How can we help?

An app still opens during a session

Check Screen Time’s Always Allowed list. It can include Instagram, Facebook, and other downloaded apps as well as Apple apps.

Check Always Allowed

Apps in this list can stay accessible during a Foqos session, even when other selected apps are blocked. Check it first if an app still opens from the Home Screen or search, or if a Shortcuts automation opens Foqos but you can still use the app.

1. Open iPhone Settings → Screen Time → Always Allowed.
2. Remove each app you want Foqos to block from the allowed list.
3. Start your Foqos profile and try opening the affected apps again, including from search if that is how you could access them.

If the app isn’t in Always Allowed or still opens after you remove it, confirm that your profile is set to block it and check Foqos’s Screen Time access.

If Settings or Safari still opens

Follow the guide to blocking built-in apps to set up a Shortcuts automation that runs when the app opens.

To block websites in Safari, check Block Websites in Safari and the websites selected in your profile. Blocking websites still lets you open the browser itself.

Some Apple apps can remain available even after these changes. Find My is one reported example.

Foqos needs Screen Time access

If apps aren’t blocking or setup won’t finish, check Foqos’s Screen Time permission.

Check Screen Time access

1. In Foqos, open Settings → Screen Time Access and check whether it says Authorized.
2. If it says Not Authorized, open iPhone Settings → Screen Time → Apps with Screen Time Access and enable Foqos.
3. Start a profile with one app selected, then try opening that app to check that blocking works.

If setup still won’t finish

If your iPhone has no device passcode, set one in iPhone Settings and try again. This is the passcode you use to unlock your phone, which is separate from a Screen Time passcode.

Turning off Screen Time access stops Foqos from blocking apps. To make that harder to do during a session, follow the guide to protecting Screen Time access.

The app picker freezes or shows old apps

Refresh the app picker if it freezes, goes blank, or shows apps you’ve deleted.

Get the picker working again

1. Tap the refresh button in the app picker. If it stays stuck, close and reopen Foqos.
2. Try searching for an app or opening a category and selecting apps individually. Start with a small selection.
3. Check for Foqos and iOS updates, then try again.

The picker is provided by Apple. Refreshing can help it load, but it may still show apps you’ve uninstalled.

If it keeps freezing, include your iOS and Foqos versions and the steps that trigger it in a bug report.

Blocking stops working with a large selection

Try selecting a few individual apps. In Allow Only Selected Apps, one category can exceed the limit on its own.

Reduce the selection

1. Edit the profile and select just a few individual apps.
2. If you use Allow Only Selected Apps, remove whole categories and choose the apps you need one by one.
3. Test the profile, then add apps back a few at a time. Check blocking after each change.

Why the counter can be misleading

Apple limits the selection to 50 items. In Allow Only Selected Apps, a category can contain many apps, but the counter counts it as one item. That means you can reach the limit even when the counter shows fewer than 50.

Why can’t I edit or create profiles?

You can edit or create profiles once the active session has ended. A break or pause still counts as an active session.

While a session is running, editing is locked for all profiles—even ones you aren’t using.

To make changes

1. End the active session using its usual stop method, or wait for it to finish.
2. Open the profile you want to edit, or create a new one.

If the timer has reached zero but the session is still active, follow the steps for a stuck timer.

How do I export or clear my session history?

Export your history from Manage, or delete completed sessions in a profile’s Insights screen.

Export your history

1. Open Manage → the three-dot menu → Export Data.
2. Choose the profiles to include, then select Export as CSV and save the file.

You can open the CSV in a spreadsheet. It contains session history; it isn’t a backup you can import to restore profiles or app selections.

Delete completed sessions

Export any history you want to keep first. Deleting sessions can’t be undone.

• One session: open the profile’s Insights, find the session, and swipe left to delete it.
• All sessions in a profile: open the filter menu at the top-right of Insights and select Delete All Sessions.

Repeat for each profile you want to clear. There isn’t a button to clear every profile’s history at once.

Kobo says “localhost is restricted”

If a book won’t open, try a profile that blocks selected apps instead of Allow Only Selected Apps.

Try a different blocking mode

1. Create or choose a profile that blocks selected apps, with Allow Only Selected Apps turned off.
2. Start that profile and try opening your book again.

This error has occurred even with Kobo and localhost allowed. The cause is still unclear, so adding localhost to the allowed list may not help.

