Lockaway: Phone Lock for Focus

Lockaway locks the phone until a time you set, and then gives it back. Pick a reason and an end time, choose how firmly it should hold you to it, and the phone goes away. Emergency calls keep working throughout. It is built for the two moments willpower reliably fails — the hour before sleep, and the afternoon a deadline needs.

What it does

• Lock until a time you choose — an hour, or until tomorrow morning
• Three commitment levels, from reminders to a lock with no way out
• Scheduled routines, so weeknights start themselves
• Wind-down warning before a routine begins
• Emergency calls always available
• Per-routine favourites, for the apps that must stay reachable

Common questions

Written by us, and answerable without installing anything.

• App blockers vs phone locks — which one you actually needTwo different tools solving two different problems, routinely confused. Block individual apps when one app is the problem; lock the whole phone when the problem is the phone.
• A digital detox that doesn't require deleting anythingDeleting apps rarely lasts, and going offline for a weekend changes nothing on Monday. What works instead is limiting when you can use the phone, not what is on it.
• How to lock your phone at night — and why bedtime mode isn't enoughNight-time phone use is a scheduling problem, not a willpower problem. What Android's Bedtime mode and iOS Downtime actually do, where they fall short, and how to build a wind-down that holds.
• How to lock your phone for studying (and actually leave it locked)Every method for locking a phone while you study, ranked by how easily you can undo it — because the one you can undo in two seconds is the one you will undo.
• Screen time limits aren't working — here's why, and what to doYou set app limits, you hit "Ignore Limit" every day, and nothing changed. The problem is the button, not you. What the built-in tools are actually for, and what to use when you need something firmer.
• Why focus apps stop working after a weekMost people install a focus app, use it for four days, and quietly stop. The reason is structural, not personal — and it tells you exactly what to look for in one that lasts.