Complete guide to Clarymind's Focus feature (updated December 2024)

Clarymind’s Focus feature helps you reduce social media distractions, stay present, and focus on what truly matters.

It supports you in:

• Boosting productivity at work.
• Managing time for side projects or hobbies.
• Easing social media anxiety.
• Rethinking your relationship with your phone and the internet.
• Spending more quality time with loved ones.
• Breaking the habit of mindless scrolling.

Here’s how to get started:

• Download the app.
• Follow the step-by-step guide below to finish your personal settings in just 15 minutes.

If you prefer to explore on your own, the in-app walkthrough will also guide you through the setup.

What is Clarymind's Focus Feature?

Once set up, Clarymind applies a gray filter to social media apps on your phone.

A small hourglass icon appears next to them, showing they are locked.

You can only use these apps after unlocking them.

A timer runs while you use them.

When your allowed time is up, the apps lock again automatically.

Redesign Your Life and Work System with Clarymind's Focus Feature

Why should we lock our social media and create a system to help us stay focused?

Because willpower isn’t unlimited. Every decision, act of self-control, or moment of resistance drains energy.

This is called ego-depletion: the idea that willpower is limited, and using it reduces your ability to stay in control.

To conserve energy and stay focused, the solution is to create a system where achieving your goals becomes effortless and automatic. Instead of constantly reminding yourself to change your habits, simply place yourself in the right environment:

• I want to stop mindlessly checking my phone. ➡︎ Locked apps prevent unconscious scrolling.

• I get distracted during work hours and miss deadlines. ➡︎ Locked apps and silenced notifications keep you focused.

• I lose track of time scrolling at night. ➡︎ The system times usage and re-locks apps automatically.

• I want to spend more time reading. ➡︎ Set prompts to open reading apps instead of social media, turning idle moments into reading time.

Why Does Scrolling Social Media Affect Us So Much?

Every distraction takes 20 minutes to refocus, according to Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less.

A survey by ElectronicsHub shows that the average screen time worldwide per day is 6 hours and 37 minutes, while the average social media usage per day is 2 hours and 31 minutes.

Two hours a day might not sound like much, but over a month, that’s 60 hours—2.5 full days. Over a year, it adds up to a whole month spent entirely on social media, not eating or sleeping. And for many, daily social media usage exceeds 2 hours.

Imagine what you could achieve if you had an extra month every year.

Of course, social media has its positives—it connects us, supports professional needs, and provides entertainment. Deleting your accounts might feel extreme or impractical.

That’s why Clarymind’s Social Unlock feature isn’t designed to ban social media use entirely (you could just delete the apps for that). Instead, it helps you reflect on your habits, reassess your time allocation, and take a longer-term view of how you spend your limited time.

Is Clarymind's Focus feature helpful?

Here’s what real users said on the App Store:

• I am much not focused not scrolling for hours. Love the gentle way it says do you really want to do this, if you try and use the app! - BklynGirl45

• Clarymind is undoubtedly an app that everyone can use in modern society. - pk

• Clarymind is great. I have been struggling two problems in my life: 1. My anxiety, 2. My addiction to chase after dopamine. Although I’ve been seeking professional help for these problems, I just couldn’t be happier to find an App thats able to help me with both (at the same time too!) 🥹 It doesn’t only save me time, and the anxiety that I was unconsciously taking in while scrolling Instagram. Thank you Clarymind🤍 I look forward to more mindfulness with your development team. - ValavalavalT

• Screen Time AI (Shado) is amazing! I saw the feature go live today and just had to leave a comment. It's such a great tool, incorporating the mindful 'pause' concept to help users become more aware of what they're about to do. This approach is really helpful for breaking unconscious habits! - Fanyaning

• It really works! Love it! - roceanw

• An app to help you reconnect with real life! If you can't stop scrolling social media every day and always regret wasting time, it might not be about lacking willpower. You could just be missing the right tool. Clarymind is a great app that helps you reduce phone use effortlessly! - AOOOOOO

Clarymind now has users from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and other regions.

Step 1: Decide how long, how often, and when you’ll use social media each day

Here are some tips to help you set limits and stick to them:

1. Base your goal on your past usage.

If you’re not sure how much time to allow at first, check how much you usually use social media.

Go to "iPhone Settings > Screen Time" to see your current usage.

Take that number and multiply it by 0.7 to set your starting daily limit.

Don’t worry, you can always adjust your goal later.

2. Set each use time to 10 minutes or more

If you change your habits too much, you might end up going over time and lose the effect.

Start with 10 or 15 minutes so you don't unlock apps too often. Don't make unlocking feel more like a habitual ritual.

3. Plan alternative activities in advance

What would you rather do instead of using social media? Break these activities into small tasks and plan them during your usual social media time.

For example, if you usually scroll during your commute, switch to reading an e-book.

After dinner, if you’re too tired to focus, use your social media time for washing dishes or taking an early shower to get to bed sooner.

4. Unused unlock time isn’t "wasted," it’s taking back control

At first, you might feel like you wasted unused unlock time. Try shifting your mindset to think, "What could I do to make my life richer?" or "Am I avoiding something?"

Step 2: Grant Screen Time access and turn on notifications, then choose which social media apps to lock

1. To use Clarymind’s social lock feature, you need to allow Screen Time access and turn on Clarymind notifications

Don’t worry, Apple cares about your privacy. Clarymind won’t know which apps are on your phone, which ones you lock, or get any Screen Time data. Clarymind just needs this permission to lock/unlock apps.

Allowing notifications is just for "unlocking your apps." Clarymind won’t send you any marketing notifications.

