MindfulPause: Digital Detox
Breathe first, then decide
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
A gentle breath before you open a feed you did not plan to open. Choose "not now" and your garden grows. It never wilts. Completely free, truly private, no account.
There's a half-second before you open Instagram out of habit. You didn't really mean to. Your thumb just moved. MindfulPause lives in that half-second.
Right before a distracting app opens, a gentle pause appears. You take one breath. Then you decide. Tap "not now" and set the phone down. Or open the app anyway, which is an honest and deliberate step: you simply tap the app again yourself. It's a nudge, not a wall, and you're always in charge.
Completely free. Truly private. No account, no sign up, no tracking. Nothing you do ever leaves your phone, and it all works offline.
YOUR GARDEN
Every time you choose "not now," a living garden grows. A flower here, a little more color there, and a bee that stops by on every fifth mindful choice.
Here's the part that matters. It never wilts. Miss a day, have a hard week, open every app you meant to skip, and nothing dies. Nothing is taken away. Your garden only ever grows in the good moments and waits patiently through the rest. No shame, and no dying plant hanging over your head.
ON YOUR HOME SCREEN
Put your garden where you can see it. The home screen widget comes in medium and large, so a calm glance can replace one more notification.
A GENTLE STREAK, IF YOU WANT IT
See how many days in a row you've shown up, and share a simple weekly card whenever you feel like it. Both are optional, never nagging, and you never lose anything by missing a day.
YOUR OWN WHY
The pause shows your personal reason, in your own words, along with gentle rotating nudges. This is about who you want to be, not a number to chase.
A QUIET QUESTION
If you do choose to open, MindfulPause may gently ask afterward, "was it worth it?" Sometimes it was, and that's completely fine. The goal is a calmer, more honest relationship with your phone, not a perfect record.
QUICK ONE TIME SETUP
There's a short, guided setup for each app you want to pause, using an iOS Shortcut. It takes a few minutes, once, and then the pause just happens on its own. It's not zero setup, but we walk you through every step.
ABOUT THE DONATION
MindfulPause is free with every feature unlocked. No trial, no paywall, no locked garden. If you'd like to help, there's an optional one-time donation of around $2.99. It unlocks nothing extra, on purpose. It only helps cover Apple's yearly developer fee, so the app can stay free for everyone.
WHAT THIS IS NOT
Not a blocker. Not a tracker. Not a subscription. Not a guilt machine. Just a breath, a choice, and a garden that grows with you.
Made by one person who wanted a kinder way to scroll less. Try it for a week, and if something feels off or you have an idea, write to me. I read every message.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
This one is all about being kinder to you.
YOUR GARDEN
Every mindful "not now" grows a living garden, one flower at a time, with a bee that visits on every fifth choice. It never wilts. Miss a day and nothing dies. Your garden only ever grows.
ON YOUR HOME SCREEN
New widgets in medium and large, so your garden is a calm glance away instead of another notification.
STREAK AND WEEKLY CARD
See the days you showed up, and share a simple weekly card if you want to. Gentle, optional, and missing a day never costs you anything.
YOUR WHY
Your personal reason now appears right in the pause, with rotating gentle nudges, so the moment is about who you want to be.
NOW IN ENGLISH
MindfulPause is fully available in English.
A MORE RELIABLE SETUP
Onboarding and activation are much more dependable now, and the earlier activation issue is fixed. The pause shows up when it should.
Thank you for being here. If you have any thoughts or ideas, write to me. I read every message.
The developer, Steffen Stockel, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Steffen Stockel
- Size
- 2.1 MB
- Category
- Health & Fitness
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 18.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 2.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English and German
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- MindfulPause unterstützen $2.99
- Copyright
- © Steffen Stöckel
