Category
Productivity app blocker with mutual accountability for iPhone. Bundle ID ai.novarynix.truce.
Press kit
Truce locks your apps with a partner, not a timer you can override.
Two people choose their own apps, follow a shared schedule, and keep one private accountability timeline. No Truce account, surveillance, ads, analytics, or app-list sharing.
Contact
Privacy
No Truce account, analytics, ads, or tracking SDKs. Pairing requires iCloud; Screen Time selections never leave the device.
Architecture
Apple Screen Time (Family Controls) for on-device blocking; an encrypted private CloudKit share for pairing; StoreKit 2 for purchases.
App Review notes
What the app does. Truce is a Screen Time app blocker with mutual accountability. Two consenting adults each choose apps on their own device and share a schedule and accountability timeline — never app lists or usage.
Family Controls usage. Truce uses AuthorizationCenter individual authorization (not parent/child). Each user selects their own apps via FamilyActivityPicker; tokens never leave the device. ManagedSettingsStore shields and DeviceActivity schedules are used, and a DeviceActivityMonitor extension re-arms shields and expires 15-minute passes. This is self-imposed blocking with social accountability — not surveillance: a partner cannot see app names, usage, or content, cannot add apps to the other's device, and either party can dissolve the truce at any time from Settings.
Pairing and data. The owner sends Apple's standard private iCloud sharing invitation. The custom CloudKit zone and share accept exactly one non-owner participant. User-entered names, the schedule, accountability events, pairing state, and the limited paired-Pro claim are encrypted CloudKit values. There is no separate Truce account, email collection, analytics, advertising, or tracking SDK.
Testing without a partner. On first run, create a truce and choose "I'll invite later — start solo." All blocking behavior is testable solo. In the iOS Simulator the app runs a demo mode with a simulated partner; on device, real Screen Time blocking is active.
Monetization. StoreKit 2 subscriptions and a lifetime purchase unlock whole categories, additional selections, custom schedules, and Strict Mode. The free tier is functional: one truce, Resolve, five individual app or website selections, and preset schedules. One active Pro entitlement covers both participants while paired.
Launch positioning
- Every app blocker has the same flaw: it answers to you, and at 1am you always win.
- Truce fixes the bypass problem with the oldest technology on earth: a witness.
- Break the truce and the accountability event syncs to your partner; notification timing depends on iCloud, network, and system settings.
- Hall passes grant 15 minutes with partner approval, then re-lock automatically.
- Private by architecture: app choices are opaque tokens Truce can never read.