One tap locks.
One tap frees.
Hold the phones back to back. One NFC tap proves you are in the same place, and the apps you chose lock on both phones at once. They stay locked until you meet again and tap.
The tap is the key. Nobody can lock you from across town, and nobody can add apps while a lock is running.
Two of you. A whole table. Or just you.
Every way of locking lives in the one app, with the same exits. You just can't be inside two locks at once.
Pairs
Exactly two phones. Your list of apps, their list, and one tap between you. Day after day that adds up to a streak the two of you keep alive.
How pairs workCircles
Up to ten people around one anchor phone. Every tap on the anchor locks one more person in.
How circles workModes
Up to three named lists, say Work, Evenings and Weekend. Pick one before you lock. Ready-made categories build a list in seconds, and you can block browsers too.
Routines
A tag lock that starts itself. Monday to Friday, nine to five, Work mode, sealed to the badge on your desk. Skip today from the notification on a sick day.
Pairs. Built for two.
Each of you picks the apps that steal your time. One tap locks them on both phones. Only another tap, together again, unlocks.
Locked
Locked for 2h 14m
Distractions are off on both phones.
Be together to unlock.
12 days together · 9h 40m this week
Evenings · 6 apps Unlock together Break the lock- 01
Pair
Share a short-lived invite link, or simply tap phones the first time. No email, no phone number, no account to create.
- 02
Choose
Your list is yours. Your partner never has to match it.
- 03
Tap to lock
Hold the phones together and the chosen apps lock on both at once.
- 04
Tap to unlock
Meet, tap, and everything opens for both of you. Apart and need out? You can always break the lock alone. Your partner is told. That's the accountability.
More than two of you?
Make it a circle.
A circle is up to ten people and one anchor phone, the phone that stays on the table. Open a gathering, and every tap on the anchor locks one more person's chosen apps. The same lock as a pair, sized for a family evening or a dinner with friends.
Locked
Locked for 48m
The anchor phone stays put. Everyone else taps it to lock in, one by one, and taps it again to leave.
One phone anchors it
Start a circle with a single share link. The anchor opens a gathering, stays where everyone can reach it, and every lock is sealed and released by tapping it.
Your list, your lock
Every lock is personal. Your tap locks you, nobody else. Tap the anchor again and you alone step out. No one else's evening changes.
Friends or family
A friends circle ends by itself when the last person unlocks. A family circle stays open until the anchor ends it, so people can tap in and out as the evening moves.
Nothing hidden, no one trapped
The circle sees who's locked in, who tapped out and who broke their lock. Emergency calls are never blocked, and if the anchor's phone goes missing for an hour, everyone is let out.
No partner? Tether yourself to a tag.
Seal your chosen apps to any NFC tag: a 30-cent sticker, a hotel key card, the transit card in your drawer. Leave it somewhere that takes real effort to reach. The walk to the tag is the pause.
Locked
Work · Locked for 1h 04m
Your apps are sealed to your tag.
Go get it to unlock.
Unlocks by 17:00
Desk badge Unlock with your tag Break the lock- 01
Any tag is the key
Tethr writes a fresh secret onto your tag at every lock, so only that exact tag opens it. Not a photo of it, not a second tag from the same pack, not the phone on its own.
- 02
Routines run themselves
Register a badge once, set the days, the hours and the mode. Your work badge locks your phone during work hours. A sticker on the nightstand does bedtime.
- 03
Same honesty, same exits
Lost the tag? Break lock is there. No record kept, no judgement. An optional time limit releases the lock by itself.
- 04
Yours alone
Tag locks live entirely on your phone. No account, no server, nothing to sync.
Strong enough to matter. Never strong enough to trap.
A lock you can't get out of isn't commitment, it's a cage. Every Tethr lock has escape routes that always work, and bypasses are made visible to the people you locked with rather than impossible.
This is the screen you see when you open a blocked app. It covers the app, reminds you why, and spells out the way out in plain words. Enough of a pause to turn a reflex into a decision.
Instagram can wait
Evenings · Locked for 2h 22m
You and your partner locked this together. To unlock, open Tethr on both phones and tap them together.
Back to Tethr Break the lockYour partner will be told.
Escape routes, always
Break lock (whoever you locked with is told), offline unlock, automatic release if the app loses contact for hours, and an optional time limit. Emergency calls are never blocked. Ever.
Honesty everyone can see
If a locked phone quietly stops enforcing the block, your partner or your circle is alerted within minutes. No silent bypasses.
Private by design
No email, no real name, no ads, no analytics. Your data stays in the EU and lock history deletes itself after 90 days.
each, once. Nothing to buy inside, no subscription.
ads, trackers or email addresses. A display name you invent is all we hold.
people in a circle, around one anchor phone.
days, then your lock history deletes itself.
A pause, not a prison.
Three commitments shape everything Tethr does. We'd rather state them plainly than oversell.
