Support

The app is asking for Screen Time access. Why?

Because it cannot measure anything without it. Whittle uses Apple’s Screen Time system to read how long you spend in the apps you picked. Tap Allow Screen Time and confirm on the sheet iOS shows. The request is for your own device — Whittle never monitors anyone else, and it never sees what you were doing, only for how long.

I said no by accident. How do I turn it on?

Open Settings on your iPhone, go to Screen Time › Apps with Screen Time Access, and turn Whittle on. If Whittle is not listed there, delete the app and reinstall it — the permission will be asked for again on first launch.

Why do I have to wait a week?

Because the target has to come from your own life rather than a number we guessed. For the first seven days Whittle changes nothing at all — it counts. When the week is done it shows you your daily average. Measuring is free. If you already know the limit you want, Whittle Pro can start the program from it today. Your minutes keep being counted either way; a measured number comes from a full week, which you can start whenever you like with Measure again in Settings.

Can I change which apps are counted?

Yes, in Settings inside the app, at any time. Changing the list mid-program keeps your existing targets; it does not restart the measuring week.

What can I use without paying?

Measuring, today’s minutes and your history are free, and stay free. Measuring on its own never puts a pause in front of anything.

What does Whittle Pro add?

The program. It lowers your daily minutes by 8% a week — or 4%, 6% or 10%, over 8, 12 or 16 weeks — from your measured week or from a limit you choose. Once today’s minutes are used, a pause appears in front of the apps you chose. On Sunday you get next week’s target, and a Home Screen widget counts down what is left today (the widget needs iOS 17 or later).

What does it cost?

In the United States, $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. Apple decides who is eligible: an Apple Account that has already had a Whittle trial or subscription does not get another free week. Prices vary by country, and the app shows yours, in your currency, before you buy.

How does the pause work?

With Whittle Pro, once today’s minutes are used, a pause appears in front of the apps you chose. Close takes you back. Open anyway lifts the pause with one tap — no countdown, nothing to hold down. It may ask again later that day, and midnight clears it.

Nothing interrupted me before I hit my target.

That is deliberate. While you are inside your own number Whittle stays out of the way — no warnings and no nudges at 80%. The pause only appears once the day’s minutes are used.

I didn’t get notifications from an app while the pause was up.

While a pause is up, iOS may hold back notifications from the apps behind it. Apple does not document this, so we cannot promise either way. Messaging apps like WhatsApp are best left off the list — change it in Whittle’s Settings, under Apps.

I went over my minutes. Did I ruin it?

No. Next week’s target follows the schedule, not your slips — nothing is added back as a penalty. If a week was hard, the weekly summary in the app lets you hold its target one more week.

8% a week is too fast.

With Whittle Pro, Settings lets you choose 4%, 6%, 8% or 10%, and run the program over 8, 12 or 16 weeks. A slower decrease works just as well; it only takes longer.

What happens when the program ends?

The pause comes down. You can keep lowering from where you landed, which starts a new program, or finish and let Whittle simply count. Your subscription keeps renewing until you cancel it.

The numbers don’t match iOS Settings.

Whittle counts in steps — each minute up to two hours, then every five minutes up to six — so a day can read a few minutes under Settings, and counting stops at six hours: a longer day reads as six. The system also reports usage on its own schedule, so gaps inside a day are normal, especially in the last hour. If the two are far apart for several days, write to us.

Nothing is being counted at all.

Three things to check, in order: Screen Time access is on for Whittle in iOS Settings; at least one app is selected in Whittle’s own Settings; and the device is the one you actually use. Whittle measures the phone it is installed on and does not sync between devices.

How do I stop the notifications?

There are only two kinds. One arrives when your first number is ready. The other arrives on Sunday morning: with Whittle Pro, this week’s and next week’s targets; without it, the daily average of the past seven days, sent only when every one of those days was counted. Turn that one off under Weekly summary in Whittle’s Settings. If you used Whittle before version 1.2, the Sunday note without Whittle Pro stays off until you switch Weekly summary on there. Either kind can be turned off in iOS Settings under Notifications. Neither makes a sound.

How do I restore a purchase?

Open Whittle and tap Restore purchase — it is in Settings, and under the plans when Whittle Pro is offered. Your subscription is attached to your Apple Account, so it comes back on a new phone or after a reinstall, as long as you are signed in with the same Apple Account you bought it with.

How do I cancel?

Settings on your iPhone › Apple Account (your name, at the top) › Subscriptions › Whittle › Cancel Subscription. Deleting the app does not cancel it. Cancelling stops the next charge and leaves the current period running to its end. To avoid being charged when a free trial ends, cancel at least 24 hours before it ends; Apple may end the free days as soon as you cancel.

The pause keeps appearing after I cancelled, or after I deleted Whittle.

Cancelling stops the next charge, not the period you have already paid for, so the program and its pause carry on until that period ends. Once the subscription has ended, opening Whittle lets it take the pause down.

A pause can outlive the app that set it, so deleting Whittle is not a reliable way to remove one. If Whittle is no longer on your iPhone, or the pause still appears, open Settings › Screen Time and turn off Screen Time access for Whittle. That also stops the counting. If the pause is still there after that, write to us.

I want a refund.

Refunds go through Apple, at reportaproblem.apple.com. We cannot issue them ourselves — Apple takes the payment. Write to us anyway if something went wrong; we will help you make the case.

I paid but the app still shows Whittle Pro as not active.

Tap Restore purchase first. If it does not clear, check that the Apple Account signed in on the device is the one that made the purchase. If it still does not clear, email us with the order ID from Apple’s receipt and we will sort it out.

Where do my numbers go?

Nowhere, unless you send them. They are computed and stored on your iPhone, and there is no account, no sync and no server holding them. The one way they leave is one you choose: Share diagnostics in Settings puts the last two weeks of daily totals into a report and hands it to the share sheet, so it goes only where you send it. Deleting the app deletes them. The full detail is in the Privacy Policy.

Can you see which apps I use?

No. iOS hands the app an opaque token rather than a name, and only the system can turn it back into an app. Even the on-screen names and icons you see are drawn by iOS, not read by us.

How do I delete my data?

Delete the app. That removes the numbers and settings Whittle stored. It does not cancel a subscription, and it is not a reliable way to take down a pause — see above. The only record that survives is the anonymous subscription entry held by our payment provider; email us if you want that removed too, and include your order ID so we can find it.