An app’s Home Screen icon is blank

Try restarting your iPhone or adding the icon back from App Library. You don’t need to delete the app.

Restore the icon

1. Restart your iPhone and check the Home Screen again.
2. If the icon is still blank, choose Remove from Home Screen, then add the app back from App Library. Don’t choose Delete App.
3. Check for an iOS update if it keeps happening.

This has affected apps such as Camera, Files, and Messages. A blank icon doesn’t necessarily mean the app is missing.

My Mac keeps asking for permission

Allow the Foqos network extension and content filter in System Settings so it can block websites.

Enable website blocking

1. Make sure Foqos is installed in your Mac’s Applications folder.
2. Open System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions → Network Extensions.
3. Enable the entry named Foqos Website Filter or Foqos for Mac, then approve network content filtering.
4. Return to Foqos and check whether setup completes.

On a work or school Mac, your administrator may control these permissions. If the switch is missing, disabled, or keeps turning off, ask them to check it.

My Mac can’t find a profile or website rules

Add websites to your iPhone profile, turn on Sync to Mac, and start the profile on your iPhone.

Send your profile to your Mac

1. Check that your iPhone and Mac are signed in to the same iCloud account.
2. On your iPhone, edit the profile and add the website domains you want to block. Turn on Sync to Mac and save.
3. Start the profile on your iPhone.
4. In Foqos on your Mac, choose Refresh State.

What syncs to Mac?

The Mac app blocks the websites you enter in your iPhone profile. Selecting iPhone apps alone won’t add website rules, and Foqos doesn’t block Mac apps.

Allow-only website lists and Apple’s adult website filter don’t sync to Mac.

My Mac hasn’t caught up with my session

Open Foqos on your iPhone, then choose Refresh State in Foqos on your Mac.

Refresh both devices

1. Open Foqos on your iPhone and check whether the session is running, paused, or ended.
2. Choose Refresh State in Foqos on your Mac. Check that the profile and blocking status match your iPhone.
3. If they still differ, install any available Foqos updates on both devices and repeat the refresh.

Your Mac can fall behind after a session starts, stops, or takes a break. If websites stay blocked after the session ends, this can mean the Mac hasn’t received the change yet.

If refreshing doesn’t help, export Mac diagnostics and note when the session changed and what each device shows. Remove private profile names, websites, and identifiers before sharing the export.

A blocked website still opens in Chrome on Mac

Check that the website appears in your Mac’s active profile, then try it in both Safari and Chrome.

Check the rule and browser

1. In Foqos on your Mac, check that the right profile is active and the website is listed. If the profile is out of date, follow the Mac sync steps.
2. Open the same website in Safari and Chrome. Note whether Chrome loads it every time or only sometimes.

If Safari blocks it but Chrome lets it through, you may be seeing a reported Chrome issue. There isn’t a confirmed fix yet.

For a bug report, include the website, your browser versions, and the steps that let it load. Mac diagnostics can also help; remove private details before sharing them.

My timer ends at midnight

A one-time timer or pause can be cut short at midnight, even if you chose a longer duration.

For example, a one-hour timer started at 11:30 p.m. may stop at midnight instead of running until 12:30 a.m.

For an overnight routine

1. Use a recurring schedule for a regular session that crosses midnight.
2. Test both its start and end on your phone before relying on it. See how to set up a schedule.

One-time timers and pauses are limited to the end of the day. A recurring overnight schedule works differently, though it can still have timing problems.

My schedule doesn’t start or end on time

Test one schedule at a time, with a start more than 15 minutes away and no overlapping sessions.

Test a simple schedule

1. Set up a test schedule that starts more than 15 minutes from now.
2. Check that another profile won’t be running at the same time. For the test, leave about 15 minutes between schedules.
3. If your timer-and-schedule combination shows an Unstable warning, try a schedule without that combination.
4. Check both the start and end. If it starts but doesn’t stop, try a different end time and test again.

Foqos relies on iOS to start and stop scheduled sessions. Missed starts and stops can still happen; these checks don’t resolve every case.

If the problem continues, include the scheduled days, times, time zone, your iOS and Foqos versions, and which start or stop was missed in a bug report.

Do I need to press Start for a schedule?

No. A saved schedule starts automatically. Press Start only when you want to begin a session right away.

Set up an automatic start

1. Set the days, start time, and end time in your profile, then save it. For your first test, choose a start more than 15 minutes away.
2. Leave the profile inactive while you wait. You don’t need to press Start or scan a tag.
3. Check that the session starts and ends at the scheduled times.

