brb

Guides

Apps that make you walk

A reminder to move is easy to dismiss. An app that holds TikTok or Instagram until you walk changes the next decision.

Direct answer

Apps that make you walk attach a reward you already want to a step goal. brb is one of them for iPhone: it blocks the apps you choose until Apple Health says you hit the daily steps. It uses Screen Time to lock those apps and HealthKit to read steps. Data stays on the device. Strict Mode removes the ignore button. Emergency Unlock is five minutes, once a day. It is not a generic step counter, and it is not a Screen Time App Limit you can tap through.

What to do now

  1. Pick the apps that actually steal the time. Those are the reward. Lock those, not the whole phone.
  2. Set a step goal you have hit on a normal day. A goal you never reach teaches you to look for a bypass.
  3. Turn on Strict Mode in brb if softer locks have failed before.
  4. If something is already locking the same apps in Screen Time, remove the conflict so brb can enforce the step rule. See the FAQ.

What not to rely on

  • A step counter that only cheers when you move.
  • An App Limit with Ignore Limit still available.
  • Closing the app and promising to walk later.
  • A Downtime schedule that ends while you have not moved.

What walk-to-unlock actually means

Most fitness apps ask you to care about the number. Walk-to-unlock apps reverse it. The number unlocks something you were going to open anyway: social apps, games, a browser.

brb does that with Apple's own controls. Screen Time blocks the chosen apps. HealthKit counts the steps. When the goal is met, those apps unlock. Miss it and they stay locked. That is the product in one rule.

How brb compares to a normal Screen Time setup

Screen Time App Limits are built around a clock and a passcode. Block at End of Limit can remove Ignore Limit, but if you know the passcode you can still clear the shield.

brb keeps the lock tied to steps instead of a passcode you invented for yourself. Strict Mode closes the casual exit. Emergency Unlock remains for a real emergency, once per day. If you want the apps, you walk.

How brb does it

brb list of apps to block, ranked by screen time

Block the apps

Pick the ones that take the time. brb can show them ranked by screen time.

brb daily step goal setting

Set the step goal

The apps stay locked until that number is real.

brb step ring filling toward an unlock

Walk to unlock

The ring fills as you move. Hit it and the apps open. Miss it and they stay locked.

Setup checklist

  1. Install brb and allow Screen Time and Health.
  2. Block the apps that are the real reward.
  3. Set a step goal you can hit.
  4. Turn on Strict Mode.
  5. Walk. The apps unlock at the goal.

Questions

What are apps that make you walk?

They lock a reward behind a step goal. brb locks the iPhone apps you choose until you hit that goal, using Screen Time and Apple Health.

Is brb just another step tracker?

No. brb reads steps to decide when blocked apps unlock. The point is the lock, not a leaderboard.

Does my step data leave the phone?

Step data stays on the device. brb uses HealthKit on the iPhone. Support is berightbackapp@gmail.com if you need help with setup.

Keep reading

Daily step goal calculatorPick a walk-to-unlock number from the steps you already take.Block TikTok until you walkApply the same rule to the app that eats the first ten minutes.Stop doomscrolling in bedWhy zero steps in the morning means the apps stay locked.

Walk first. Then the apps.

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