Less Phone.
More Life.

It depends on the lock level you chose, which is the point. Soft lock you can open instantly — it only shows you a reminder of why you blocked the app in the first place. Medium lock makes you wait five minutes, and cancelling restarts the timer rather than skipping it. Hard lock has no override and no backdoor: the only way back in is your buddy approving the request.

No. Soft lock and Medium lock work entirely on their own, with no buddy and no pairing. For a lot of people a gentle reminder or a five-minute cooldown is enough on its own. A buddy is only required for Hard lock, which is the level where someone else holds the key.

Very little, by design. When you ask to unlock something, your buddy sees the name of the rule you are trying to open and any optional reason you choose to write. That is all.

They do not see which apps you have blocked, your schedule, your screen time statistics, or your usage history. The list of apps you block never leaves your device at all.

Nothing unlocks. An unlock request stays pending until your buddy actively approves or denies it — there is no timeout that quietly lets you back in. If they are asleep or busy, the block simply holds, which is the behaviour Hard lock exists to guarantee.

Screen Time limits are enforced by a passcode you hold yourself, so in a weak moment you are asking yourself for permission — and you always say yes. Disconnect's Hard lock moves that decision to another person, so getting back in takes someone else's deliberate approval rather than your own tap.

Soft and Medium locks work more like Screen Time, with a reminder or a cooldown, for the times you don't need the stronger version.

No. iPhone buddies use the Disconnect app, but buddies on Android, desktop, or tablet use the buddy web app — they sign in with an email link and approve or deny requests from any browser, no install needed.

iPhone buddies use the Disconnect app. Buddies on Android, desktop, or tablet use the buddy web app — they sign in with an email link and approve or deny requests from any browser. Either way, being a buddy is free and changes nothing about their own phone or apps.

No. An approval opens the app for a set window, and when that window expires the block goes back on automatically. Your buddy can also deny a request outright, and add a short reason when they do.

Yes, and the free version is genuinely usable rather than a trial. It includes one blocking rule, one buddy, and all three lock levels — so Hard lock, the buddy accountability that makes Disconnect different, works without paying anything.

Disconnect Pro lifts the limits on rules and buddies. It is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Being someone else's buddy is always free.

Free gives you one rule, one buddy, and every lock level including Hard lock. That is enough to block your single worst app and hand the key to a friend, which is the core of how Disconnect works.

Pro is for people who want several rules running at once — a work schedule, a sleep schedule, a weekend rule — or more than one buddy. Nothing about the blocking itself gets stronger with Pro; you just get more of it.

Disconnect is an iPhone app and requires iOS 16 or later. There is no Android version of the app itself. However, if your buddy is on Android, desktop, or tablet, they can use the buddy web app to approve and deny requests from any browser — no install needed.

The apps you block and the schedule you set are stored only on your device and never sent to a server. Disconnect does not collect Screen Time statistics, usage data, or your location.

What is stored is what the accountability system needs to work: your name and email from Sign in with Apple, who you are paired with, the unlock requests passing between you, and a push token to deliver notifications. Data is processed by Firebase, with RevenueCat handling subscriptions and Apple handling payments. Nothing is sold or used for advertising.

Under two minutes. Pick the apps you want blocked, choose a lock level and a schedule, and it runs quietly in the background from there. There is no dashboard to check and no streak to maintain.

In the app, under Settings → Delete account. That permanently removes your user record, your buddy relationships and your unlock request history within 30 days. You can also email support@bytehood.com to access, port, or restrict your data.