Android · free during the beta · join with your Google account · Privacy
To be exact, you had one. In the morning, when you set the window. In the evening, at 10 PM, insiegel holds you to it.
insiegel is an Android app that locks your phone for a time window. Every app, the whole device. You get out with proof: a photo, your steps, a place, a timer that has run out. If you mean it, you hand a second key to someone you trust. Without their code, the lock can’t be loosened in the app. This partner lock is part of Premium.
How an evening with insiegel goes
Say you set a window from 9 PM to 11 PM. Your task is “Read for 30 minutes,” with a timer as proof.
9 PM. The window starts. As soon as you open an app, the insiegel lock overlay covers it. The top shows how much time is left. Phone and emergency calls, Messages, Contacts, Files, Settings, and every app you allowed beforehand stay available.
9:05 PM. You tap Do it now and start the timer. Then you put the phone down and read.
9:35 PM. The timer has run out, the task counts as done, and the lock opens. The rest of the evening is yours.
Or you don’t read. Then the phone stays locked until the window ends on its own at 11 PM. The phone measures steps, location, and time itself. You take a photo with the camera at that moment. Pictures from the gallery don’t work.
With a partner (Premium), you can’t skip the task, shorten the window, or delete it. That takes their code. The code is recalculated with every attempt, so there is no slip of paper you could leave for yourself.
What insiegel can’t do
This is here so you know what you get.
Without a partner, you can skip a task. The partner lock is part of Premium and is not in the free tier.
When Premium ends, the partner lock ends too. Details are under “What happens when my subscription ends?”.
If you end insiegel with Force stop in Android Settings or delete the app, you end the lock too. No app can prevent that on a phone that belongs to you. The only defense against this path is that you don’t want to take it.
Samsung phones like to put background apps to sleep. Then the lock doesn’t appear. How to turn that off is in Support.
Without the AI check, insiegel doesn’t look at what is in a photo. What counts is that you take it now, with the camera. With the AI check (not yet active), an AI estimates whether the photo fits the task and can be wrong. Value and checkbox are your own entry.
insiegel exists only for Android. On an iPhone, an app could lock only single apps, not the whole device. That’s why there is no iPhone version.
insiegel is not a medical device and not therapy. If your phone use weighs heavily on you, talk to someone who is trained for that.
insiegel next to what you’ve already tried
Your phone’s screen time limit, most blocker apps
insiegel
Who lifts the lock?
You do. Tap Ignore limit, end the session, or delete the app.
With Premium, your partner. Not you alone. Without Premium, you can skip a task yourself.
What is locked?
Single apps or websites. When TikTok is closed, YouTube is open.
The whole phone. Phone, emergency calls, Messages, and your allowed apps stay available.
How do you get out early?
Tap it away or wait.
With proof: photo, steps, place, timer, value, or checkbox.
Does the lock cost anything?
The limit costs nothing. The apps often cost a subscription.
The lock is free. Premium gets you more windows, more proof types, and the partner lock.
What it costs
During the beta, insiegel is free with all features. If you created an account by the end of the beta, you keep Premium afterward at no cost. The terms for this are on the Support page. After that, there are two tiers:
Free
Premium
Hard lock
Yes
Yes
Lock windows
1
Several
Tasks
3
More
Proof types
Checkbox, timer, value
Plus photo, steps, and place
AI check
No
Yes, not yet active
Partner lock
No
Yes
Stats
7 days
30 days
Premium has no free trial. Google Play shows you the price before you buy. A subscription renews automatically until you cancel it in Google Play. It then runs until the end of the period you paid for. Details are in the Terms of Service.
Your data
Photos stay on your device and go to no one, not even your partner. Exception: you choose the AI check (not yet active) for a task. Then an AI checks the photo or your location on our server in the EU. Neither is stored.
insiegel evaluates which app you’re using only on the device. The step count isn’t stored anywhere.
Your tasks, windows, and completions are in your account on a server in Frankfurt, so a new phone can find them again.
Your partner sees none of this. They hold the code, not your data.
In the EU, crash reports and usage statistics go to Google only after you say yes. The switch is in Settings.
This website measures with Google Analytics, but only if you agree in the cookie notice. Without your yes, it sets no cookies and loads nothing from other servers. You can change your choice at any time under “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.
Everything else, with every place where data flows, is in the Privacy Policy.
Common questions
What if I can’t reach my partner?
Then the lock stays until the window ends. Phone and emergency calls always stay available. So don’t set a window for a time when you need your phone for work, supervision, or your safety.
Do I need Premium for a partner?
Yes. Pairing a partner and setting the partner PIN are part of Premium. The person who becomes your partner doesn’t need Premium or an account with Premium. I’m a partner is free. Restoring an existing pairing on a new device is free too, but only with your current partner. Free are the hard lock with one lock window and the proof types checkbox, timer, and value. In the beta, everything is free.
Does my partner see my tasks or photos?
No. When you pair, they see the name you give yourself. On an approval attempt, they see whether the code is right. Nothing else.
Can I read messages while the lock is on?
Yes. Messages, Phone, Contacts, Files, and Settings stay available. You can allow any other app yourself before the window starts.
What happens when my subscription ends?
You cancel in Google Play. The subscription runs until the end of the period you paid for, and only then does Premium end. With Premium, the partner lock ends too. If a lock with a partner is running at that moment, it can still be lifted as usual: with the proof, with your partner’s code, or when the time window ends. All later locks no longer need a partner code, including those for tasks you set up with Premium. The simple lock of the free tier applies then. Your existing locks stay in effect. You can then no longer set up new Premium features. Remove partner lock still needs your partner’s approval, even without Premium. If you start a subscription again later, your previous partner applies again right away.
Is there an insiegel for iPhone?
No, and it isn’t planned. See “What insiegel can’t do” above.
Who is behind it?
One person, in Germany. Name and address are in the Legal Notice. Send questions to Support.
