Articles on: Troubleshooting

How do I stop myself from getting around my own blocks?

Turn on Strict Mode on the Scheduled Block or Block Now you keep escaping, and set an iOS Screen Time Passcode so Detox itself can't be disabled or deleted. Strict Mode closes the in-app ways out for the duration of a block; the passcode closes the device-level ones at any time.

This article is about locking yourself in. It is not about using a blocked app right now (that's Pause, Snooze, or Urgent Unblock territory), and not about an app that got blocked by mistake.

If you meant something else: use a blocked app right now → see How can I use a blocked app right now?. An app is blocked that you never meant to block → see Detox is blocking an app I didn't mean to block. How do I fix it?.

"I can just remove apps from my group mid-block"

Turn on Strict Mode for that Scheduled Block or Block Now. While the block is active, the App Group it uses is read-only: you can't remove or change the apps inside it until the block ends. Without Strict Mode, the only barrier is the short Take a breath before editing... countdown, and that always lets you through once it finishes. Full details: What is Strict Mode?.

"I can just delete Detox"

Two layers stop this. Strict Mode locks the ability to uninstall Detox for the duration of that block. For protection that doesn't depend on any block running, set an iOS Screen Time Passcode: it prevents deleting Detox and disabling its Screen Time access at any time, device-wide. Setup steps: How do I use iOS's Screen Time Passcode to lock Detox?.

"My only block is Auto Block"

Auto Block has no Strict Mode option, so there is no in-app editing lock for it. The tamper-resistant layer for an Auto-Block-only setup is the iOS Screen Time Passcode, which locks Screen Time settings device-wide so Detox can't be disabled or deleted. See How do I use iOS's Screen Time Passcode to lock Detox?.

"What about Urgent Unblock?"

Urgent Unblock stays available even under Strict Mode, by design, so you're never fully locked out. Its guardrail is the cap: one use every 24 hours per device. If you find yourself reaching for it routinely, that's a signal to move the apps involved into a stricter block rather than a reason to fight the button. Details: What is Urgent Unblock?.

What actually locks what

The Take a breath before editing... countdown is a delay, not a lock. It always lets you through.
Strict Mode locks a block's settings, its App Group, and uninstalling Detox, but only while that Scheduled Block or Block Now is active, and it never applies to Auto Block.
The Screen Time Passcode is an Apple/iOS feature, set in iOS Settings, not inside Detox. It locks Screen Time settings and Detox's deletion at all times, whatever block is or isn't running.

Updated on: 15/07/2026

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