Start with the moment you scroll without choosing to. Protect that context, put a pause before access, and decide when a planned visit ends. The aim is a deliberate relationship with your apps, not the lowest possible screen-time number.
Name the moment, not the whole day
“Use my phone less” leaves every decision open. “Keep news feeds out of the first hour of work” gives you a boundary you can set and review. Notice the repeated moment: the alarm has just gone off, a task has become difficult, or you have opened a feed in bed.
Choose one such moment for your first Rule. You do not need to solve every phone habit at once. A small, specific boundary is easier to inspect: did the app stay out of the time you wanted to protect?
Choose what belongs in that moment
The same app can be useful in one context and distracting in another. Messaging a friend intentionally is different from reopening a feed without a reason. Decide which apps interrupt this particular moment and leave necessary tools available.
For a bedtime boundary, set a window with a clear end. For scattered visits throughout the day, consider a daily limit. A daily allowance does not by itself protect an evening if the allowance has not yet been used.
Put a decision before access
Bouncer blocks the apps selected in your Rule. To request temporary access with Normal or High, you must open Bouncer and complete the wait there. Leaving the app or locking the phone pauses the wait; walking away ends the attempt without access.
Use that pause to decide whether you actually want to open the app. You do not need to justify every useful visit, and walking away does not need a reward. The pause gives your earlier choice a place in the decision.
Give a planned visit an end
If you still choose to enter, Bouncer’s temporary access lasts 5, 10 or 15 wall-clock minutes. High can reduce the available durations after successful unblocks. The session keeps passing even if you switch apps or put your phone down.
Before entering, pick the task: reply to a message, find one saved post, or check one update. A time boundary and a concrete purpose give you two ways to notice that the visit is finished.
Review the boundary without scoring yourself
At the end of the week, ask whether you protected the moments you cared about. Bouncer’s Report shows daily averages for time in blacklisted apps and total screen time over the selected period. It does not measure the value of what you did with your day.
If unwanted use moved to another time, decide whether that context needs protection too. If the Rule got in the way of intentional use, reconsider its apps or schedule. There is no universal number of minutes that defines success.
A boundary you choose.
Start with a context you want to protect on your iPhone.
