How can we help?
The Pause is made by one person. If something is broken, confusing, or just not working the way you hoped, email me and you'll get a real reply.
Contact
hello@trythepauseapp.com
I aim to reply within 2 business days. It helps enormously if you include your iPhone model,
your iOS version, and — if it's a doorway problem — which app you were setting up.
Setting up the doorway
The doorway is the part that greets you with a breath when you open Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and others. It's built on Apple's Shortcuts app, and it takes about two minutes per app. The Pause walks you through every step in the app itself — open it, tap Pause before an app, and pick one.
The full sequence, for reference:
- In The Pause, tap Pause before an app and choose your app.
- Tap Open Shortcuts.
- In Shortcuts, tap the Automation tab, then New Automation.
- Scroll down the list and tap App.
- Tap Choose, select your app, then tap Done.
- Keep Is Opened selected, tap Run Immediately, then Next.
- Tap Add Action and search for Breathe before opening.
- Tap that action, then tap its App field and choose the same app.
- Tap Done. That's it.
Only two choices actually matter: picking your app, and choosing "Run Immediately." Leave every other switch — including "Is Closed" and "Notify When Run" — exactly as it is.
Common questions
The breath doesn't appear when I open the app＋
Almost always one of three things. First, check the automation is switched on in Shortcuts → Automation. Second, make sure you chose Run Immediately rather than "Run After Confirmation" — otherwise iOS waits for you to tap a notification. Third, confirm the "Breathe before opening" action has the same app selected as the automation's trigger. If all three look right and it still doesn't fire, email me.
I just did a breath and it isn't asking again＋
That's Open Door, and it's deliberate. Once you've consciously arrived at an app, quick returns within the next 30 minutes skip the breath, so you're not interrupted five times while replying to one message. You can turn Open Door off in the app's settings if you'd rather be met every single time.
Does The Pause block or limit my apps?＋
No — and it never will. There are no lockouts, no timers, no limits, and no way to lock yourself out. You always continue to the app you opened. The Pause only adds a moment of awareness before you get there.
Why does it need Shortcuts at all?＋
iOS does not let an app place itself in front of another app on its own. Shortcuts is the sanctioned, on-device way to do it. It also means The Pause never needs permission to see or monitor your other apps — it's simply told "this app is opening," and nothing more.
Which apps can I set up?＋
Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, X, Facebook, and Snapchat, with more on the way. Each takes about two minutes to set up, once.
What are the requirements?＋
An iPhone running iOS 26 or later for the doorway, because it depends on an API introduced in iOS 26. The standalone breathing pause works on earlier versions.
I paid, but my unlock isn't showing＋
Open the app's settings and tap Restore Purchases, making sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID you bought it with. If it still doesn't appear, email me with the date of purchase and I'll sort it out. Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
How do I delete my data?＋
There's no account, and what's stored is anonymous. Deleting the app removes everything held on your iPhone. To also delete the anonymous pause records on our side, email hello@trythepauseapp.com and I'll take care of it. See the privacy policy for the full picture.
I have an idea, or I found a bug＋
Please send it. The app is early and genuinely shaped by what people tell me — a lot of what's in it came from someone emailing to say "I wish it did this."
Still stuck?
Email hello@trythepauseapp.com and describe what happened. No support tickets, no bots — it comes straight to me.