What Airlock actually does.
The point is not permanent blocking. It is to make a fast, automatic action slow enough for another choice to appear.
- Lets you choose individual apps, app categories or websites.
- Offers a 15, 30 or 60 minute temporary shield.
- Uses Apple’s Screen Time frameworks and permission flow.
- Schedules the release before the Airlock starts.
- Returns the selected routes when the chosen time ends.
What Airlock cannot see.
No Contact does not receive the names of the apps and sites you select from Apple’s picker in readable form. Airlock does not read your messages, profiles, browser history or the content of any blocked app. Your vulnerable words are not the price of the pause.
Why the scheduled release matters.
Airlock is designed as a short boundary, not a trap. Before starting, No Contact asks iOS to schedule the end. If iOS cannot guarantee that release, the Airlock does not start and the app shows an error instead.
That constraint is less dramatic than an irreversible block—and more honest for a moment when control matters.
Use it at the start of the loop.
The best target is the first route you open automatically: Messages, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, a browser or another app you personally choose. Start Airlock before opening the chat or profile, then use the minute for a private draft, a breath, a walk or a person you trust.
A boundary tool, not treatment.
Airlock cannot decide whether contact is right, treat distress, resolve a relationship or keep someone safe in an emergency. If contact is required for children, work, housing, legal or safety reasons, do not block the only channel you need. Build an essential-contact plan instead.
Sources and limits
We use sources to bound claims, not to turn a general guide into a diagnosis.
- Apple Family ControlsApple developer documentation for the privacy-preserving authorization and selection framework used by Screen Time apps.
- Apple Managed SettingsApple developer documentation for applying shields to selected apps and web domains.