Lock your Android phone with your computer

No account, and free. Calls and emergency calls keep working.

How it works

Your phone is the distraction your computer can't block, whether you're studying or working. FocusOS for Android locks it for exactly as long as your computer's focus session runs. There's no separate timer to set, and no account connecting the two: just a session key that lasts one session. The key goes to the cloud (Google Firestore) with the time left, so your phone can find the session, and it's deleted afterwards. Your computer only sends it if you press Get a key.

1. Start a session in FocusOS on your computer and press Get a key. It shows a key like ABCD-EFGH.
2. Type the key into FocusOS on your phone.
3. The phone is covered until the session ends, and then unlocks by itself. It shows the same time left and the same Pengu as your computer.

What still works

• Making and answering calls, and emergency calls.
• Alarms.
• Any apps you choose in Settings, such as Maps or an authenticator.
• Two 10-minute breaks a session, when the phone opens fully and then locks itself again.
• A way out if you really need it: give a reason of at least 8 words and wait 30 seconds. Your computer's session keeps going and shows that the phone left.

What it blocks

Everything else: apps, the browser, the home screen, the notification shade and Settings. The lock stays on through a restart. If you allow it, notifications are silenced as well. With no internet, it still unlocks when the time runs out.

How much it asks of your phone

The app is under 1 MB and has no ads or trackers inside. It doesn't check what's in front on a timer. Android tells it when that changes, so it uses very little battery.

It uses Android's Accessibility service, which sounds like a lot, so here's what it can do: it's told which app is in front, and it can draw the cover. It can't read your screen or what you type. It does nothing outside a session. The privacy policy has the full detail.

Getting it

Download focusos-android.apk from the FocusOS website on your phone. FocusOS isn't on the Play Store, so Android will ask you to allow the install and Play Protect may warn you. It needs Android 8 or newer, and FocusOS 0.3.0 or newer on your computer. There's no iPhone version, because iOS doesn't let an app do this.

What it can't do

Press Check for updates in the app to get a newer version, with no browser needed.

You can try a 20-second practice lock from the app, with no computer needed.

It's a speed bump, not a prison. Someone determined can remove it by restarting in safe mode or from a computer over USB, and some phone brands stop background services by themselves. Don't lock your phone when you need it for your safety or to find your way.