Sabbath Mode

<p><strong>Why this helps:</strong> Deliberate screen breaks counter the harms of compulsive use. An August 2024 study of 800 adults (Computers in Human Behavior Reports) tied doomscrolling to greater existential anxiety, and a 2024 Computers in Human Behavior study linked workday doomscrolling to lower engagement. A protected, recurring offline window is the structural version of "put the phone down," made easier because the phone helps you keep the promise. The practice draws its name and spirit from the Fourth Commandment.</p><h4>Concept (intro screen)</h4><p><strong>Heading:</strong> Sabbath Mode</p><p><strong>Subhead:</strong> Lock the noise. Keep the quiet open.</p><p><strong>Scripture (KJV, Exodus 20:8):</strong> "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."</p><p><strong>Body:</strong> For a window you choose, your phone goes quiet. The feeds, the games, the messages, the pull of all of it, locked behind a gate you set on purpose. Only Pray and Relax stay open, so rest and prayer are still within reach while everything that competes for them is not. You are not giving anything up forever. You are setting aside a little time, and letting your phone help you keep it."</p><p><strong>Button:</strong> Set up my window</p><h4>Setup flow</h4><p><strong>Step 1 — Choose the window</strong></p><p><strong>Prompt:</strong> When would you like the quiet to begin and end.</p><p>Offer presets and a custom option:</p><ul><li><strong>A short rest</strong> — 1 hour</li><li><strong>An evening</strong> — 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM</li><li><strong>Overnight</strong> — 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM</li><li><strong>A full Sabbath</strong> — Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, or Saturday evening to Sunday evening, your tradition, your call</li><li><strong>Custom</strong> — pick your own start and end</li></ul><p><strong>Step 2 — Choose what stays open</strong></p><p><strong>Prompt:</strong> During the window, these stay available. Everything else in the app rests.</p><ul><li><strong>Pray</strong> — always available in Sabbath Mode (locked on by default, with a short line: "We keep prayer open. Some doors should never close.")</li><li><strong>Relax</strong> — on by default, toggle to turn off if you want full stillness</li></ul><p><strong>Step 3 — Set the strength of the lock</strong></p><p><strong>Prompt:</strong> How firm should this be.</p><ul><li><strong>Gentle</strong> — you can unlock early with one tap, no questions. Good for building the habit.</li><li><strong>Firm</strong> — unlocking early asks you to wait sixty seconds and confirm twice. The pause is the point.</li><li><strong>Committed</strong> — the window holds until it ends. For emergencies, your phone's own calling and emergency features are never affected by this app.</li></ul><p><strong>Reassurance line under Step 3:</strong> "This only quiets this app and the apps you add to the block list. Your phone can still make calls, reach emergency services, and do anything you have not chosen to set aside.</p><h4>While Sabbath Mode is active (lock screen within the app)</h4><p><strong>Heading:</strong> Resting until <span class="srp-cue">[end time]</span>.</p><p><strong>Body:</strong> "The feeds will keep without you. They always do. For now, there is prayer, there is rest, and there is the rare gift of a phone that is not asking for anything. Pray and Relax are open below.</p><p><strong>Buttons:</strong> Open Pray / Open Relax / End early (behavior depends on chosen strictness)</p><h4>When the window ends</h4><p><strong>Heading:</strong> Welcome back.</p><p><strong>Body:</strong> "You kept the window. However long it was, you gave yourself something most days do not include: a stretch of time that belonged to you and not to the screen. Notice how you feel before the world rushes back in.</p><p><strong>Button:</strong> Begin again later / Done</p><h4>Settings copy</h4><p><strong>Toggle label:</strong> Repeat this window</p><p><strong>Description:</strong> Make your Sabbath window recur daily or weekly, so you do not have to decide each time. The strongest rest is the kind you no longer have to argue yourself into.</p><h2>Sources</h2><ul><li>Exodus 20:8, King James Version (verified via bible-api.com, translation_id kjv): "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."</li><li>August 2024 study of 800 adults, Computers in Human Behavior Reports — doomscrolling associated with greater existential anxiety.</li><li>Computers in Human Behavior, April 2024 — workday doomscrolling associated with lower work engagement, supporting the value of protected offline windows.</li></ul>