Help & Support

Screen Time access is what lets Shells read your app usage and apply blocks. Without it, the app can't show your insights or run any controls. Apple asks you to grant this yourself, and Shells can't skip that prompt.

You can change this anytime in Settings → Screen Time → See All App & Website Activity.

Open Shells and tap Allow Screen Time on the Today tab. If the prompt doesn't appear:

1. Open the iOS Settings app
2. Tap Shells in the app list
3. Make sure Screen Time is enabled

If Screen Time itself is off on your device, turn it on at Settings → Screen Time → Turn On Screen Time first.

Both are optional. They power the place timeline that shows where you used your phone (at home, at work, on the go) and Location Blocks, which block or allow apps at places you choose. Motion also counts steps for Steps Unlock. If you skip them, the rest of the app works normally.

"Always" location access lets the timeline keep building when the app is closed. Motion data lets Shells tell a real stop from passing through, which saves battery.

Your places and location history stay on your device. If you turn on Back Up to iCloud in Settings, they are also copied to your own iCloud account so they come back after a reinstall.

Yes. A Mindful Pause starts on the Screen Time shield, and iOS doesn't let a shield button open an app. So when you tap Get delay, Shells sends a notification, and tapping it opens your pause. Without notifications that button can't do anything, which is why setup asks for them.

The optional reminders in Controls → Soft Nudges use the same permission, and you can switch each of them off on its own.

• Soft Nudges: gentle reminders as your screen time adds up, a daily check-in reminder, Reach Alerts (a heads-up when you keep reaching for paused or blocked apps), and a nudge just before time you unlocked runs out. They never block anything.
• Mindful Pauses: a 15-second breathing pause before an app opens. Then you choose how long you want it for, or decide not to open it.
• Exercise Unlock and Steps Unlock: the pause is a few squats, star jumps, pushups, a wall sit or a plank (counted on-device by the camera), or a short walk.
• Morning Block: keeps your phone quiet during a morning window, apart from the essentials you pick.
• App Limits: a daily time limit. Once it's used up, the apps are blocked until tomorrow.
• Scheduled Blocks: blocks apps during a time window, like 9am to 5pm on weekdays.
• Location Blocks: blocks apps at places you choose, or allows them only there.
• NFC Locks: keeps a group of apps locked until you tap an NFC sticker you've placed somewhere that makes you get up.
• Holiday Mode: relaxes or turns off any of your controls while you're away. Pick your last day: it stays on through that whole day, and your controls switch back on at midnight.

Mix and match based on the app. Full blocks for the worst offenders, pauses for the borderline ones.

Each control uses Shells: one per app on a Mindful Pause, Exercise Unlock or Steps Unlock, one per App Limit, Scheduled Block or Location Block, one per NFC Lock group (however many apps it holds), one for the Morning Block, and one per Calm browsing app. Soft Nudges, Holiday Mode and focus sessions don't use Shells.

Everyone starts with 1 Shell. Invite friends from Settings → Refer Friends to earn more: 1 more Shell when your first friend joins, and another at 3 friends, so a free account can have up to 3. Pro gives you unlimited Shells.

If you have more controls than Shells, the extra ones wait, switched off, until a Shell frees up. Nothing is deleted. An NFC Lock group waits as a whole: it locks all of its apps or none of them. Shells go to Mindful Pauses first, then the Morning Block, App Limits, Scheduled Blocks, Location Blocks, NFC Locks and Calm browsing, and within each list from the top down, so drag your most important ones to the top.

A few things to check:

1. Open Shells and confirm the control shows as active, not waiting for a Shell. Tap the Shells card at the top of the Controls tab to see which controls have one.
2. App Limits use your Screen Time totals, which count every device signed in to your Apple ID, and iOS can take a moment to catch up.
3. iOS sometimes takes 30 to 60 seconds to apply changes. Wait a moment and try again.
4. Restart your phone if the block still doesn't appear. Screen Time enforcement can occasionally get stuck on iOS itself.

If it still doesn't work, email me with the app name and a screenshot of your control.

The pause opens from a notification, so make sure notifications are allowed for Shells in Settings → Notifications → Shells. If a Focus mode is on, allow Time Sensitive notifications for Shells so the pause can still reach you.

After you open an app through a pause, it stays open for the time you picked. The pause comes back once that time is up.

• Mindful Pauses: finish the pause, then pick how long you want the app for.
• App Limits: when a limit is blocking you, its row in Controls → App Limits shows Emergency access. Type EMERGENCY to open it for 5 minutes. It re-locks by itself, and your limit stays the same.
• NFC Locks: tap one of the group's tags. Lost your tag? Delete the group in Controls → NFC Locks and its block lifts right away.
• Morning Block: wait for the window to end, or switch it off in Controls → Morning Block.
• Scheduled Blocks: wait for the window to end, or edit or delete the block in Controls → Scheduled Blocks.

On the Today tab, tap Start Focus Session, pick a length and the apps to block, then start. You can also start one from the Focus Session widget. A Live Activity shows the time left on your Lock Screen.

On the Today tab, tap End on the running session and type the short phrase shown to confirm. The session is saved as ended early.

