Take social and chat apps offline on a schedule. No root, no account, no data.
Read full description
Other blockers stop you from opening an app. NetPause makes sure there is nothing waiting to be opened.
Most focus apps put a door in front of the app. Your phone stays connected, so messages still arrive, notifications still pile up and the people writing to you still see two ticks. You know something is waiting for you, and that is exactly what pulls you back.
NetPause works one layer lower. It cuts the chosen app off the network. Nothing comes in at all.
WHEN A CHAT APP IS BLOCKED
Messages are not delivered to your phone. Whoever writes to you sees a single tick, the same one they would see if your phone were switched off. Your last seen does not update. When you unblock, everything arrives normally. Nothing is lost, it just waited.
BLOCK ONE APP, OR A WHOLE GROUP
- Tap a single app to take it offline
- Block all social apps at once with one switch
- Block all messaging apps at once with one switch
- Everything else on your phone keeps working: maps, music, email, browser, calls over the mobile network
SOCIAL DETOX WITH A GOAL
Turn your social apps off and the app starts a detox session with a target you set, for example two hours. A ring fills as the time adds up, so you can see the streak you are building instead of guessing.
SCHEDULE IT AND FORGET IT
Set the hours when apps go offline and let it run on its own. Study time in the afternoon, dinner without the feed, a full weekend without the timeline. Weekly routines and multiple timers are supported.
LESS BACKGROUND DATA
An app with no network connection uses no data and no battery in the background. Useful for the apps you want installed but not always awake.
HOW IT WORKS AND WHY IT IS PRIVATE
NetPause uses a local VPN to filter traffic on the device. That connection never leaves your phone: there is no server of ours in the middle, nothing is routed anywhere, nothing is logged and nothing is uploaded. It is the standard Android way to control app traffic without root, and it is the reason the app works without any special permission on your device.
No root required. No account. No sign-up.
WHAT THIS APP DOES NOT DO
Better to tell you now than let you find out later.
- A blocked messaging app does not ring. If someone calls you through that app while it is blocked, the call will not reach you. Normal phone calls and SMS are never affected.
- It does not hide you selectively. If an app is blocked it is offline for everyone, not for chosen contacts.
- It does not let you read messages secretly. Messages are not delivered at all, so there is nothing to read until you unblock.
- It is not a VPN service and it does not change your IP address or your location.
- It cannot block traffic for apps that use a connection it is not allowed to see, such as some system components.
WHO USES IT
Students who need an afternoon without the feed. People who want dinner or the weekend back. Anyone tired of being reachable every minute of the day but not willing to switch the phone off to get an hour of quiet.
Questions, or an app that behaves oddly when blocked? Write to laerte.developer@gmail.com and you will get an answer from the developer who built it.