Pause: Screen Time & Focus

Use your phone on purpose.

Pause is a calm screen-time companion. Instead of locking you out or making you feel guilty, it gives you a gentle moment of awareness each time you open an app you want to use less.

"You opened Instagram 7 times today. Take a moment before continuing."

Then the choice is yours: continue, or go back.

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A GENTLE CHECK-IN, NOT A LOCK
Choose the apps that pull you in most — Instagram, YouTube, games, browsers — and mark them as Guarded. Each time you open one, Pause shows a short check-in with how many times you've opened it today. You can always continue. The goal is noticing, not punishing.

SEE HOW OFTEN YOU REALLY OPEN AN APP
Time spent is only half the story. Pause counts how many times you open each guarded app every day, so you can spot the habit of reaching for your phone without thinking.

DAILY LIMITS YOU CHOOSE
Set a daily limit for each guarded app, like 45 minutes for Instagram. See at a glance how much time you have left, and change limits anytime.

FOCUS SESSIONS
Need to study or work? Start a Pause session and your chosen apps stay closed until the timer ends. End it early whenever you need to.

SLEEP WINDOW
Set a nightly window, like 11 PM to 7 AM, and guarded apps stay closed while you wind down. Alarms and calls still come through.

INSIGHTS WITHOUT THE GUILT
- Today's screen time and progress toward your daily goal
- Weekly trends and comparisons with last week
- Your most-used apps and how often you open them
- Simple observations about when you use your phone most

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WHY PAUSE IS DIFFERENT
Most screen-time apps treat you like you need to be controlled. Pause treats you like an adult. A calm reminder at the right moment is often all it takes to put the phone down — and when it isn't, you're still in charge.

- Free, with no ads
- No account or sign-up needed
- Your usage data stays on your device

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PERMISSIONS, EXPLAINED
Pause needs a few permissions to work. We only use them for the features described here:

- Usage access — to measure screen time and count how often you open guarded apps
- Display over other apps — to show the check-in when you open a guarded app
- Notifications — to show your active focus session and daily summaries
- Background running — so check-ins, limits and your sleep window work reliably

On some phones (Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo and others), battery optimization can stop Pause from working in the background. The app will guide you through allowing it.

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Pause is built for people who want a healthier relationship with their phone — not a stricter one.

Take a moment. Then decide.