Lock The Phone, Keep The Phone

1. Download the file

Tap the download button above. Chrome will save the .apk into your Downloads folder.

What you will see: Chrome may say “This type of file can harm your device” and offer Cancel or Download anyway. Every APK downloaded outside the Play Store gets this line — it is about where the file came from, not what is in it. Choose Download anyway.

2. Open it

Pull down the notification shade and tap the downloaded file, or open Files → Downloads and tap it there.

3. Allow installs from this app, once

Android will say your browser is “not allowed to install unknown apps”. Tap Settings on that message, turn on “Allow from this source”, then press Back. You only do this once, and it applies to the browser, not to us.

What you will see: On some phones the switch is called “Install unknown apps” or “Install via USB”. On Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO it sits under Settings → Privacy protection → Special permissions.

4. Play Protect will ask

A dialog headed “Unsafe app blocked” or “Play Protect doesn’t recognise this developer” may appear. Tap More details, then Install anyway.

What you will see: This is Google saying it has not scanned this app before, because it is not distributed through the Play Store. It is not a virus report. The app is signed with our own key, and the SHA-256 above lets you confirm the file is byte-for-byte the one we published.

5. Install and open

Tap Install, then Open. The first screen explains exactly what the app can see, and asks you to agree or not.

Accessibility

This is the one that makes the app work. It lets FOCUS see which app just came to the front, so a blocked one can be closed. It reads nothing else.

Read this: Android shows a long, deliberately alarming warning here — “full control of your device”, “can view your screen”. That text is the same for every app that uses this permission and describes what the API is capable of, not what FOCUS does. FOCUS reads one thing: the name of the app in front. It never reads screen content, messages or anything you type, and it has no server to send anything to.

Usage access

Supplies the screen-time figures on the Record tab. The locking works without it.

Notifications

One ongoing notification showing how much of your session is left.

Uninstall protection (optional)

If you switch it on, Android refuses to remove FOCUS while a session is running, so a moment of weakness cannot delete the lock.

Read this: Remember this one. To uninstall the app later you must first turn that switch off on the FOCUS home screen — otherwise Android will simply refuse and it looks as though the app cannot be removed.

Will phone calls and messages still work?

Yes, always. Your dialler, your messaging app, contacts and the launcher are permanently exempt in the code. No session of any length can stop you making or taking a call.

What if I need to stop a session early?

Tap Emergency on the countdown screen, wait one minute, then enter your PIN. The session ends and is counted on your record. A session also ends by itself when the timer runs out, so a forgotten PIN never traps you.

Does it survive a restart?

Yes. A session is stored as an end time, so restarting the phone does not shorten or clear it.

Will it update itself?

No. Apps installed this way do not update automatically. Come back to this page and install the newer file over the top — your settings, PIN and record are kept.

Why is it not on the Play Store?

Google Play applies its strictest review to apps that use the Accessibility service — the very thing an app blocker cannot work without. Our submissions were declined on that ground, so we publish it here directly instead. The app itself is unchanged and is signed with our own key.