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Pause

A short, timed pause before chosen apps open, so opening is deliberate.
New in version 0.3.9
Fix the pause screen being unreadable and undismissable in landscape orientation.
Pause adds a short, timed pause before you open the apps you choose. When you launch a selected app, the screen is covered by a panel with a countdown. Only after it finishes can you choose Open anyway or Cancel. It turns an automatic tap into a deliberate choice. It is friction, not a hard block.

The pause screen also shows how many times you have opened that app in the last 24 hours and when you last opened it.

Features:

* Timed pause: a short countdown before the app opens, with a length you choose.
* Per app: pick which apps get a pause; everything else opens normally.
* Open count: see how many times you have opened that app in the last 24 hours.
* Adjustable: set the pause length, a custom message, and whether the countdown is shown.
* Local stats: per-app pauses, opens, and cancels, plus total time paused.
* No network access: everything stays on your phone. No account, no analytics. The app cannot reach the internet.

How it works:

Pause uses an Accessibility Service to detect when a chosen app opens and an accessibility overlay to draw the pause screen, so it needs no "draw over other apps" permission. An accessibility-based gate is best-effort, not a hard block: it is meant to make impulsive opens deliberate, not to be tamper-proof.

Check your phone first:

Recent Android versions may already do this. Android 17's Pause Point adds a built-in delay before selected apps on some Pixel and Samsung phones, and Digital Wellbeing offers app timers and Focus mode. If your phone has those, prefer them. Pause is for older devices, custom ROMs, and phones that ship without Google's Digital Wellbeing.
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Versions

Although APK downloads are available below to give you the choice, you should be aware that by installing that way you will not receive update notifications and it's a less secure way to download. We recommend that you install the F-Droid client and use that.

Download F-Droid
  • Version 0.3.9 (20) suggested Added on Aug 21, 2026

    This version requires Android 7.0 or newer.

    It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.

    Permissions
    • ask to ignore battery optimizations
      Allows an app to ask for permission to ignore battery optimizations for that app.
    • com.dtsykunov.pause.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION

    Download APK 1.4 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log

    • New in version 0.3.8
    Fix pauses being skipped in split screen and after long absences with lockscreen glances, and the pause wrongly closing or reappearing around picture-in-picture and transition flickers.
  • Version 0.3.8 (19) - Added on Aug 17, 2026

    This version requires Android 7.0 or newer.

    It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.

    Permissions
    • ask to ignore battery optimizations
      Allows an app to ask for permission to ignore battery optimizations for that app.
    • com.dtsykunov.pause.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION

    Download APK 1.4 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log

    • New in version 0.3.4
    First F-Droid release. A short, timed pause before the apps you choose open, with per-app stats. Everything stays on your phone; the app has no network access.
  • Version 0.3.4 (15) - Added on Aug 16, 2026

    This version requires Android 7.0 or newer.

    It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.

    Permissions
    • ask to ignore battery optimizations
      Allows an app to ask for permission to ignore battery optimizations for that app.
    • com.dtsykunov.pause.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION

    Download APK 1.4 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log

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