Frequently asked questions

The app

What is SmartrLock?

An Android app that pauses the apps you lose time on, like Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. When your time is up, the app pauses. If you really want to go back, you first answer a short quiz.

Who is SmartrLock for?

Anyone who opens an app for two minutes and looks up an hour later. Students, workers, parents: if you want to spend less time on your phone without banning everything, it's for you.

How do I stop scrolling on Instagram or TikTok?

What works best is a bit of friction before you reopen the app. With SmartrLock, you pick the apps and how much time you allow yourself. Once that time is up, the app pauses, and to go back you first take a quiz: the urge to scroll has time to fade.

How does it work?

1. Pick your apps and how much time you allow yourself. 2. When time is up, the app pauses. 3. If the urge to go back is too strong, you take a 5-question quiz, then the app unlocks for the time you chose.

Which apps can I pause?

Any you like: social media, videos, games, browser… The most addictive ones are already ticked. Phone, SMS and contacts are never blocked.

How long does an app stay unlocked after a quiz?

You choose: from 5 minutes to 2 hours. At night, with night mode, a quiz unlocks only 5 minutes.

What if I fail the quiz?

The app unlocks anyway. The quiz isn't an exam: it's a pause before going back, and you learn something along the way.

What is the message before opening an app?

An option: when you open a paused app while it's unlocked, SmartrLock asks you a short question ("Did you choose to open Instagram, or was it habit?") after a breathing moment. Then you pick "Never mind" or "Yes, I'm going in".

How does SmartrLock measure the time won back?

It compares your current screen time with your screen time before SmartrLock, measured on your phone. Time won back is time spent away from the screen.

Does it work offline?

Yes for the pause: blocking happens on your phone. For quizzes it's better to be online, but a few questions are kept on the phone as a backup.

Does SmartrLock drain the battery?

No. SmartrLock runs in the background with a quiet notification, with no GPS or camera, and only checks which app is open.

Quizzes

What are the quizzes about?

Whatever you like: general knowledge, science, geography and history (free), plus arts, the human body, economics, space, the English language, maths, nature and technology.

How many questions per quiz?

5 questions, each with a short explanation. It takes a minute or two.

What is a path?

Each topic is a path in 5 steps, from "First steps" to "Expert". You move to the next step with at least 8 right answers and a 70% success rate.

Can I learn whatever I want?

Yes, with Premium: write your goal ("learn Spanish", "understand economics"…) and SmartrLock builds a custom path for you.

What if a question is wrong?

Tap "Report a mistake". The team reads every report and fixes or removes the question.

Which language are the quizzes in?

French or English, following the app's language. You can switch languages without losing your progress.

Price and Premium

Is SmartrLock free?

Yes, with no ads. Pausing your apps, quizzes, friends, the leaderboard and teams are free.

How much is Premium?

€4.99 a month or €29.99 a year. The subscription renews automatically and can be cancelled anytime in Google Play.

What does Premium add?

All quiz paths, your own custom goals, fresh questions in every quiz, night mode, Monk mode and a personal opening message (your tone and your own phrases).

Can I try Premium without paying?

Yes: in the Shop, a week of Premium costs 1,500 Brainz, once every 30 days.

How do I cancel Premium?

In Google Play: Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions, then SmartrLock. You keep Premium until the end of the paid period.

What happens if I stop Premium?

You keep everything that's free. Your Premium path is set aside, with your progress, and comes back if you resubscribe.

Friends and teams

How do I add friends?

In the Friends tab, search for a @username or a name and send a request. You're friends once it's accepted.

How does the leaderboard work?

It ranks your friends by their average daily screen time over 7 days: whoever spends the least time on their phone comes first.

Can my friends see my screen time?

Only if you switch on "Show my screen time to my friends". It's off at first, and your figures are deleted if you switch it off.

What is a team?

2 to 6 friends who set a weekly scrolling limit, Monday to Sunday. Everyone picks a share (from 3 to 14 hours), and the team makes it if the total stays under the limit.

What do we get when the team makes it?

+50 Brainz each. For the week to count, everyone must have sent their figures.

Can I share my ranking?

Yes: "Share the ranking" creates a podium image to send on WhatsApp, Instagram or by SMS.

Monk mode and night mode

What is Monk mode?

A Premium mode to focus: it blocks every app except the essentials (phone, messages, contacts, camera, clock, calendar, maps, settings) for 1, 2 or 4 hours, a duration you choose, or until you stop it. No quiz possible in the meantime.

How do I stop Monk mode?

A timed session stops by holding the button for 3 seconds. That leaves time to ask yourself if it's really needed.

What is night mode?

A Premium mode to put your phone down in the evening. By default from 9 pm to 5 am (adjustable): the whole app switches to night mode and a quiz unlocks only 5 minutes.

Does night mode send a reminder?

Yes, 15 minutes before the night starts. And every night without opening your paused apps earns you 10 Brainz.

Brainz and the Shop

What are Brainz?

SmartrLock's currency. You earn them with quizzes (+1 per right answer, +3 for a perfect quiz, +2 for the first quiz of the day), with your team and with night mode.

What are Brainz for?

In the Shop: profile photos, frames and backgrounds (50, 150 or 400 Brainz), or a week of Premium for 1,500 Brainz.

Why is there no daily streak?

On purpose. Streaks and flames push you back to your phone out of fear of losing something. SmartrLock wants the opposite.

Privacy and account

Which permissions does it need?

Two Android settings: usage access, to know when a paused app opens and to count your screen time, and display over other apps, to show the pause and the quiz at the right moment.

Does SmartrLock see what I do in my apps?

No. It sees which app is open, never what you do or write in it.

Is my screen time sent anywhere?

Only if you show it to your friends or if you're in a team. Otherwise it stays on your phone.

Where is my data stored?

On servers in Europe (Frankfurt, Germany). Details are in the privacy policy (in French).

Do I need an account?

Yes, with an e-mail and a password, to keep your progress and find your friends. Under 15, you need a parent's consent.

How do I delete my account?

From the app, in Settings. Everything is explained on the account deletion page (in French).

How do I contact the team?

In the app, Settings then "Contact support", or by e-mail at contact@smartrlock.com.

Phones

Where can I download SmartrLock?

On Google Play, for free.

Does it work on iPhone?

Not for now: SmartrLock is on Android.

Does it work on Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco?

Yes. These phones need one more setting ("Display pop-up windows while running in the background"), and SmartrLock guides you through it.

Which languages is the app in?

French and English. It follows your phone's language, and you can change it in the settings.

Comparisons

How is it different from Android's Digital Wellbeing?

Android's app timers block an app until the next day and can be switched off in two taps. SmartrLock adds a real pause with a quiz before going back, the time you won back compared with before, a leaderboard with friends and teams that keep going together.

Why not just delete Instagram?

It works for some people, but many end up reinstalling it: they need it for friends, messages, work. SmartrLock keeps the app but removes the reflex of spending hours on it.

Does SmartrLock block everything, like strict blocking apps?

No, except in Monk mode. The rest of the time it leaves you the choice: a pause, then a quiz if you really want to go back. Blocking that is too strict often ends up switched off; a little friction lasts.