The Gnomestead Collective
Amber Lock app icon

Amber LockSeal the apps that keep pulling you back, and let your steps be the only thing that melts them free.

There’s an old gnomish legend where a distracted worker’s candied berries were sealed in magical tree sap until he plowed the fields. Amber Lock takes the same idea and applies it to your phone. Seal your most addictive apps in digital amber. To get them back, you have to put the phone down and walk.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

iOS · AndroidPrivacyTerms

  • Amber Lock's Manage Apps screen: 6 hours 29 minutes less on sealed apps over the last 7 days compared to the previous 7, with Instagram down 4h 12m, Reddit down 1h, and Facebook down 1h 17m.
    Track how much less time you spend on sealed apps.
  • The Amber Lock home screen: a watercolour amber field around a tank of banked time, a 10 minute 00 second readout, and a slider held at LOCKED.
    Seal distracting apps in amber. Walk to melt them open.
  • The Manage Device screen showing amber melter settings: three storage tank sizes (1,500 Standard, 6,000 Deep, 10,000 Vault) and three melting efficiencies (100 Standard, 50 Boosted, 25 Refined), with the current configuration giving 1 hour on a full tank.
    Pick the tank size and melting speed that fit your routine.
  • The Amber Lock widget on an iPhone home screen, showing 9 minutes 16 seconds banked, beside sealed Instagram, Reddit and Facebook icons.
    A widget keeps the tank in sight.
  • The Amber Lock widget on an Android home screen, showing 1,491 steps banked above the unlock slider.
    The same on Android, counting steps.

How it works

  1. Seal what keeps pulling you back

    Pick the apps that eat your time: Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, the news, whatever yours are. Seal them in digital amber.

    A home screen with Instagram, Reddit and Facebook each marked with a restriction hourglass, beside the Amber Lock widget counting down 9 minutes 16 seconds.

  2. Reach for one and find amber

    The next time your thumb goes where it always goes, the app is sealed.

    The block screen: App Sealed in Amber, above the reasons you gave for wanting the time back (career, relationships, travel) and a note that the device holds 10 minutes of charge.

  3. Walk to melt the resin

    Store your steps in a tank. When you want to unlock your apps, choose how much to spend. Anything you don't use stays for later.

    Choosing how long to melt the amber for: a slider set to 5 minutes, between 1 minute and use it all at 10, above a note that the rest stays in the tank and you can re-lock early to keep unused steps.

What makes it different

Friction, not willpower

Most app blockers end with a button that says 'ignore for today.' Amber Lock replaces that button with a walk around the block.

Track your screen time savings

See how much less time your sealed apps took this week compared to last, app by app.

A widget for your home screen

Your banked time sits on your home screen beside the apps it's holding shut.

Works offline, no account needed

No sign-in, no account, no data to sync. Amber Lock works on a plane, underground, or with data off.

Your data stays on your device

Which apps you sealed, your usage, and your step counts never leave your phone. We don't see any of it.

Uses your existing step counter

Steps come from Apple Health or Health Connect. The walk you already took counts.

Free & paid

Amber Lock is free. You configure your amber melter with two settings (storage tank and melting efficiency), and four of the six options are free.

Free

  • Seal any apps on your phone and walk to melt the amber.
  • Use the widget and track your screen-time savings.
  • Storage tank: Standard (1,500 steps) and Deep (6,000 steps).
  • Melting efficiency: Standard (100 steps/min) and Boosted (50 steps/min).
  • Fuel cells that add 1,000 steps to your tank in a pinch.

One-time purchases

  • Vault storage tank (10,000 steps). One-time purchase, yours forever.
  • Refined melting efficiency (25 steps/min). One-time purchase, yours forever.
  • Buy both together for a small bundle discount.

Pricing is shown in your app store and varies by country.

No subscriptions. The free settings are genuinely usable, and the upgrades are one-time purchases that never expire.

Questions

How is this different from Screen Time or a normal app blocker?
Screen Time ends with an 'ignore for today' button. Amber Lock replaces that with a walk. The cost of getting back in is paid in steps, not willpower.
Does Amber Lock know which apps I blocked?
No. You choose them through your phone's own picker. That selection stays on your device and never reaches us.
Can it block TikTok and Instagram?
Yes, and anything else on your phone. You can seal individual apps or whole categories like Social.
Can I just bypass it?
Amber Lock is friction, not a cage. The easy way back in is a walk, which is usually enough to break the reflex. Any app promising an unbreakable lock is overselling itself.
Does it work with an Apple Watch?
Yes. Your Apple Watch writes steps into Apple Health, and Amber Lock reads them from there.
What permissions does it need?
On iPhone it uses Screen Time APIs and reads steps from Apple Health. On Android it uses usage access and Health Connect. All of it stays on your device.
Do I need an account?
No. No account, no email, no sign-in. Deleting the app removes everything.
Is Amber Lock free?
Yes. Sealing, blocking, the widget, screen-time tracking, and four of the six amber melter settings are free. The two highest settings (Vault tank and Refined efficiency) are optional one-time purchases that never expire. There are no subscriptions.
What actually leaves my phone?
Purchase status, crash reports, basic product analytics, and install attribution, all with a pseudonymous device ID. Never which apps you sealed, your usage, or your step counts.
What happens to time I don't use?
It stays in the tank. Choose how long to melt for, and if you re-lock early the rest is still there.
Is Amber Lock on Android?
Yes. Amber Lock is on both the App Store and Google Play.
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play