# V-CAF Stay Awake Stay Alert — Virtual Caffeine Alternative > Natural alertness aid using Apple Watch and iPhone to detect drowsiness. (iPhone/iPad app by My Unlimited Freedom Ltd.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/v-caf-stay-awake-stay-alert/id1463897528 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [My Unlimited Freedom Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1463897527) - Category: Health & Fitness, Lifestyle - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 2.14/5 from 7 App Store ratings · 8 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 337 MB - Languages: English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish - Released: 2019-10-14 - Data updated: 2026-09-02 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/v-caf-stay-awake-stay-alert/id1463897528/reviews.md ## What is V? “Hey! Wake up!” is what I heard one evening after a week of late nights and hard work. Annoyed and embarrassed, I got up to have my fifth expresso, which obviously wasn’t working. “I know! There must be an app for that, right?”. Most of the apps out there are aimed at drivers. Although not a showstopper the way they work just isn’t practical for someone working in an office, or studying or any task where you need to be alert and focused. The first app we tried had a neat feature that tried to simulate you talking to someone, but what that meant was repeating random words back to your phone which if you got wrong or the app didn’t quite hear you, would cause an alarm to ring. Not so great if you need to concentrate on what you’re doing or working in an office or studying environment. The next app we used would give you nudges at varying times to jolt you awake. Great if you like things vibrating in your pocket indiscriminately, but we found ourselves getting annoyed with getting nudged every couple of seconds. Eventually we just started to ignore the buzzes. A group of apps worked by detecting if your eyes were sleepy. Some of these apps seemed promising until we found that we had to have our phones in the correct position to see our eyes before it would even start working. And when working, the number of times that they would catch us nodding off were few and far between. Daylight suppresses the secretion of melatonin. There are apps that try to exploit this fact and emit blue light to help reduce the amount of melatonin that our body produces and therefore make us feel more awake. We tested a couple of these apps and the biggest takeaway we had was that you would need to be in a darkened room to get the effects of the blue light. I work in front of a computer screen in a bright office. For me at least, I didn’t get the feeling that I was more awake using these apps. My colleague was indifferent. Caffeine works, but doesn’t give you more energy. Adenosine is a natural compound that your body produces whilst you are awake. It helps promote sleep and relaxation so as the day goes on your adenosine levels rise. Your brain contains adenosine receptors that bind with the adenosine in your system making you feel more tired. Caffeine blocks your adenosine receptors so that your body is tricked into not feeling tired! And like everything in nature, you don’t get something for nothing. Some of the proven negative side effects of caffeine include: - Addiction and Dependence - Cardiovascular Problems - Sleep Disturbances - Increased Anxiety There is something that works when you are tired and has been proven to work, is natural and free – sleep. Sleep heals your body. Unfortunately, most of us fight our tiredness as if it is something to be defeated. This is where V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert comes in. Unlike most apps and caffeine, our app works with your body to alert you to when you become drowsy. By using your Apple Watch and iPhone, V-CAF not only alerts you to when you’re most likely to fall asleep, but also alert you to when your focus and alertness levels decrease. And in this release our new tend prediction feature will help you to know when your alertness levels are likely to change, allowing you to better understand when you are at your most productive. We’ve also included context relevant articles from our blog – https://blog.v-caf.org – on your V-CAF iPhone app. Just scroll through and click on an article title which will open in your default browser. Download V-CAF now for free and see how it can help you stay awake, stay alert and stay focused. Features - Needs an Apple Watch, an iPhone is optional - Notifies you when you are tired via your Apple Watch and iPhone - Notifications can be an alarm of your choice or if in silent mode, vibration alerts via your Apple Watch or iPhone - Not only focused on drivers! It is useful for professionals and students of all types and ages ## Key features - Drowsiness detection - Apple Watch integration - iPhone integration - Natural alertness alternative - Avoids caffeine side effects ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | One time Lifetime access | $4.99 | one-time | ## Recent user reviews (8 of 8) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/v-caf-stay-awake-stay-alert/id1463897528/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Please get it working *2021-12-09* Would be great if it worked! **Developer response:** PRMyers99, we are sorry that your experience with our app has been a negative one. We have gone through the application to search for any bugs that might have caused the application to not work for you, but it’s difficult to figure out what the exact problem is if we don’t have any more details. Nevertheless, we found some issues on the iPhone version of the app that may have affected some iPhone models ability to Restore Purchases and update the watchOS version. As a result we have submitted version 3.5.2 for review and are waiting for Apple to accept it. In the meantime, depending on what your issue is, please try removing the app and re-installing. If you have already purchased the app and want to restore your purchase, please make sure that both the iOS and watchOS versions are running and that a connection between the two is displayed in the app before pressing the Restore button on the iOS versions Settings screen. Once again, I personally