FAQ & Support

What is Phones Down?

A calm, social focus app. You start a session — alone, or with the people in the room with you — put your phone down, and the time you stay off it is measured, shared with friends, and ranked in a weekly leaderboard. There are no points and no app blocking: the only score is time off your phone.

How is my phone-free time counted?

• A locked phone counts.Lock it or set it face-down — you’re still focused. You don’t need to keep the app open.
• Switching apps is a break. Leaving for another app gives you a 10-second grace window; longer than that ends your run.
• Your time is always banked. A break ends the run, but every minute you earned up to the moment you picked the phone up still counts — toward your week, your streak, and the leaderboard. Caving never erases progress.
• Force-quitting counts as a break. Closing the app mid-session ends the run, with your time up to that point banked.
• Solo sessions work offline.Airplane mode is fine — everything syncs when you’re back online.

How do sessions with friends work?

One person taps Put phones down together; everyone else joins by scanning the QR code or typing the short code. With a countdown, everyone still in when the timer ends makes it. Open-ended is last one standing: the last person to pick up their phone wins. Anyone in the session can end it for everyone, and everyone’s time is saved either way.

Who can see my sessions?

Only your friends see your finished sessions, stats, and leaderboard position. A privategroup session is hidden from the “friends live now” list — only people with the code can join. You can also read the full Privacy Policy.

Does it block apps or track what I do on my phone?

No. Phones Down never blocks anything and never sees what you do on your phone — it only measures whether the phone is resting or in use during a session you chose to start.

How do I report or block someone?

Every profile and every feed card has a menu (the “…” button) with Report and Block. Blocking removes you from each other’s feeds, leaderboards, and search. Reports go to our team and are reviewed within 24 hours. You can manage blocked accounts in Settings.

How do I delete my account?

In the app: Me → Settings → Delete account. This permanently removes your profile, sessions, and photo. No email required, no waiting period.

Still need help?

Email us at support@phonesdown.io — we read everything.