Offtap: NFC App Blocker

Yadnyesh Rana

In-app purchases

About this app

Offtap blocks the apps you choose until you tap an NFC tag you left across the room. Pick your apps, start a session and put your phone down. To get the apps back, you walk to your tag and tap it. That small walk is the whole idea.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Pick the apps you want out of reach and save them as a profile.
2. Pair an NFC sticker, or make a QR code you can print.
3. Start a session. When you open one of your chosen apps, Offtap covers it with a block screen.
4. Leave the tag in another room. Tap it, or scan your code, and your apps come back.

NO STICKER YET?
Offtap can make a printable QR code to use instead of a sticker, or alongside one. A code is easier to get around than a sticker, and the app says so.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Choose which apps to block from the list on your phone (Phone, your home screen and Offtap itself are never blocked)
• Keep profiles, for example Work or Evenings
• Start a timed session that ends by itself after the time you pick
• Pair a second tag or code as a backup
• See a clear warning, with a one-tap fix, if Android stops blocking
• Keep your session after a restart: on most phones an active session comes back when the phone does (on OnePlus, Oppo and Realme this needs the battery setting "Don't optimise", see Honest limits)

ALWAYS A WAY OUT
If you lose your tag, an emergency unlock is available after a short wait or by typing a sentence, a few times a month. When those are used up, you can still wait 60 minutes. You can uninstall Offtap at any time. Locking and unlocking never depend on a purchase.

OFFTAP PRO (optional)
Schedules, more profiles and tags, full history and a home screen widget. Google Play shows the details before you buy.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
• No account and no sign-up
• No ads and no analytics
• The list of apps you block stays on your phone
• Android cloud backup is turned off for Offtap
Offtap asks for Usage access (to see which app is open while a session runs), Display over other apps (to show the block screen) and Notifications. Each one is explained in the app before Android asks.

HONEST LIMITS
Offtap adds friction. It is not a lock you cannot undo. It blocks opening apps, not websites or notifications, and Android or your phone maker can stop background apps; Offtap tells you when that happens. On some phones (OnePlus, Oppo, Realme) an Offtap update or a restart can pause blocking until you open Offtap, unless you set Offtap to "Don't optimise" in the phone's battery settings. Offtap shows you that setting when you first set up. Offtap is a productivity tool, not a medical product.

REQUIREMENTS
Android 8.0 or newer. A phone with NFC and an NTAG213, NTAG215 or NTAG216 sticker, or a phone with a camera to scan a printed code. For people aged 18 and over.

Privacy policy: https://yogirana5557.github.io/offtap-site/privacy/
Support: [e-mail]

What’s new

• Fixed: the notice that an emergency unlock has ended could go missing
• OnePlus, Oppo and Realme: setup now has a battery step. Choose "Don't optimise" for Offtap so blocking can restart by itself after a restart or update. Without it, blocking can stay off until you open Offtap
• Updated start-up screen and smaller fixes