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Why does Slow Time Club need Screen Time access, and is it private?

Apple only lets blocking apps work through Screen Time. We never see which apps you pick or how long you use them.

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Written by Abid A

On iPhone, one app can't switch another app off. Apple only allows it through its own Screen Time system, so Slow Time Club needs your permission to use it. Your Screen Time usage and the apps you choose never leave your phone, and we don't store them anywhere.

What the permission lets us do

With access, Slow Time Club can ask your iPhone to pause the apps you pick, at the times you pick. Your iPhone does the actual blocking and counts your usage. Slow Time Club keeps your plans and tells your iPhone when to act.

What we can't see

  • App names. When you pick an app, Apple hands us a sealed code for it, a bit like a locker key with no label. Your iPhone knows which app it is, and we don't. We can ask your iPhone to show you the app's name and icon, but we can't read them ourselves.

  • Your usage. The charts in Insights are drawn by Apple inside a sealed part of your phone. Nothing can be sent out from there, including to us.

  • Your blocks. Blocking happens on your phone, not on our servers.

So we never see which apps you pick or how long you use them. We do use some product analytics that can't identify you. What data do you collect? lists everything.

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