# Return. Put Your Phone Down — Screen time & focus, no block

> Screen time & focus, no block (iPhone/iPad app by 俊兴 朱.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/return-put-your-phone-down/id6795375609 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [俊兴 朱](https://appshunter.io/developer/1836820200)
- Category: Health & Fitness
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 42 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-14
- Data updated: 2026-10-24

## What is Return. Put Your Phone Down?

Return. An app for practising putting your phone down.
Press start, darken the screen, walk away; it records only the time you spend back in reality. No blocking. No nagging.

It asks for no special permissions. No accessibility service, no usage access, no reading of your other apps.

HOW IT WORKS
▸ Open Return, press start, lock the screen
▸ Put the phone face down on the table. Read, stare out of the window, or sit with someone
▸ Come back, unlock, and it tells you one thing: how long you were away

FOUR PRACTICES
▸ Mindfulness · mindful breath — eyes closed, follow the breath, return to the body. When you drift, come back. Set 5, 10, 30 or 60 minutes
▸ Attention · classic reading — read a classic book. No notes, no distraction. No fixed length
▸ Perception · listening — eyes closed, follow the sound: the room, the street, further out
▸ Memory · read, hide, recall — read a passage, cover it, say it back from memory. No scoring

A LITTLE LIGHT
Write one line about today and pass it on. It appears to someone else walking the same road as "a line from a fellow traveller" — no name, no numbers, no likes to chase.

COMPANIONSHIP
Up to two companions. Not chat — mutual witness: did you keep your own time today. Three lamps a day; when they are gone, silence until tomorrow.

SIX STAGES
Wanderer, Awakened, Observer, Unmoved, Still, Returner.
The measure of this road is the time you put into practice and the time you put the phone down — never the hours you scrolled. Stages come from practice. Miss a week and nothing resets: there is no streak to lose.

WHY IT CAN'T NAG YOU
No background polling, no analytics SDK, no ads. What runs is only what you started, and it stops when you come back.
Your practice time syncs to your own account, so a new phone is not a new beginning. Reflections stay on your phone unless you turn sync on. You can delete your account and everything in it.

THREE THINGS WE DON'T DO
No tracking. No deception. No judgment.
Only your will can start this machine.

Other apps want to keep you. Return wants you to leave.
The screen is not your life.

Privacy Policy: https://idle.onl/legal/privacy.html
Terms of Use: https://idle.onl/legal/terms.html

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Idle Pro | $4.99 | per month |
| Idle Pro | $39.99 | per year |


## Is Return. Put Your Phone Down safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Return. Put Your Phone Down.

## Is Return. Put Your Phone Down legit?

Return. Put Your Phone Down has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Return. Put Your Phone Down is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.1.4 — 2026-10-23

• Evening reminder: once a day at 20:00, optional
• iOS: Screen Time guide in Settings
• Fixed the return time not appearing after reopening the app
• Fixed an occasional black screen when opening from the lock screen or a notification
• Fixed the return summary occasionally not appearing

### 1.1.3 — 2026-10-22

• The interface is rebuilt.
• All copy rewritten.
• A quiet ending after each practice.
• Reflections can sync. Off by default — entries stay on this phone until you turn it on.
• Companion pairing for people you know.

### 1.1.2 — 2026-10-12

• Push notifications now work seamlessly in mainland China
• Tap deeper: companion messages open the chat directly, nightly reminders open your reflections
• Nightly reminders now ring exactly at your chosen time, in your language
• Lock-screen card is more reliable — survives quick screen locks, keeps accurate time, recovers after relaunch
• Companion messages now update your lock-screen card in real time, without unlocking
• Stability improvements

### 1.1.1 — 2026-10-01

Fixed an issue where the Lock Screen activity sometimes didn't appear when starting a break. Reduced background activity for better battery life.

### 1.1 — 2026-09-19

Walk with someone.

1.1 brings companionship: pair with up to two others who are on the same
path. No chat, no scores, no comparison — you simply witness each other:
"Did you keep your time today?"

· Companions — see whether they showed up today (never their numbers, and
  they never see yours)
· Three lamps a day — every message costs one; when they're gone, silence
  until tomorrow
· The guard — no contact info, no money, no crossing lines
· A shared flame that only grows, together

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-24.*