Being together is the key
The unlock isn't a password or a timer. It's being back in the same room, the two of you or the whole circle. The obstacle between you and the feed is a reason to see each other. That's the whole point.
Honesty over theatre
A tap proves the phones were together, not that both people agreed. The blocking slows you down; it can't imprison you, and we tell you that up front. The escape routes are deliberate features, not weaknesses. A tool for voluntary commitment must never become a tool for control.
Know as little as possible
Tethr runs on a display name you invent and nothing else. We don't want your identity, your contacts or your browsing. A focus app that harvested attention data would defeat its own purpose.
What about the day it goes wrong?
A lock you can trust is one that tells you, in advance, exactly what happens when things go wrong. These are the questions we'd ask before installing it, too.
What if the other person isn't around and I genuinely need an app?
Press Break lock. It always works, even with no data or wifi, and it unlocks everything immediately on your phone. The honest part: whoever you locked with, your partner or your circle, gets a notification that you broke the lock. It can always be broken. It just can't be broken quietly.
What happens when there's no signal or you're offline?
Unlocking is built to survive it. Your phones carry short-lived unlock passes, so a tap together still unlocks with no data or wifi at all. And if the app can't check in for hours, it releases the lock by itself. Nothing on our end can ever hold your apps hostage.
Can the other person lock my phone while I'm not there?
No. Locking requires the two phones physically together. The NFC tap only works within a few centimetres, and your phone must have Tethr open. The same goes for a circle: your phone only locks when it's tapped on the anchor phone, in person. Nobody can lock you remotely, and nobody can add apps to the lock while it's running.
What if my phone dies or gets force-stopped mid-lock?
Blocking on that phone stops. Android gives the owner the last word, and we don't fight it. Instead, your partner or circle is alerted within a few minutes that enforcement went dark. When the phone comes back, the lock resumes on its own, including after a reboot or an app update.
Does it ever block calls, maps or emergency numbers?
Never. Emergency calling and the dialler are excluded at the deepest level, navigation apps are allow-listed by default, and you can keep any app you rely on out of reach of the lock entirely.
Do I need a partner to use Tethr?
No. Tethr Tags is Tethr on your own: lock your chosen apps to any NFC tag you own and keep the tag out of arm's reach. And when it's more than two of you, a circle covers the whole table. Every way of locking lives in the same app and the escape routes are identical. You just can't be inside two locks at once.
How does a circle work?
A circle is up to ten people who share one anchor phone. While the anchor has a gathering open, tapping your phone on the anchor locks your chosen apps; tapping again unlocks just you. A friends circle ends by itself when the last person unlocks; a family circle stays open until the anchor ends it. Everyone can see who's in, who's out, and who broke their lock. You can belong to a pair and a circle at the same time. Only one of them can hold your live lock.
Can it lock my apps on a schedule?
Yes: that's a routine, a tag lock that starts itself. Register a badge once, set the days and hours, and at nine your chosen apps seal themselves to that badge until five. The exit stays physical: tap the badge, or break the lock under the terms you set, and a window you end early stays ended until the next one. A routine never starts blind. Asleep or away, it waits for your first pick-up, and a "Skip today" button rides the notification for the sick day. Routines belong to Tethr Tags: a pair or circle lock needs the other people there for the tap, so it can't start itself from a schedule. Up to three routines, each with its own badge, days and mode.
Can I keep different lists for different parts of my life?
Yes. A mode is a named list of blocked apps with its own terms. Keep up to three, say Work, Evenings and Weekend, and switch in a tap before you lock. The mode you pick applies however you lock: with your partner, your circle, or your tag. Ready-made categories help you build a list in seconds, and you can block web browsers too, so a blocked app's website doesn't become the loophole.
Is it a subscription?
No. Tethr is a paid app on Google Play: €0.99 per person, once. Pairing takes two, so each of you buys the app on your own phone, and a circle needs it on every phone in it, the same way. Going solo with Tethr Tags? Then it's just your one install; the tag is whatever NFC tag you already own. Nothing to buy inside the app, no trial that flips into a plan, no premium tier, no ads.
What do you learn about me?
Almost nothing, by design: a display name you invent, an anonymous device token, your pairing or circle, and the lock events needed to keep everyone's phones honest, auto-deleted after 90 days. No email, no phone number, no contacts, no browsing data, no analytics SDKs. Your data stays in the EU.
Which phones does it work on?
Any Android phone with NFC, which is almost every Android sold in the last decade. Pairing needs two of them, a circle anywhere from two to ten; Tethr Tags needs one, plus any writable NFC tag. iPhone isn't supported yet: Apple restricts the NFC and app-blocking abilities Tethr is built on.
Coming to Google Play.
Tethr for Android is built, pairs, circles and tags all in the one app, and in closed field testing with real couples, families and friends right now. It launches as a €0.99 paid app: each of you buys it once, nothing to buy inside, no subscription. Want in on the beta, or want to hear when it launches? One email is all it takes.
Write to us · hello@usetethr.appWe read everything. No list, no spam, just an answer.