For a while, Respite on your phone and Respite on your laptop were strangers. Each kept its own limits and its own history, which meant that “only 30 minutes on YouTube” meant 30 on your phone and a fresh 30 on your laptop. That changes with this release: one account, three kinds of device.

What is new?

  • Sign-in on the browser extension. The Chrome (and Chromium) extension now has Sign in with Google or Apple, like the phone apps.
  • One account across Android, iPhone and the browser. Your limits, settings and usage history sync once you sign in.
  • Limits that count every device. With “Count all devices toward limits” on, a limit covers your total time on that app or site, across all your devices.
  • Plus follows your account. Buy Respite Plus on iPhone or Android and the browser picks it up.

Why does it matter?

Scrolling does not respect device boundaries. If you close Instagram on your phone and open it in a browser tab, the habit has not changed, only the screen. A limit that counts both is a limit you cannot dodge by switching. For more on that dodge, see how to stop doomscrolling.

Do I have to sign in?

No. Respite works on a single device without an account, and it always will. You sign in for three reasons: to sync, to play the game layer, or to use Respite Plus on more than one device. Without an account, your usage history stays on your device. Our privacy-first approach has not changed.

What does a free account get?

A free account syncs one device: enough to back up your limits and restore them on a new phone. If you switch phone, you can move the slot to your new device. To avoid a slot bouncing between two devices that are both in use, moves are limited to about once a week unless the old device has gone quiet for two weeks.

Respite Plus lifts the limit, so your phone, tablet and browser all sync together. See Respite Plus: everything that is included.

What happens on iPhone?

Apple’s Screen Time keeps your apps private, so Respite on iPhone never learns their names. Syncing your iPhone limits with an Android phone or the browser is therefore a matching step: Respite shows “Match your apps” and suggests likely pairs, and you confirm. Once matched, a limit set in one place applies in the other.

How do I get started?

Follow how to sync Respite between Android, iPhone and Chrome, a step-by-step guide. In short: update the apps, sign in with the same account everywhere, add your devices and match your apps.

Next step

Download Respite on the devices you use, and sign in with the same account on each.