You can still press Start outside those hours. A schedule sets automatic start and stop times; it doesn’t limit when you can start a session yourself.

Only one profile can run at a time, so avoid overlapping schedules.

I want several focus windows each day

Duplicate your profile and give each copy its own schedule. Keep the time windows from overlapping.

Use a profile for each time window

1. Duplicate your profile from its edit menu.
2. Give each copy a different schedule—for example, one for the morning and one for the afternoon.
3. Make sure the schedules don’t overlap, then test each start and stop.

Each profile has one schedule, and only one profile can run at a time. If you need several sets of restrictions at once, put them in the same profile.

Using Shortcuts instead

You can also automate starts and stops with Shortcuts. If Require Foqos to Stop is enabled, an automation won’t be able to stop the session. See how background stops work before changing that setting.

My timer is at zero, but apps are still blocked

Open the active session and use the reset option if it appears.

Clear the stuck session

1. Once the countdown reaches zero, open the active session in Foqos.
2. Use the reset option if it’s shown.
3. Try opening an app that was blocked to check that the session has cleared.

If you’re still blocked and no reset option appears, follow the lockout recovery steps.

What’s the difference between a break, a pause, and Temporary Access?

Use a break or pause to lift the whole profile’s blocking. Use Temporary Access to open a selected app or category.

Timed breaks

Turn on Allow Timed Breaks in your profile, then start a break in Foqos. The whole profile is unblocked during the break. Turn on Allow Multiple Breaks to split the same allowance across several breaks.

For example, a 30-minute allowance can cover several short breaks, but it doesn’t refill after each one. See how the break allowance works.

Pause Timer

Choose an NFC or QR + Pause Timer strategy to pause the whole profile by scanning. There’s no set limit on the number of pauses. Use Update Start Settings to save a duration, or Ask Me Every Time to choose each time.

Scanning again while paused ends the session. It doesn’t resume blocking.

Temporary Access

A Temporary Access strategy lets you open a selected blocked app or category for its Open Time. Each opening uses one of your available opens. The clock keeps running when you leave the app.

If you set a reset interval, the opens refill together at intervals measured from the session’s start. Each open doesn’t have a separate refill time.

Temporary Access isn’t working as expected

If an app won’t open, check its related website restrictions. If it stays open too long, test whether blocking has resumed.

If the app stays blocked

1. Check that the profile blocks selected apps. Temporary Access doesn’t work with Allow Only Selected Apps.
2. Select the app individually. Check for related websites both inside the app picker’s categories and in your separate website list.
3. If you’re comfortable allowing those websites, remove their restrictions and test with just the app selected.

Related website rules can keep an app blocked even after you give it Temporary Access.

If access doesn’t end on time

1. After Open Time runs out, try opening the app. Check whether it’s actually blocked, even if the countdown says time is up.
2. Check for Foqos and iOS updates. When you can end the session normally, stop it and start again, then test with one individually selected app.
3. If it happens again, note the access duration and how long the session had been running. Include your iOS and Foqos versions and whether you use other apps with Screen Time access in a bug report.

Access failing to end and blocking stopping after several days have both been reported. Restarting a session may help temporarily, but there’s no confirmed fix for every case.

How the time is counted

Open Time starts when access opens and keeps running when you switch away. It doesn’t measure only the time spent using the app.

Temporary Access doesn’t open individual websites or include standard timed breaks. To pause the whole profile, use an NFC or QR + Pause Timer strategy. See the break and pause options.

Can I take five-minute breaks?

Yes, by ending a break after five minutes. Multiple breaks share one allowance for the session.

Split your break time

1. Before starting the session, turn on Allow Timed Breaks and Allow Multiple Breaks in your profile.
2. Choose a total break allowance between 5 and 60 minutes.
3. Start a break, then end it manually after five minutes to save the remaining time for later.

With a 30-minute allowance, a five-minute break leaves about 25 minutes. If you leave the break running, it uses the remaining allowance—there’s no separate five-minute automatic stop for each break.

The allowance lasts for the session. It doesn’t refill after each break or reset every day.

For short openings of individual apps, Temporary Access has its own duration and reset settings.

The scanner won’t open properly

Check that your profile uses the right scanner. For a black QR camera, check camera permission and restart your iPhone.

