How Slowi works

Getting started

Sign in, and Slowi asks for a few permissions. Each one does one job:

• Seeing which app is open, so Slowi knows when a blocked app starts. It only sees which app, never what is on the screen.
• Showing the lock screen, so the shield with Slowi can cover a blocked app.
• Alarms, so the morning alarm rings on time and shows full screen.
• Notifications, so Slowi can show that a lock is running.

You can also turn on the optional instant shield. It covers a blocked app the moment it opens. It only learns the name of the app that opened, never what is on the screen or what you type.

Focus

Start a lock right now, for anywhere from 15 minutes up to 8 hours.

During the lock, the apps you allowed and your calls keep working. If any other app opens, a shield with Slowi covers it.

When the time is up, the lock ends and your apps are back.

Wait mode

Wait mode is optional. Outside a lock, a blocked app first asks you to wait five minutes.

Still want it after the wait? It opens for 15 minutes. Most urges are gone before the wait is.

Nights

Pick a bedtime and an alarm on the ring, for the nights you choose. Drag a handle to move one end, or drag the whole night.

At bedtime: lights out. The phone puts the apps away and shows a calm screen until morning. Then a gentle full-screen alarm says good morning.

Allowed apps and the essentials

You choose what stays reachable during a lock. Slowi suggests the essentials: payments, sign-in codes, maps, calls, messages and the clock, and music and calm apps.

Changes you make during a lock apply to the next lock.

The bypass and the streak

Every lock has a way out: the bypass. Using it costs your streak. Calls and emergency calls always work, bypass or not.

Every day with at least an hour locked, by Focus or a night, adds to your streak. Slowi dresses up as it grows: a thumbs up at 3 days, a medal at a week, a crown at a month.

The free week and Slowi Plus

You get a free week from sign-up, with no card needed. After that, Slowi Plus is monthly, yearly or a one-time lifetime purchase. Prices are shown in Google Play.

To cancel a subscription: open Google Play, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, Subscriptions, Slowi, and Cancel.