How Pausely works
Pausely puts a small speed bump between you and the apps that eat your day.
You choose the apps you would rather use less. After that, tapping one of them does not open it straight away — Pausely stands in front of it first with a short pause: a breath, a sentence to type, or a question about why you are opening it. If you still want to go in, you can, for a timed window. When the window ends, the pause comes back.
The point is not to lock you out. It is to turn an automatic, thumb-driven habit into a decision you actually make. Given ten seconds to think, most people close the app instead — and Pausely counts that as a win.
- ProtectionOne switch. While it is on, your chosen apps show Pausely's calm block screen instead of opening.
- Three pausesA breathing exercise, a typing challenge, or naming your intention. Setup picks the one that fits you; you can change it any time.
- RulesProtect certain apps at certain hours — a bedtime, a working day — with their own pause and their own window. A rule can also block completely until its hours are over.
- Strict modeHold yourself to it for an hour, a day, or until a time you choose. While it runs, protection cannot be switched off and rules cannot be deleted — not even by you.
- Alternatives and journalUp to three healthy alternatives appear on the pause screen as a third way out, and there is a journal for the times you would rather write than scroll.
- ProgressPauses kept, time reclaimed, your streak and a weekly chart — plus Home Screen widgets and a Lock Screen countdown while a window is open.
- The AI reflection, if you want itOff until you switch it on. It turns "why are you opening this?" into a short exchange, and writes a weekly note about your week. It is the one part of Pausely that uses the network — see Privacy.
Requirements
| Device | iPhone or iPad running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or newer. One app, one layout, both devices. |
|---|---|
| Permission | Screen Time access, granted once during setup through Apple's own prompt. Pausely uses Apple's Screen Time framework — the same system behind iOS's built-in app limits — and Apple, not Pausely, is what actually blocks an app. |
| Account | None. There is no sign-up, no email field and no password anywhere in the app. |
| Internet | Not needed. Every pause, rule, chart and journal entry works offline. Two things use the network: Apple's own traffic when you buy or restore Premium, and the AI reflection — which is off until you switch it on. |
| Notifications | Optional, and local to the device. Pausely uses them to hand you from the block screen into the pause, and to ask afterwards how a session left you feeling. There is no push server. |
| Languages | English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese. Pausely follows your device's language, and you can pick a different one in Settings → Language. |
Getting started
Setup is seven screens and takes under three minutes. It ends with protection already on and your first rule already written.
- Say how much of the day your phone gets — your own guess, nothing measured.
- Allow Screen Time access when Apple asks. Pausely cannot work without it, and you can revoke it any time in Settings → Screen Time.
- Pick your apps in Apple's picker. Pausely never learns their names — see Privacy.
- Answer three questions that choose the pause that fits you.
- Add up to three alternatives — a walk, a book, a glass of water, or something of your own with a link into another app.
- Done. Open one of your apps and meet the pause.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Pausely free?
- Yes. Free is a working product, not a demo: one rule, the breathing pause and your whole progress screen — pauses, wins, time reclaimed, the streak and the chart.
- What does Premium add?
- As many rules as you like, the other two pauses (type to proceed, set an intention), strict mode, the mood insight that compares how you feel after a session with how you feel after walking away, and the optional AI reflection with its weekly write-up. Premium is a monthly or yearly subscription — the yearly plan starts with a free trial — or a single lifetime purchase. Prices are shown in the app and in the App Store for your country, and billing is handled by Apple.
- What happens if my subscription lapses?
- Nothing you built is taken away. Every rule keeps running and stays editable, and the pause you chose keeps standing in front of your apps. Only the ability to add more closes. An app that stopped protecting your phone because a card expired would be letting you down at the exact moment you asked it not to.
- Can I restore a purchase on a new device?
- Yes. Open the Premium screen and tap Restore purchases. Premium belongs to your Apple ID, not to the device.
- Why can't Pausely tell me which apps I blocked?
- Because it genuinely does not know. Apple's Screen Time hands Pausely opaque tokens that are meaningless outside your device — no app names, no identifiers. Pausely can ask iOS to block them; it cannot read them.
- I can't turn protection off. Is something broken?
- Check whether strict mode is running — the home screen says so. While it runs, protection cannot be switched off and rules cannot be deleted, by design. It ends on its own at the time you chose.
- Does Pausely see what I do in other apps?
- No. It never observes your browsing, messages or activity inside any app. It records only its own events — that a pause was shown, and what you chose — and keeps those on your device.
- What is the AI reflection, and is it on?
- It is off, until you switch it on. When you do, one pause becomes a short exchange: you type why you are opening the app, and a question comes back. It also writes a short note about your week. Those words go to Pausely's own server and on to Google, which runs the model — never your journal, never your check-ins, never which apps you chose. Settings → AI reflection → What is sent lists every field, and switching it off returns the app to making no network calls at all.
- Does it work on iPad? On Mac?
- iPad, yes — Pausely is one app for iPhone and iPad, with the same layout on both, and it works in Split View, Slide Over and Stage Manager. Mac, no: the Screen Time frameworks Pausely is built on are not available there.
- Can I read the app in my own language?
- Pausely speaks eight languages and follows your device's setting. To read it in a different one — without changing anything else on your device — open Settings → Language. Shields, widgets and the Lock Screen follow the same choice.
- How do I erase everything?
- Settings → Your data → Reset all data. That empties every pause, win, rule, journal entry and check-in, takes the blocks down and starts you at the beginning. It refuses while strict mode is running. Details on the Your data page.
Troubleshooting
An app opens without a pause
- Check the Protection switch on the home screen.
- Check that Screen Time access is still granted: Settings → Screen Time → Apps with Screen Time access. If it was revoked, Pausely shows a recovery screen with a button to ask again.
- If the app is only in a rule, the pause appears only during that rule's hours.
- An access window you opened earlier may still be running — the Lock Screen countdown shows how long is left.
The block screen appears but the pause never opens
- Tapping the block screen's button hands you to the app through a notification. If notifications are off for Pausely, iOS cannot deliver the hand-off — turn them on in Settings → Notifications → Pausely.
- Opening Pausely directly also opens the waiting pause.
Widgets are behind
iOS refreshes widgets on its own schedule. Opening Pausely brings them up to date immediately.
The app is in the wrong language
Open Settings → Language and pick the one you want. Everything Pausely draws follows immediately. Apple's own app picker is drawn by iOS, not by Pausely, so it changes on the next launch.
Premium isn't recognised
Tap Restore purchases on the Premium screen, and make sure the device is signed into the same Apple ID that made the purchase. Refunds and billing questions are handled by Apple through Apple Support.
Contact
Questions, a bug, or something that should work and doesn't — write to us and a person will reply.
topsol.org@gmail.com
Include your device model, the iOS version, and what you expected to happen. Never send us your journal or check-ins — we do not need them and would rather not hold them.
Include your device model, the iOS version, and what you expected to happen. Never send us your journal or check-ins — we do not need them and would rather not hold them.
Billing, refunds and subscription changes are handled by Apple: manage subscriptions · request a refund.