps. Leave Phone, Messages and any others you'll need if anything happens.
For iPhone/iPad only, iOS 17+ We have to keep the passcode so we can send it back to you when your fast ends.
Note: this is just the Assistive Access passcode, not the passcode on your iPhone or Apple ID password. It is only an Assistive Access specific passcode, which means it cannot be used to unlock your phone or access your data.
Any feedback for me, particularly in the setup flow: where did you get stuck & wanted to quit?
Hi HN,
I'm obsessive about my phone, and those who are paying the bill are my two babies. When I get off work, I spend time with them, but the phone is glued to my hand. I'll catch myself looking up and I haven't been connecting with them at all. I'm getting better.
So I experimented with everything, including what all the usual advice on reddit says:
- Screen Time with passcode. This worked for several days. But I created the passcode so I knew it and I just typed in the passcode and unlocked. Nearly all of the iPhone blocker apps are built on top of Screen Time so they suffer the same problem. Screen Time can also be circumvented by a few tricks that I won't go into here.
- Handing over your passcode to a friend. Works, but sometimes I actually do need an app, say a web browser, and I can't keep bothering someone every time I need it locked or unlocked.
- A physical time-lock box. Yeah, this one actually does work, and I would recommend it. Just not if you need your phone - authenticator, phone calls, alarm, maps, banking apps, mobile wallet.
Next I discovered Assistive Access, which is built into iOS and substitutes the home screen with just the apps you select. Believe me, you'll end up so bored by your phone you won't want to use it. However, this method has the same flaw: it has its own passcode, and if you know it, you can get out of it.
But Assistive Access is cruel in one respect. When you create the passcode, it offers to add a recovery Apple Account. If you pass on that, and you don't remember the passcode, there is no freakin way out. Your only escape hatch is erasing your phone and restoring everything, and you do not want to do that.
So the fix: don't know the passcode.
Honestly, you don't need my app for this. Let a friend or your partner set the Assistive Access passcode for you, skip the recovery account, and you're done. If that works for you, great.
I wanted to get this done myself every time, on demand, without relying on someone. However you do it I am sure you will like it. This is the only thing that has worked for me and I am reclaiming my evenings.
That's what Screen Fasting does:
1. Select the duration of your fast.
2. We create a 4 digit passcode, you type it in as a 14-15 digit sequence with fake outs and deletes. Once setup is complete, you can't remember what you actually typed.
3. Until the time you selected runs out, there is no way back. When it does, we send you the passcode by email.
So don't just click everything when selecting your allowed apps. Leave Phone, Messages and any others you'll need if anything happens.
For iPhone/iPad only, iOS 17+ We have to keep the passcode so we can send it back to you when your fast ends.
Note: this is just the Assistive Access passcode, not the passcode on your iPhone or Apple ID password. It is only an Assistive Access specific passcode, which means it cannot be used to unlock your phone or access your data.
Any feedback for me, particularly in the setup flow: where did you get stuck & wanted to quit?