A focus session blocks the apps you pick for as long as you set, then lets go on its own.
Starting one
- Open the Timer tab.
- Set how long you want.
- Choose what to block — individual apps, whole app groups you've made, or websites.
- Press Start.
Your choice of apps is remembered between sessions. The next time you just hit Start, it blocks exactly what the last session blocked — including after you restart your phone.
While a session is running
Opening a blocked app shows the Tethered block screen instead. Everything you didn't block keeps working normally — calls, messages, maps, anything you left off the list.
A session ends by itself when the timer runs out. You can also end one early from the Timer tab, unless you turned on Hard Mode.
Sessions with Hard Mode on
Hard Mode is an optional switch on a session. With it on, you can't end the session early, and Tethered itself can't be deleted until the timer runs out. It's there for the stretches where you know you'll try to talk yourself out of it.
More about Hard Mode, including the way out.
Sessions and earning
Earning is optional, and sessions work fine whether or not you use it. If you do, time spent clear of your monitored apps counts toward the “heads-down” action in the Earn tab — measured against your real Screen Time, not against whether the app was open.