A calm, privacy-first discipline companion that protects your sleep, your mornings, and your intentions. Block distracting apps, complete intentional bedtime rituals, and wake up with active missions.
Take a Break acts as a mindful buffer for your device, giving your brain the breathing room it needs to focus and rest.
Break the loop of late-night doomscrolling. Give your mind a dedicated screen-free window to decompress and recover.
Reclaim your attention span. Automatically lock distracting apps during key work blocks so you can focus without constant alerts.
Establish healthy circadian boundaries. Bedtime wind-down habits ensure you stay offline before sleeping.
Re-engage with the physical world. Trade screen minutes for step tracking, hobbies, and authentic focus.
Take a Break closes the loop on screen discipline by connecting bedtime intentions with morning accountability.
Set your sleep window and complete a bedtime mission (reflecting, journaling, or charging your device) to prepare for rest.
Once sleep mode is active, the app locks your selected distracting apps. Essential calling functions remain fully accessible.
When alarms trigger, they keep notifying until you complete a wake mission—such as solving math puzzles or scanning a remote QR code.
Honoring your boundaries earns time in your Time Bank. Spend them on breaks or walk steps to mint new active time.
See how circadian accountability is changing screen time routines.
"I used to spend hours doomscrolling in bed. Now, Take a Break locks my distracting apps automatically at 10:30 PM and forces me to scan a QR code in my bathroom to unlock them the next morning. My screen time is down 40% and I'm actually sleeping."
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Everything you need to know about app-locking, permissions, and device privacy.
We use Apple's native Screen Time and Family Controls APIs to restrict access to your selected distracting apps during active schedules. This blocking engine is 100% on-device and offline, meaning we lock your apps—NEVER your phone itself. You can still make emergency phone calls and access critical tools.
Yes, completely. Privacy is a core design principle of Take a Break. All app selection, locking metrics, and logs are kept 100% locally on-device. We adhere to a strict "Data Not Collected" policy; your screen time activity, photos, and personal information never leave your device.
For every minute you successfully spend focus-scheduled or sleep-locked, you earn 1 minute in your Time Bank. You can spend these minutes to check apps early (at a 2:1 cost). If your bank is empty, you can walk steps (500 steps = 10 minutes) or wait out an escalating cooldown timer to restore focus access.
Version 1.2 introduces bidirectional sleep and wake accountability. In the evening, you must complete a wind-down mission (like journaling or a reflection) to arm sleep mode. In the morning, you must complete a wake-up mission (solving math problems, scanning a barcode, or completing physical movements) to prove you're up and restore normal device access.
Yes. Take a Break schedules alarms via local iOS notifications. Please note that iOS notifications are silenceable if your device is muted or on focus modes, so we never claim they cannot be silenced—instead, our system relies on pre-alarm commitment locks and morning missions to support your discipline.