Key — Block Distracting Apps

Titun

About this app

Key blocks the apps that eat your time. To get them back, you scan a small physical token called a Key, kept somewhere inconvenient on purpose: a kitchen drawer, or a shelf in another room.

Locking takes one tap. Unlocking means standing up and walking to wherever you left your Key. That short walk gives you time to change your mind, and most of the time you do.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Pick the apps you want out of reach.
2. Lock them by holding the button, or by tapping your Key to your phone.
3. To unlock, scan your Key. There is no unlock button on the screen.

MODES
You probably don't want the same rules at work and in bed. Modes are separate blocklists you can switch between: a Work mode can block social apps while a Sleep mode blocks nearly everything. There is also a Light mode that inverts the idea. It blocks every app except the few you name, which turns your phone into something close to a dumb phone.

SCHEDULES
A schedule locks the phone for you at a set time. Sleep mode can start at 11 every night, work mode at 9 on weekdays. The lock ends when you scan your Key, or at an end time you choose.

FORCE UNLOCKS
Sometimes you need your phone and your Key is at home. You get five force unlocks that open everything without scanning. Five is enough for real emergencies and too few to become a habit.

PRIVACY
Your blocklist and your lock history stay on the phone. The account exists only to identify you; it's an email address, and nothing else syncs. There are no streaks or scores anywhere in the app, and it will never tell you to do better.

THE KEY
The Key itself has no battery and nothing to set up. There is no pairing step either; any Key works with any phone. Keep one at home and one at the office if you like. The same Key works on iPhone and Android.

You pay for the Key once. The app has no subscription.

Get yours at trykey.co.

ABOUT THE ACCESSIBILITY SERVICE
Key uses Android's Accessibility Service to notice when a blocked app opens, so it can place the lock screen over it. The service reads app identifiers and nothing else. It cannot see your screen content, your messages or any personal data, and Key uses it only to block the apps you chose.