untethered
/ʌnˈteð.əd/ — adjective
1. not bound by the pull of a screen.
2. experiencing life directly and uninterrupted.
3. fully present.
4. free.
UNTETHER is a fun experiment that encourages going offline and living in the present moment. Put your phone down, let the timer run, and see how long you can go undistracted.
Reaching for our phone has become instinctive. We carry it from room to room like it's part of us. To the kitchen, to the bathroom, to bed. We've become literally tethered to our phones, and we panic when we leave the house without one. Somewhere along the way, a device became an extension of our body.
We fill every quiet moment with a screen, never allowing our minds to settle. This constant fragmentation of attention strips away the depth of the moment. We are physically present, but mentally absent.
Of course, the best experience is turning off your phone entirely. But when you want a little more motivation to put the phone down, UNTETHER tracks uninterrupted offline time and lets you compare it with others. No quick notification checks, no background scrolling, no sneaky app switches.
UNTETHER isn't just a timer. It's a reminder that your time is finite, and it belongs to you, not the algorithm.
How it works
- Tap UNTETHER on the home screen.
- Your screen will go dark but your phone will stay unlocked.
- If you leave the app, check notifications, or lock your phone, the run ends.
- If your battery dies or the app crashes, the session ends automatically at the last saved moment.
- There’s only a 3-second grace period in case you exit the app by accident, reduced to 0 seconds in ZERO TOLERANCE MODE.
- Long-press anywhere on the screen to "properly" end a session.
Integrity Protocol:
- • To encourage true offline time, sessions under 10 seconds don't count towards your public profile.
- • Sessions auto-end after 12 hours, preventing idle phones from running indefinitely.
- • This limit still allows you to unwind overnight and resist the morning scroll, without worrying about the timer.
- • Overnight sessions are expected and welcome. Sleep counts.
Zero Tolerance Mode:
- • Built for users who want zero distractions.
- • All external audio (music, podcasts, etc.) is blocked.
- • No 3-second grace period. Leaving the app ends the session immediately.
Session Types
- • COMPLETED — you stopped the session manually.
- • LEFT APP — you switched apps or UNTETHER went to background.
- • SESSION CAPPED — you reached the 12-hour limit.
- • VOID — the session ended at under 10 seconds.
Tips
- Put the phone screen-down while you’re in a session.
- Don't leave your phone unattended! Unless you really want to get rid of it, and you're fine with a stranger going through everything on it.
- Use Do Not Disturb to block incoming notifications, or even go hardcore with Airplane Mode (we will not be held responsible for important missed calls!).
- Try using UNTETHER while walking, training, meditating, reading, eating, working, or any time you want to be fully present.
- Invite your friends and compare progress on the friends or Syndicate leaderboards.
Friends & Social
- Connect with individual users to build your personal network.
- Manage requests in the SOCIAL tab.
- Once connected, you will see them in the FRIENDS leaderboard.
- The "Network Total" shows the combined untethered time of you and all your friends.
Syndicates
- Syndicates are exclusive teams. You can only belong to one at a time.
- Create a Syndicate to become the founder (leader). You hold the power to kick members.
- Or, join an existing one using an invite code.
- Compete against other groups on the global Syndicate leaderboard.
Live Status
See what your friends and Syndicate members are up to:
- BLUE DOT — In a UNTETHER session. They’ve chosen to be present and intentionally disconnected.
- GREEN DOT — Offline. The app is closed and they’re out living in the real world (hopefully not just on another app!).
- GREY DOT — Online. Checking the leaderboard or preparing to untether.
Profile & Stats
• Create a profile to sync all future sessions to the cloud.
• Sessions completed while signed out will not be synced to the cloud, but will remain on the device.
• Deleting sessions removes them from the device only. Cloud data is unaffected (unless you delete a session that hasn't been synced yet).
• Spot a user with a gold VIP badge? That signifies a user who joined within the first month of launch. They were offline before it was cool.
OFFLINE / UNRANKED SESSIONS:
- • If you are offline (no internet) when starting a session, it is marked as unranked.
- • To prevent cheating (manipulating system time or running devices simultaneously), unranked sessions are saved to your device history but are NEVER uploaded to the cloud or leaderboards.
- • You must be online and logged in to verify a session.
Ranks
Your total untethered time unlocks titles, simply based on your total time spent uninterrupted by your phone:
Have Feedback?
Found a bug or have a cool idea?