apologize for any inconvenience caused by our application not matching your expectations. ### 1/5 — Piece of useless crap *2021-11-25, version 3.5* After the newest update on 24/11/2021, the app is always in “calculating” mode, nothing else, so in summary—doesn’t work, at all. And guess what the developer did to achieve this? In app purchases, now you have to pay again 4.99€ to use this crap (hopefully money will solve the “calculating” problem?) ### 3/5 — Consuma tanta batteria *2021-11-22, version 3.0* L’idea è buona ma la misurazione continua consuma la batteria in fretta. Forse ci vorrebbe una modalità in background che controlla ogni tanto…magari sfruttando le misurazioni che Apple Watch fa già di suo. ### 5/5 — Does what it says *2021-04-07, version 2.1.3* Got the watch app to help me keep awake so I could finish my project, and it told me when I was snoozing. It helped, thanks! ### 5/5 — Great *2020-09-01, version 1.3* I’ve been using v-caf for a week now, and it’s been a great help for me while at work. Would be perfect if the watch alerts were a bit stronger ### 1/5 — Doesn't work *2020-04-16, version 1.2* I downloaded this app today on my phone so I can add it to my Apple Watch. Can't install it on my watch and was charged $5.35 for some reason instead of $4.99! Want my money back thanks! ### 1/5 — For Real?? *2020-03-07, version 1.2* Trying to reach out to the developer / support and all pages are non-exsistant. Not a good sign. ### 1/5 — Crap *2020-01-22, version 1.0.4* The absolute worst app ever purchased, totally falls advertisement, The app is not working . West of my money , ## Frequently asked questions about V ### What is V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert? V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert is a health and fitness application designed to help users stay alert and focused. It functions as a virtual caffeine alternative by alerting you when you become drowsy, utilizing your Apple Watch and iPhone. ### How does V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert work? The app works by integrating with your Apple Watch and iPhone to detect when you are becoming drowsy. It then provides alerts to help you stay awake and focused, offering a natural approach to maintaining alertness. ### What are the benefits of using V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert over caffeine? Unlike caffeine, V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert works with your body to alert you to drowsiness without the negative side effects associated with caffeine, such as addiction, cardiovascular problems, sleep disturbances, and increased anxiety. ### Is V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert available on other devices besides Apple Watch and iPhone? Based on the provided information, V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert is designed to work with both Apple Watch and iPhone. Compatibility with other devices has not been specified. ### What is the user rating for V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert? V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert has a current rating of 2.1 stars based on 7 ratings. This suggests that user satisfaction may be mixed. ### How often is V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert updated? The latest version of V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert is 5.2.0, and it was last updated on December 8, 2024. This indicates that the app receives regular updates. ### What is the age rating for V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert? V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert has an age rating of 12+. This means it is considered appropriate for users aged 12 and older. ### Does V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert have ads? No, V-CAF Stay Awake, Stay Alert does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and use, with options for in-app purchases. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.2.0 — 2024-12-08 - Updated to facilitate watchOS 10 and iOS 18 changes. - Updates to support the new iPhone 16 models and Apple Watch Series 10 models. - Bug fixes ### 5.1.0 — 2024-10-13 - V-CAF watchOS now implements Siri Shortcuts! Benefit from hands free, instant access voice commands to start, stop and adjust the sensitivity settings of V-CAF. - Want to stay alert? Tell Siri to: “Keep me alert using Virtual Caffeine” - Want to stay awake? Tell Siri to: “Keep me awake using Virtual Caffeine” - To adjust the monitoring sensitivity tell Siri to: “Set sensitivity in Virtual Caffeine” And when Siri asks, say a value between 0 and 5, where 5 is the most sensitive setting. - To stop V-CAF tell Siri to: “Stop Virtual Caffeine” - Bug fixes ### 5.0.3 — 2024-05-14 - Restoring Purchases on the watchOS version of the app works again - Bug fixes ### 5.0.2 — 2024-02-14 - Vocal Status Notifications added - Reworked watchOS complications - Bug fixes ### 5.0.1 — 2024-01-11 - Vocal Status Notifications added - Contact link added (iOS) - Bug fixes ## Apps similar to V | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [SonicCloud Personalized Sound](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soniccloud-personalized-sound/id1121660424) | 4.6 (1,195) | Free | Health & Fitness | | [Grow: Health & Fitness](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grow-health-and-fitness/id1560604814) | 4.7 (4,363) | Free | Health & Fitness | | [Rem: Auto Sleep Tracker Watch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rem-auto-sleep-tracker-watch/id1534499292) | 4.2 (2,504) | Free | Health & Fitness | | [Fatigue Alert - Stay Awake](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fatigue-alert-stay-awake/id6479893638) | 4.3 (17) | Free | Health & Fitness | | [AutoSleep: Watch Sleep Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/autosleep-watch-sleep-tracker/id1164801111) | 4.7 (61,550) | $8.99 | Health & Fitness | | [Sonar - Health & Performance](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sonar-health-and-performance/id1595073849) | 4.6 (335) | Free | Health & Fitness | ## Related topics [stay awake](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/stay-awake) --- *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 2026-09-02.*