In Shells, check that Live Activity Countdown is on in Settings. Then make sure Live Activities are enabled for Shells in Settings → Shells → Live Activities, and on globally at Settings → Face ID & Passcode → Allow Access When Locked → Live Activities.

The Insights tab needs a free account. Tap Log In at the top of Settings and sign in with Apple. A free account shows the basic cards, and Pro unlocks every card.

Once signed in, it can take a few seconds to fill in. If it's still empty after a minute, make sure Screen Time access is granted (see Permissions).

Shells shows up to 30 days of history from iOS Screen Time. Apple doesn't give apps data older than that.

The Usage Trends widget saves its own daily totals on your iPhone, starting from the day it begins counting, so its first week or month can start partway through.

Shells uses the same data as iOS Screen Time, and both count every device signed in to your Apple ID. The totals should match within a minute or two. If you see a big gap, restart the app, because Screen Time data sometimes lags briefly after a long session.

Confirm location access is set to Always, not just While Using. Go to Settings → Shells → Location and choose Always. Turning on Precise Location there helps Shells tell nearby places apart.

iOS will sometimes ask you to confirm "Always" access again after a few days. Accept that prompt to keep the timeline running.

Shells names each place for you, using Apple's map data for that spot (usually the street or neighbourhood). Places can't be renamed by hand. A place that shows as unnamed can pick up a name on a later visit.

To see every place Shells has learned, forget one, or erase your location history, go to Settings → Places & Location History.

No. Every control works without one. A free account unlocks the Insights tab and your own invite code. To create one, tap Log In at the top of Settings and sign in with Apple. It's one tap.

Once you're signed in, Settings → Refer Friends shows your code. When a friend signs up with it, you both get free Pro time: a month each until 31 December 2026, then a week. You also earn a permanent Shell when your first friend joins and another at 3 friends, plus 3 months of Pro at 5 friends.

Got a code from a friend? Open their invite link on your iPhone and it fills in for you, or enter it when you sign in or in Settings → Refer Friends.

In Shells, go to Settings → Privacy & Permissions → Delete Account. The button shows when you're signed in. This deletes your account and the data stored with it on our servers, such as your referral records.

If you can't access the app, email me at keebbuddy@gmail.com with the email tied to your Apple ID sign-in, and I'll delete it for you.

Pro gives you unlimited Shells, so every control you set up runs at once, plus every card in the Insights tab. Widgets, Holiday Mode, NFC Locks, Exercise Unlock and Steps Unlock are free for everyone.

Pro comes three ways: Monthly ($4.99/month), Annual ($29.99/year launch price, regular price $49.99) and Lifetime (one payment of $49.99 launch price, regular price $79.99). New subscribers to Monthly or Annual get a 1-month free trial. The launch prices and trial run until 31 December 2026, unless the offer is changed or extended. Prices shown here are in US dollars; the app always shows the current App Store price for your country.

All Shells subscriptions are handled by Apple, so cancellation goes through iOS:

1. Open the iOS Settings app
2. Tap your name at the top
3. Tap Subscriptions
4. Tap Shells
5. Tap Cancel Subscription

You'll keep Pro until the end of the current billing period. Canceling during the free trial means you won't be charged. Lifetime is a one-time purchase, so there's nothing to cancel.

In Shells, go to Settings → Restore Purchases. This makes the app re-check Apple's record of your purchase. If that doesn't work, email me with your purchase receipt (Apple emails it to you).

Apple handles all refunds. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with your Apple ID, find the Shells purchase, and request a refund. I don't have access to your payment info, so I can't refund you directly, but the Apple form usually goes through within a day.

Very little leaves your device. Specifically:

• Stays on your device: your screen time history and insights, places and location history, your controls, and focus session details. If you turn on iCloud backup, your settings, controls, check-in notes, places and recent location history are also copied to your own iCloud account.
• Sent online: product analytics (which screens you open and which features you use, with counts and settings such as the mood you pick in a check-in, but never the names of the apps you use or your locations), your account details if you sign in with Apple, referral codes and rewards if you use Refer Friends, and feedback you send.

See the full Privacy Policy for details.

Yes. Settings → Privacy & Permissions → Delete All Data erases your location history, your check-in notes, past focus sessions and the screen time history the Shells widgets keep from your iPhone, and removes your check-in notes, places and location history from your iCloud backup. Check-in notes also go from your other devices that use the same iCloud backup. Your streak stays, and the days you checked in still count. The screen time charts in the app come from iOS Screen Time, which Shells doesn't store, so they stay. Your controls and settings stay too, and you can remove controls in the Controls tab. To delete your account, use Delete Account on the same screen. Deleting the app removes everything stored on your device.

Try these in order:

1. Force quit Shells (swipe up from the bottom and hold, then swipe the Shells card away).
2. Reopen it.
3. If that doesn't help, restart your phone.
4. If that doesn't help, check for an app update in the App Store. Most issues get fixed within a release or two.

If you're still stuck, email me with your iOS version and what you were doing when it broke.

Please send it. Bugs and ideas are the fastest way Shells gets better. Use Give us feedback! in Settings, or email keebbuddy@gmail.com with as much detail as you can. Screenshots help a lot. You'll get a real reply, usually the same day.