2. Next, the screen will guide you to choose the app you want to lock. Note, you can only select one app at a time

Here’s where common social media apps are in the menu:

• Social: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter), Discord
• Entertainment: TikTok
• News & Reading: Reddit

This menu is managed by Apple, and Clarymind doesn’t have access to it.

Since the form might crash, it’s better to select the app based on the above categories. Don’t use the search function or open too many categories at once.

3. Choose how many times you can open the app each day and how long you can use it each time

Tip: Think about when you plan to use it later. This helps you set the right number of uses and time for each session.

Step 3: Choose the unlocking mode that works for you

1. Screen Time AI Mode

Every time you open a social media app, the Screen Guard will ask why you want to use it. Based on your answer, it will give suggestions.

If it approves your reason, it will let you open the app. If it suggests you pause, it will guide you to take a deep breath before making your final decision.

There are 3 other characters: the King, Lumiro the Wizard, and Grumpi the Cat.

This is for people who want a partner or coach to help them adjust their phone habits or track their reasons for using social media.

The Screen Guard will encourage you during each unlock process and help you build new habits.

We've had a long relationship with our phones and social media, so change doesn't happen overnight. We often feel motivated to change, but after a few days, willpower fades, and we fall back into old habits. That's when we need reminders.

2. Breath Mode

Each time you unlock a social media app, follow the on-screen guide to take a deep breath. If you haven’t reached your "daily usage limit," you can skip the breathing step.

This is for people who prefer a simple interface and experience. In Breath Mode, each unlock process is a time for a deep breath.

3. Random Mode

When you unlock a social media app, the system will randomly guide you to either "Screen time AI Mode" or "Breath Mode."

If both modes help you and you want more variety, you can choose Random Mode.

Learn about 6 advanced features and customize settings

1. How do I know how much time I have left after opening a social media app?

After unlocking a social media app, Clarymind’s Focus page will show the remaining time you can use, so you can check it anytime.

2. I don’t like being unexpectedly locked in the middle of using an app. Can the system remind me before it locks?

In each app’s settings page, you can set a reminder notification to pop up one minute before the system locks it.

But if you unlock the app for short times and frequently, the repeated notifications may affect your experience.

Please consider your needs before using this feature.

3. How can I change the app to another language?

Screen Time AI now supports multiple languages. You can go to Account > Preferred AI Language to change the Screen Guard's language.

Currently, the app interface is in English, and other languages for the interface are being developed.

4. Where can I see the reasons I entered for each social media use?

Go to Account > Unlock Records to see your history of unlock reasons.

5. Can I lock social media on the web version too?

Yes! Whether you use Safari or Chrome, Clarymind can lock social media on the web.

For Chrome, you need to set up the web social media through the URL.

For Safari, most web-based social media will be locked along with the apps when you use Clarymind. The following social media sites need to be set up with URLs separately:

• Threads: threads.net
• TikTok: tiktok.com
• Twitter: x.com

When you unlock a social media app, the web version will also be unlocked.

6. How do I set up Clarymind's app switch feature? Which apps are supported?

To set it up, go to the app settings page and check the app you want to be suggested. That's it.

In the future, when you open this app, the screen will ask, "Or do you want to go to this app instead?" Choose "Open alternative app," and the alternative app will open automatically.

The supported alternative apps are Kindle, Medium, Substack, Readwise Reader, Notion, and Duolingo.

Other Common FAQs

How to subscribe/unsubscribe?

• To subscribe: Download Clarymind and use in-app purchase to buy.
• To unsubscribe: Go to iPhone > Settings > Your Name > Subscriptions to cancel.

Clarymind offers a 30-day refund policy if you're not satisfied with your purchase.

Why do I see a blank screen or glitch when selecting an app to lock?

When you choose the app to lock, the screen shows a list of apps on your phone. This list is managed and displayed by iOS, and Clarymind doesn't have control over it.

If you see a blank screen or glitch, tap "Reload" on the screen to refresh and it should work fine.

What’s the difference between Clarymind’s "App Locking" and iPhone’s built-in "App Limits"?

iPhone’s "App Limits" lets you set daily time limits for each app. Once the limit is reached, it locks the app for the rest of the day.

The logic of "App Limits":

• It locks the app only after you hit the daily limit, and you can still open it before that.
• When you reach the limit, there’s an option to unlock and continue using it. So, the restrictions are not as strict.

It’s recommended not to use both iPhone’s "App Limits" and Clarymind’s social app locking features at the same time. Since iPhone’s timer system works across multiple apps, it might cause timing errors if they both try to control it at once.

Can I use Clarymind's Focus feature if I don’t want any third party to know which apps I use?

Clarymind won’t know which apps you have or which ones you’ve set to lock. You can use it safely.

This is why, after unlocking an app, you need to open it yourself from your home screen. Clarymind doesn’t have access to know which app you’re opening.

Who might not get the expected results from the Focus feature?

Parents trying to control their kids' phone use.

This is because Clarymind doesn’t link to the parents' phones.

Why didn't the app lock automatically after the time was up?

If you’re using both Clarymind and other iPhone screen time tools (including iPhone's built-in "App Limits"), this might happen.

The reason is that iPhone’s app locking system uses its built-in timer. If multiple apps send requests to the iPhone timer at the same time, it might cause errors.

It’s recommended not to use multiple tools to set limits on the same app.

We’ve also noticed that iOS 18 is unstable. There have been issues reported in Apple forums, and we’ve received feedback from some iOS 18 users. Since Clarymind relies on iOS features to lock/unlock apps, we are working on a fix until Apple resolves the problem. If you haven’t upgraded to iOS 18, you may want to wait for a more stable version.

If the app still doesn’t lock at the right time, please contact us at contact@clarymind.com and let us know what happened.