- What is Router?
- Router is an iOS app that intercepts the apps you've decided are problematic at the moment you try to open them, and walks you through choosing a deliberate action instead of scrolling.
- How is Router different from Screen Time or other blockers?
- Router interrupts the exact moment you reach for the app and turns this reflex into a decision point: making intention setting lower friction than going on the app. If you still want the app, it also provides a high-friction 'treasure hunt' to get back to it, plus OS-level hard schedules and daily limits as a backstop.
- What is the 'treasure hunt'?
- If you choose to go around Router and open the app anyway, the link back is hidden inside a randomly generated file browser that reshuffles every time. It only takes a few seconds to find, but it's designed to interrupt the automatic, muscle-memory press that usually opens the app without a second thought.
- What if I just try and go back to the app after router has intercepted it, can't I just go back?
- No, iOS's shortcuts are wired in such a way that router will continue to intercept the app, whether or not router is opened, until router has given the go-ahead to go back.
- Does Router replace Screen Time limits?
- No — Router uses Apple's Screen Time / Family Controls APIs to add hard schedules and daily time limits on top of its main feature, which is intercepting the impulse itself. Screen Time alone doesn't address why you keep reaching for the app.
- What platforms does Router support?
- Router is an iOS app (iOS 26 and later). This is because there are certain shortcuts features we rely on which are only applicable to newer versions of iOS. Because the app relies heavily on the system architecture of the iPhone, we are not targeting any other platforms at this time.
- Is Router available yet?
- Router is in active development and testing. Join the waitlist and we'll email you when access opens.
- Will Router be free?
- The core systems — interception, routes, intentions, limits — is free for one app. For $3/month or $30/year, you can set up the system for as many apps as you like.
