HOW IT WORKS

A 30-second pause between you and the scroll.

Gratitude Lock uses your phone's own screen-time APIs — the same ones Apple and Google built for this. Your usage never leaves your device. Here's the four-step flow, plus every permission it asks for and why.

01 · Pick the apps to lock

Any combination of social and entertainment apps. iOS uses Apple's Family Controls / Screen Time framework. Android uses Usage Access with an overlay — fully disclosed on first install, per Play Store policy.

02 · Set your unlock window

Choose how long an unlock lasts: until the screen sleeps, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or until 11 PM tonight. You set the window. We don't default you into anything designed to bring you back.

03 · Write the moment

Tap to open a locked app. A paper card slides up instead. Two short fields: "I am grateful for…" and "because…". The "because" is required — that's what turns a thank-you reflex into something you actually remember.

04 · Unlock, then get on with it

The lock lifts. Use the app for as long as you said. The entry lands in a journal you can search, revisit, or export to PDF. That's it.

PERMISSIONS, PLAINLY

Screen Time (iOS)

Family Controls authorization lets us put a shield in front of the apps you chose. Apple keeps the usage data on your device. We don't see which apps you open — only that you asked for an unlock.

Usage Access (Android)

We use PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS to know when a locked app launches, plus an overlay permission to show the gratitude card. Both are disclosed on the install screen, per Play Store policy.

Notifications

Optional. One gentle nudge at 9 PM if you want one. Turn it off in onboarding or settings — no dark patterns, no re-prompts.

No tracking SDKs

No Facebook SDK, no Adjust, no AppsFlyer, no Mixpanel. We collect anonymous crash reports through Sentry. Nothing else leaves your phone unless you choose to back up entries to your own iCloud or Google Drive.