FAQ

Timeback is a Mac app that blocks distracting apps and websites on your iPhone or iPad. You plug the device into your Mac, choose what to block, and apply. Then you unplug, and the blocks stay on. They cannot be switched off from the phone.

A Screen Time app runs on the phone it is blocking, and Apple requires it to be removable: delete the app, or turn its access off in Settings, and the blocks go with it. Timeback installs its blocks into iOS from your Mac, so there is no app on the phone to delete and no switch in Settings that turns them off. Blocked apps come off the home screen instead of sitting behind a shield you tap through.

No. Timeback is a Mac app, and the Mac is where blocks are created and changed. There is no Windows version yet, so without a Mac this is not the product for you today. Windows support is on the roadmap. See the roadmap →

Not yet. Timeback blocks on iPhone and iPad. Android blocking is coming. See the roadmap →

Blocks are created and changed on your Mac, so you plug the device in to sync a change across. Once you unplug, the blocks stay on and keep running on their own. The cable is only for the moments you want something to change. Changing blocks without it is on the roadmap. See the roadmap →

No. The blocks are installed into iOS itself, so there is nothing to open on the phone and nothing to delete. Everything you do with Timeback happens in the Mac app.

Yes. A block holds apps and websites together. The apps come off the home screen, and the sites you blocked stop loading.

Yes. Only what you put in a block changes. Calls, messages, camera, maps, wallet and settings are never blocked, and everything outside your blocks works exactly as it did.

Yes. The same Mac sets up your iPhone, your iPad, and an old iPhone you still use, and each device keeps the blocks you gave it. There is no cap on devices, though we do not recommend one license stretching beyond a single household.

No.

No. A blocked app is gone from the phone while the block is on, so nothing comes through from it.

No. Timeback is for devices you own. Setting it up on someone else's phone is a breach of the terms, whether or not they know about it, and there is no way to do it remotely.

Yes. You decide in advance how many breaks you get and how long they last, then spend them later, and a block can be set to allow none at all. Starting a break means plugging the device into the Mac, the same as any other change.

No. Timeback cannot read your messages, photos, browsing history, or app activity. It installs blocks and does nothing else on the phone.

No. Your apps, photos, messages, and accounts stay where they are. The phone restarts once during setup, and blocked apps disappear from the home screen. Everything you did not block is untouched.

Timeback runs on your Mac and blocks apps on your phone. Windows and Android support are coming soon. See the roadmap →

Start with the setup guide. It has every step with screenshots, and it covers the places people usually get stuck. If you are still having issues after that, email [email protected] and say where it stopped. Open the setup guide

Changing a block is done with the device plugged in. Once you unplug, the blocks stay on and keep running, so you only reconnect when you want something to change.

Set the phone up again the way you set up the first one. Your license covers as many devices as you have, so a replacement costs you nothing extra.

Your license follows your email, so sign in on the new Mac and it comes with you. If you use iCloud Drive, the permission that lets a Mac change the blocks on your phone is backed up there and the new Mac picks it up the first time you open Timeback. You set your blocks up again on the new machine. If the new Mac cannot change the blocks on your phone, email [email protected].

We recommend using one Mac to manage your devices. Your license is not limited to a single machine, but keeping one Mac as the place your blocks live is the setup Timeback is built around today.

Yes. Open the Mac app, go to Devices, and remove the device from Timeback. If any lock is still active, on removal or on a block you have switched on, you will have to wait for it to lift or email [email protected].

No. A lifetime license is a single payment, so there is nothing left to change. A subscription keeps the price you signed up at, even if prices go up later. See pricing →

Email [email protected] within 30 days of your first payment and we refund it. It covers the first payment on every plan, one-time or subscription. Include your receipt and the email you bought with. We act on the request within five days, and the money goes back to the payment method you used. Read the refund policy →

Sign in to your account page and choose Manage billing. You can cancel from there. No need to email us. You keep access until the end of the period you already paid for. Go to your account →

Your blocks keep running, but you can't change them until you renew. If you don't renew, they come off on their own within about a month.

No. Founding Member is a one-time payment and the licence is yours for good, so there is nothing to renew and nothing to cancel.