Troubleshooting.

freeself needs an iPhone with NFC reader. All iPhones from the iPhone 7 onward support it. If you see this on a supported device, restart your iPhone — NFC sometimes locks up after iOS updates.

The phone moved away before the read finished, or the tag isn't a freeself Tag.

1. Hold your phone flat on top of the Tag, top half of the iPhone touching it
2. Don't move for ~1 second after the haptic kicks in
3. Remove thick cases or magnetic wallets — they block NFC signal

The Tag is bound to another freeself account. Each Tag can only be linked to one user at a time. If this is your Tag, write us at hello@freeself.app with your order number — we'll release it.

The scanned NFC tag isn't a freeself Tag. freeself only works with the original device — generic NFC stickers won't pass our verification.

The freeself screen must be open and showing "TAP TO START" for the scan to trigger. Background scans aren't supported (iOS limitation). Open the app first, then tap.

freeself uses Apple's Screen Time / Family Controls API. It needs explicit permission:

1. Open Settings → Screen Time on your iPhone
2. Make sure Screen Time is turned on for "This is My iPhone" (not "My Child's iPhone")
3. In the freeself app, go to Settings → Permissions and tap "Allow Screen Time access"
4. Confirm on the system prompt

If you accidentally tapped "Don't Allow", iOS only asks once. You'll need to delete and reinstall freeself to be asked again.

Screen Time blocks based on the category the app reports to iOS. Some apps (especially custom or sideloaded ones) don't fall cleanly into a category. Solution: pick the app individually in Modes → Edit → Apps instead of relying on a category.

This usually means Screen Time was disabled or reset by iOS during a system update. Re-grant the permission via the steps above, then restart your session.

Either your network dropped or our email provider hit a temporary limit. Wait 30 seconds and tap "Send code" again. If it keeps failing, switch between Wi-Fi and cellular and retry.

1. Check your Spam / Junk folder — the first email from us often lands there
2. Make sure the email address is typed correctly (no typos)
3. Codes can take up to 2 minutes during peak hours
4. Add hello@freeself.app to your contacts so future emails arrive in the inbox

Codes expire after 10 minutes and are single-use. If you copied the code from the latest email and it still fails, tap "Resend" to get a fresh one.

Three common causes:

• Screen Time permission wasn't granted (see section above)
• The selected Mode has zero apps to block — open the Mode and pick at least one
• You're offline — sessions briefly sync state on start. Reconnect and try again.

Force-quit the freeself app (swipe up and flick away), reopen it, and tap your Tag again. If the lock screen persists, restart your iPhone — Screen Time enforcement clears on reboot if the app can't write to it.

A streak only counts a day where a session ran for the full duration set in your Mode. Sessions ended early via "End session" don't count toward the streak.

In the app: Settings → Account → Delete account. This removes your email, all sessions, streaks, and unbinds your Tag — irreversibly.

Install freeself on the new device, sign in with the same email + verification code, then tap your Tag once to re-bind it. The old device automatically loses access.

Email and account data on Supabase (EU region). Your selected apps and Modes stay on-device — Apple's Screen Time API doesn't expose them to us. See Datenschutz for details.