Support

How does Tempo work?

You choose the apps to block. Each minute of exercise — read from Apple Health on iPhone, or Health Connect on Android — credits a screen-time balance shared by all your apps: as long as it’s positive they open, and using them drains it. At zero, the block comes back on its own — even if Tempo is closed.

My minutes aren’t being credited

Two common causes:

• Health access hasn’t been granted. On iPhone, check in Settings → Health → Data Access & Devices → Tempo. On Android, in Settings → Security & privacy → Privacy → Health Connect.
• The workout was entered by hand. As an anti-cheat choice, only workouts recorded by a sensor — an Apple Watch, a smartwatch, or a third-party app such as Strava — are credited. Workouts shorter than one minute are ignored.

On Android only: if your minutes only arrive when you open the app, two settings are worth checking — the background read permission in Health Connect, and the battery optimisation exemption for Tempo, without which the system can put the countdown to sleep.

How do my apps unlock?

Automatically: as soon as your balance is positive, all your blocked apps open — nothing to unlock one by one. Using them drains the balance minute by minute, and at zero the block drops back everywhere at once.

Why do my apps re-lock on their own?

That’s the whole point: your real usage is measured, and the block comes back as soon as the balance hits zero. On iPhone, iOS handles it; on Android, it’s Tempo’s own service — the one behind the persistent notification. Either way, it works with Tempo closed.

What permissions does Tempo request?

On iPhone — Apple Health (to read your workouts), Screen Time / Family Controls (to block the chosen apps) and notifications (optional).

On Android — Health Connect (workouts, steps, calories, and background read so minutes land without you reopening the app), usage access (to know when to draw down), display over other apps (to show the blocking screen), notifications, and the battery optimisation exemption (optional, but the countdown is more reliable with it).

Everything stays on your device — see the Privacy Policy.

Managing or canceling Tempo Pro

From Tempo → Settings → Tempo Pro, or from your store: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions on iPhone, Google Play → Payments and subscriptions → Subscriptions on Android. On expiry, your apps stay blocked — blocking is complete on the free tier. You lose strict mode, the adjustable screen time cap (it goes back to 60 min a day), the fixed per-sport rates (every sport goes back to its automatic weighting; your rates are kept and come back if you renew Pro), the full log, the weekly recap and widgets, never the protection.

Restoring my purchases

Open the paywall in Tempo and tap “Restore Purchases.” Make sure you’re signed in with the account — Apple or Google — used for the purchase.

Requesting a refund

Refunds are handled by your store: reportaproblem.apple.com for the App Store, Google Play support for Android.

Requirements

iPhone running iOS 18 or later; Android 9 (API 28) or later, with Health Connect.