The questions people actually ask — answered straight.

You pick the apps you want to slow down. When you open one of them, our shield appears with a brief gratitude prompt. Write something small you are grateful for, and the shield lifts for ten minutes.

You can change the locked-app list, the shield frequency, or switch to journal-only mode at any time in Settings.

The shield is designed to be a moment of intentional friction, not an unbreakable wall. iOS Focus Mode + accessibility shortcuts can bypass it; Android has similar escape hatches. We accept this — the goal is mindful interruption, not lockdown.

If you find yourself bypassing constantly, that is feedback: try Soft Lock or Journal-Only mode in Settings.

iOS: Family Controls (Screen Time API) so we can detect when you open a locked app, plus Notifications for reminders. We use only what we need and explain each prompt before it appears.

Android: Accessibility Service to detect app launches (this is the only way Android exposes that signal), Usage Stats for screen-time reporting, plus Notifications. The Accessibility Service is the most powerful permission Android has — we use it solely to detect when you open a locked app and never read screen contents.

Yes. Refusing the locking permissions drops you into Soft Lock (gentle reminder, no shield) or Journal-Only mode (write daily without a shield). Both modes have their own value proposition; neither is a degraded experience.

You can change your mind any time in Settings.

Free: ad-supported. Basic shield + journal flow.

Journal-Only: ad-free, journal-only mode, no shield.

Full Lock: ad-free, full shield + journal.

Premium: everything in Full Lock plus weekly AI reflections, mood slider, and quarterly PDF export.

All paid tiers include a 7-day free trial.

Apple: Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → Gratitude Lock → Cancel.

Google: Play Store → Profile → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → Gratitude Lock → Cancel.

We cannot cancel on your behalf — Apple and Google control the subscription lifecycle.

No. Entries are encrypted on your device with a key that never leaves the device. We store ciphertext we have no key to. See the Privacy Policy for the full server-blind-encryption explanation.

In the app: Settings → Privacy → Export my data (we email you a download link within 72 hours) or Delete my account (immediate flag, hard-delete in 7 days, reversible from a confirmation email during that window).