Frequently Asked Questions

What are App Groups?

App Groups let you organize your apps into different categories with independent time limits and cooldown periods.

For example:

• Social Media (Instagram, X, TikTok) - 5 minute limit
• News (CNN, BBC) - 15 minute limit
• Entertainment (YouTube, Netflix) - 30 minute limit

Each group tracks usage separately and triggers Mirror Mode when its limit is reached.

How do I create App Groups?

1. Go to Settings → App Groups
2. Tap "Add Group" (or the floating + button)
3. Enter a name (e.g., "Social Media")
4. Set the time limit (minutes until Mirror Mode triggers)
5. Set the cooldown duration (how long apps are locked)
6. Tap "Select Apps" to choose which apps belong to this group
7. Tap "Create Group"

Do groups start monitoring automatically after I create them?

No. After creating groups, you need to:

1. Go back to the Home screen
2. Tap "Start monitoring"
3. The app will automatically detect your groups and use groups-based monitoring

Can I have apps in multiple groups?

Not recommended. While technically possible, it can cause confusion about which group's limit triggered. Best practice: each app should only be in one group.

Can I edit a group while monitoring is active?

You can edit group settings (name, limits, apps) anytime, but the changes won't take effect until you stop and restart monitoring.

What's included in the free tier?

• Monitor up to 2 apps total (across all groups)
• Create up to 2 app groups
• Basic time limits and cooldowns
• All core Mirror Mode features
• Breathing exercises
• Reflective prompts

What does Premium unlock?

1. Unlimited Apps - Monitor as many apps as you want
2. Unlimited Groups - Create unlimited app groups with custom limits
3. Custom Prompts - Add personalized reflection messages
4. Advanced Insights - Usage stats, streaks, and time saved calculations
5. Focus Modes - Quick presets for different contexts (Deep Work, Balanced, Relax, Travel)
6. Scheduling - Automatic limit adjustments for weekdays/weekends and work hours

How much does Premium cost?

• $1.99/month
• $14.99/year (save 37%)

Both plans include all premium features. Cancel anytime.

How do Custom Prompts work?

Custom Prompts let you add personalized reflection messages that appear during Mirror Mode.

To add a custom prompt:

1. Go to Settings → Custom Prompts (Premium required)
2. Tap "Add Prompt"
3. Enter your message (up to 150 characters)
4. Save

Your custom prompts will randomly appear alongside the default prompts during Mirror Mode.

What are Advanced Insights?

Advanced Insights show your digital wellbeing journey with:

• Today's Overview - Monitored time, Mirror Mode triggers, successful commits
• Weekly Stats - Average daily time, total interventions, best day
• Streaks & Achievements - Current streak, longest streak, total days
• Impact - Time saved vs baseline, equivalent activities

All data stays on your device - nothing is tracked or shared.

How do Focus Modes work?

Focus Modes are quick presets that adjust your time limits and cooldowns for different contexts:

• Deep Work - Strict (2min limit, 30min cooldown)
• Balanced - Standard (5min limit, 15min cooldown)
• Relax - Lenient (30min limit, 10min cooldown)
• Travel - Very Lenient (60min limit, 5min cooldown)

Tap a mode to instantly switch - perfect for adapting to your day!

What is Scheduling?

Scheduling automatically adjusts your limits based on time:

Weekday/Weekend:

• Set stricter limits for weekdays (work/school)
• More relaxed limits for weekends
• Automatically switches based on the day

Work Hours:

• Define your work hours (e.g., 9am-5pm)
• Strict limits during work
• Relaxed limits outside work
• Automatically adjusts throughout the day

Does monitoring start automatically when I create a group?

No. You must return to the Home screen and tap "Start monitoring".

What happens if I start monitoring while in Settings?

If the monitor timer reaches its limit while you're in the Settings app, Mirror Mode will trigger immediately, even though you're not using a monitored app. This is expected behavior - the timer runs continuously once started.

Why did Mirror Mode trigger while I was in Settings creating a group?

If you started monitoring in Individual Apps mode (before creating groups), the timer was already running. When you created your first group, monitoring was still running in Individual Apps mode. The timer hit its limit and triggered Mirror Mode.

Solution: Stop monitoring, finish creating your groups, then start monitoring fresh.

How do I switch from Individual Apps mode to Groups mode?

1. Stop monitoring if it's running
2. Create your groups in Settings → App Groups
3. Start monitoring again - it will automatically use Groups mode

Can I switch back to Individual Apps mode?

Yes! Just delete all groups in Settings → App Groups. The next time you start monitoring, it will fall back to Individual Apps mode.

What's the difference between Individual Apps mode and Groups mode?

Individual Apps Mode:

• No groups exist
• Single app picker for all apps
• One global limit for all apps
• One global cooldown

Groups Mode:

• At least 1 group exists
• Separate picker per group
• Independent limit per group
• One global cooldown (per-group planned)

How does the app decide which mode to use?

Simple check when you tap "Start monitoring":

• If you have groups → Use Groups mode
• If no groups → Use Individual Apps mode

If I have groups but they're all disabled, what happens?

You'll see an error: "Please enable at least one app group to start monitoring"

The app requires at least one enabled group to use Groups mode.

Groups aren't being detected when I start monitoring

Check:

1. Did you actually create and save at least one group?
2. Is at least one group enabled (toggle is ON)?
3. Did each group have apps selected (app count > 0)?

I created a group but monitoring still uses Individual Apps mode

Most common cause: You didn't select any apps for the group, or you dismissed the app picker without selecting.

Fix:

1. Go to Settings → App Groups
2. Tap on your group
3. Tap "Select Apps"
4. Actually select some apps (don't just dismiss)
5. Save the group
6. Restart monitoring

Why does it say "Group has no apps selected"?

This warning appears when:

• You created a group but never selected apps
• You selected apps but dismissed the picker without saving
• The app selection was lost (rare iOS bug)

Fix: Edit the group and select apps again.

How does cooldown work with groups?

Currently, there's a single global cooldown that applies to all groups after Mirror Mode.

Planned enhancement: Per-group cooldowns (each group locks independently).

If Group A triggers Mirror Mode, are Group B's apps also locked?

Currently, yes - all monitored apps are locked during cooldown (single global cooldown).

Planned: Only Group A's apps will be locked, Group B continues tracking normally.

Why do I see breathing exercises when I tap on a locked app?

This is the Shield Action Extension flow:

1. You tap a shielded app during cooldown
2. iOS shows the shield (app is blocked)
3. fflow detects the shield tap
4. Triggers breathing exercises as a mindfulness intervention
5. After breathing, exits to home screen

This is intentional design - another chance for reflection!

Can I stop monitoring while in cooldown?

Yes. Go to Home screen and tap "Stop monitoring". This will:

• Stop all DeviceActivity schedules
• Remove all shields
• Reset the monitoring state

What happens if I close fflow during monitoring?

Monitoring continues! DeviceActivity runs in the background. When the limit is reached:

1. Extension triggers Mirror Mode
2. Sends notification to open the app
3. When you open fflow, Mirror Mode activates