Lock the apps that pull you in. Solve puzzles to earn time back.
Need help? Email nguyenlabs10@gmail.com and you will get a reply from a person. Telling me your iPhone model and iOS version speeds things up considerably.
You choose apps to lock and pick how long the lock should last. That lock window starts immediately. While it runs, the apps you picked are blocked by iOS itself.
To get back in early, you buy an unlock session with puzzles. Sessions come in three lengths, and each one costs more than the last within the same lock window:
You get three unlock sessions per lock window. After that you wait for the window to end. When it does, the app returns to normal and the counter resets.
Sphinx uses Apple's Screen Time system to do the actual blocking, and iOS requires your explicit permission before any app can do that. Without it Sphinx cannot lock anything at all. The permission is granted once, during setup, and you can revoke it any time in Settings › Screen Time.
The app picker is Apple's, not Sphinx's, and it only lists apps installed on the device you are holding. If something is missing, check that it is actually installed and not offloaded. Sphinx cannot see your app list, so it cannot add anything to that picker itself.
Lock windows end on a schedule managed by iOS, and occasionally the system runs a few moments late. Open Sphinx once and it will repair the state immediately. If an app is still blocked several minutes after its window should have ended, email me with the lock length you used.
Swiping to remove an app is deliberately blocked while that app is inside an active lock window. Otherwise removing the app would be a one-swipe escape hatch and the lock would mean nothing. Wait for the window to end, then swipe to remove.
If you reinstalled Sphinx or moved to a new iPhone, tap Restore purchases on the subscription screen while signed in to the same Apple Account you bought with. If nothing is found, confirm you are signed in to the right account in Settings › your name › Media & Purchases.
Subscriptions are billed by Apple, so they are managed on your iPhone rather than inside Sphinx: Settings › your name › Subscriptions. Cancelling there stops future renewals and leaves your access running until the end of the period you already paid for. Refund requests also go through Apple, at reportaproblem.apple.com.
Sphinx has no account, no tracking and no analytics, and it genuinely cannot see which apps you chose to lock. The full explanation is in the privacy policy.