Odd Lock
Add friction to slippery apps
Odd Lock is the obstacle between you and those apps you keep opening on accident. Pick the app. Pick the obstacle. Overcome the obstacle to open the app. Simple as that. Nothing is tracked. Nothing is uploaded. Nobody is keeping score. It won't stop you but it will make you notice.
Odd Lock is an iOS application that helps users limit their use of selected apps. Using Apple's Screen Time framework, it restricts access to the apps a user chooses and requires the completion of a brief task before they can be reopened. For example, speaking a recorded phrase or walking a short distance. Once the task is completed the apps remain available for a user-defined period of time before resetting. The app requires no account, collects no personal data, and performs all processing on the device.
Private by design
Support
Email contact@abstractsyntax.llc. Include your iOS version, what you did, and what you expected to happen.
Odd Lock needs Screen Time access to block apps. It has no account to reset and no data to recover: deleting the app removes every lock.
Common questions
- The shield says my wait is over, but the app is still blocked.
- Tap Open on the shield. Screen Time can take up to a minute to notice that a timer has ended, and Open clears the block right away.
- Odd Lock says Screen Time access is off.
- Turn it back on in Settings → Screen Time → Apps with Screen Time Access → Odd Lock. Odd Lock can’t block apps without it.
- Walking doesn’t register.
- Hold your phone up so the camera can see ahead, in a lit space with some detail in view, and walk at an ordinary pace. The camera is used only during the walk and nothing is recorded.
- My phrase isn’t recognized.
- Say it the way you recorded it, in a quiet spot. Case, punctuation and spacing don’t matter. Recognition runs on the device whenever iOS supports it for your language.
- Can I edit or delete a lock without unlocking it?
- Yes, unless you turned on Require Unlock to Change for that lock. Then Edit, Delete and Add Apps wait until the lock is unlocked or paused.
- Do I need an account?
- No. There is no sign-in, no subscription and no server. Your locks live only on your device.