Open the right scanner

1. Check your profile’s strategy: choose a QR strategy for a QR code, or an NFC strategy for a tag. Saving a QR code as a Physical Unlock doesn’t switch an NFC strategy to the QR scanner.
2. For QR scanning, check that Foqos has camera permission in iPhone Settings.
3. If the scanner still won’t open or the camera stays black, restart your iPhone and try again.

Keep Emergency Unblock enabled while testing. If the scanner opens but rejects the tag or code, follow the tag and QR troubleshooting steps.

My NFC tag or QR code won’t scan or unlock

Try scanning inside Foqos first. Check that the tag or code matches the unlock saved in your profile.

Try the scan again

1. Check for a Foqos update, then scan from inside the app. For QR codes, keep only the intended code in view; use zoom or the flashlight if needed.
2. For an NFC read error, try another compatible NFC tag or a QR strategy. Note the tag type and exact error message.
3. If the code is read but rejected, compare it with the saved unlock. Use Emergency Unblock if needed, then register the intended code again and test it.

Don’t overwrite a tag that you need to unlock a running session. If you’re stuck, use the lockout recovery steps first.

Scanning a tag outside Foqos

If you’ve written a profile link to the tag, tap the iPhone’s NFC notification to open it. If the matching profile can’t be found, follow the steps for a new phone or rewritten tag.

A tag working in Shortcuts or NFC Tools doesn’t guarantee it will work in Foqos. AirTag support hasn’t been confirmed.

My tag stopped working after changing phones or rewriting it

Set up the profile on your new iPhone. A link stored on an NFC tag doesn’t transfer your profile or app selections.

Using the tag on a new phone

1. Create the profile on your new iPhone and select the apps you want to block.
2. Register and test the tag from inside Foqos. To use one tag on several phones, scan it inside Foqos on each phone.
3. Keep Emergency Unblock enabled while testing, before turning on stricter unlock settings.

If you rewrote the tag

A written profile link points to a profile on one phone. Rewriting the tag can break that link or stop the tag matching a saved unlock—even if you haven’t changed phones.

Only write a new link when the tag isn’t needed to end an active session and you have a working backup. If you’re locked out now, follow the recovery steps before rewriting it again.

I’m locked out and can’t end my session

Try your saved tag or code, then Emergency Unblock. If neither works, turn off Foqos’s Screen Time access.

Get access back

1. Try the tag or code registered to your profile.
2. Use Emergency Unblock if it’s available.
3. If you’re still locked out, open iPhone Settings → Screen Time → Apps with Screen Time Access and turn off Foqos. This stops Foqos blocking apps. You may need your Screen Time passcode.

Avoid deleting Foqos to recover access: you could lose your local data, and Prevent App Deletion may stop you. That setting prevents deleting any app during the session, including while on a break.

Before your next session

Register and test your unlock again. If you turned off Screen Time access, restore it before using Foqos. Keep a working backup and Emergency Unblock enabled so you have a way out if a scan fails.

When do emergency unblocks reset?

You get three emergency unblocks shared across all profiles. By default, they reset every four weeks.

Check or change the reset period

1. Open Emergency Access to see how many unblocks are left and the next reset date.
2. Use the gear menu to choose a reset period of 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks.

Changing the reset period starts the wait again from that change. It won’t immediately refill your unblocks.

Once the reset period has passed, opening Emergency Access restores the allowance to three. Those three unblocks are shared across all profiles on this installation.

If you’re locked out and have none left, follow the lockout recovery steps.

A Shortcut can’t stop my session

Require Foqos to Stop prevents a Shortcut from ending a session. Check this setting in your profile’s Stop Options.

Allow a Shortcut to stop a session

1. With no session running, open your profile’s Stop Options.
2. Turn off Require Foqos to Stop if you want to allow background stops. This setting may also be called Disable Background Stops.
3. Save the profile and test your Shortcut with a session.

Allowing background stops means a Shortcut can end the session without the physical-unlock scan you would use inside Foqos.

To require a scan when stopping

Keep Require Foqos to Stop on. It prevents Shortcuts, Spotlight actions, Control Center, and profile links from stopping a session in the background. End the session inside Foqos using its required unlock instead.

Prevent App Deletion is a separate setting; it doesn’t control background stops.

Can Focus Mode, location, or Wi-Fi start Foqos?

Yes. Set up an iPhone Shortcuts automation to start your profile when a Focus turns on, you arrive somewhere, or you join Wi-Fi.

Create the automation

1. Create and save the profile you want to start in Foqos.
2. Open Shortcuts → Automation and create a personal automation.
3. Choose a trigger, such as a Focus turning on, arriving at a location, or joining a Wi-Fi network.
4. Add Start Foqos Profile and select your profile. Choose Run Immediately if it’s available for that trigger; otherwise, you may need to confirm each run.
5. Test the trigger on your phone to check that the right profile starts.

If you also want an automation to stop the session, check Require Foqos to Stop. It must be off to allow background stops.

A Focus can trigger Foqos through Shortcuts. Starting a session in Foqos doesn’t automatically turn on an Apple Focus.

An app I didn’t choose is blocked too

Check for related websites in your profile, including website selections inside the app picker’s categories.

Find which selection causes the block

1. Try a profile with one individually selected app and no websites. Check inside the app picker’s categories as well as your separate website list.
2. Try opening the unexpectedly blocked app.
3. Add your selections back a few at a time, testing after each change.

Screen Time can link apps and websites, so blocking a website may also affect a related app. Turning off Block Websites in Safari may not remove every website-related restriction.

If removing a website rule helps, decide whether you’re comfortable leaving that website available. If this happens while using Temporary Access, see the Temporary Access troubleshooting steps.

If you can’t find the cause, include the affected app or website, your selections, and your iOS and Foqos versions in a bug report.

Can I block only YouTube Shorts?

No. Foqos can block YouTube as a whole, but it can’t block only Shorts while leaving the rest available.

Website rules apply to a whole domain, such as youtube.com. They can’t target just one section, such as youtube.com/shorts.

If you need the rest of YouTube, you’ll need a separate tool that can block specific parts of a website.

The Live Activity still says “paused”

Open Foqos or tap the Live Activity to refresh it. Blocking may already have resumed.

Check the session itself

1. Open Foqos or tap its Live Activity on your Lock Screen.
2. Try opening an app that should be blocked. If it’s blocked, the session has resumed even if the Live Activity still says “paused.”

The Live Activity’s label can stay out of date while Foqos is in the background.

If an app is still accessible after the pause should have ended, include that in a bug report along with when the pause ended. That helps distinguish a blocking problem from an outdated label.

Foqos is missing from Shortcuts

Open Foqos once, then close and reopen Shortcuts. If its actions are still missing, try restarting your iPhone.

Help Shortcuts find Foqos

1. Open Foqos, then close and reopen Shortcuts.
2. Restart your iPhone and look for Foqos’s actions again.
3. Check for Foqos and stable iOS updates.

Some iOS 26 users have reported missing Foqos actions. They’ve reappeared on their own for some people, but these steps haven’t helped everyone.

Avoid deleting Shortcuts to fix this—you could lose saved automations. If you report the problem, include your iOS and Foqos versions and whether you’re using an iOS beta.

Can I start without scanning a tag or code?

Yes. Choose NFC + Manual or QR/Barcode + Manual to start with a button and scan when you stop.

Choose a manual-start strategy

1. Edit your profile and open Choose Strategy.
2. Choose NFC + Manual for a tag or QR/Barcode + Manual for a QR code or barcode, then save.
3. Start the profile in Foqos. You only need to scan when you want to stop.

Turn on Strict Unlocks if only specific saved tags or codes should stop the session. Test the saved unlock before relying on it.

To start and stop with buttons, without scanning at all, choose Manual.

Can I run a timed or Pomodoro-style session?

Choose Timer + Manual for a timed focus session without a tag or code. Start each new focus period yourself.

Start a timed session

1. Edit your profile, open Choose Strategy, and choose Timer + Manual. Save the profile.
2. Start the profile and choose a duration, such as 25 minutes. If it uses a saved duration, update the timer settings or turn on Ask Me Every Time.
3. When the timer ends, take your break. Start another session when you’re ready to focus again.

Foqos doesn’t automatically alternate focus periods and breaks. For a Pomodoro routine, you’ll need to start each focus period yourself.

To allow an early stop by scanning, choose an NFC or QR timer strategy instead.

Is Foqos supported on iPad?

Foqos is designed for iPhone. There isn’t a native iPad version.

If you can install the iPhone app on your iPad, its layout and rotation may not work correctly. Being able to install it doesn’t mean all features are supported on iPad.

The iPad support request is the place to follow updates. There’s no promised release date.