Feature Request | Lock Opal's Screen Time Access Behind Screen Time Passcode

Thank you for sharing! It’s great to hear you’re using Opal with your children.

How do you typically use it with them?
Do you have a “School hours” scheduled session planned every day? or "Study time?

Or do you use it any other way?

It would be so great if you needed a passcode to open the Opal app. I don’t want to be able to change the session times I scheduled, when the session is not running. If there was a passcode feature, I could have my buddy set a passcode I don’t know, so I can’t just delete the scheduled session by myself. Please consider adding a passcode feature!

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ADHD, poor self-control depending on state of medications. It’d be great to be able to hand control of the app over to my wife.

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Can the devs add face id lock for the app?

Please please please please. this will significantly improve the app in a day

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Thanks @Sahil_Arora ! A few questions to make sure I understand:

Are you looking for FaceID lock to open the Opal app? As in a privacy protection?
Or is it to modify a Session?

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I think it would be great if you try to open an app instead the regular Opal screen it comes up with a passcode or Face ID in order to open the app, and locks when you close it, but for non pro users or when not using deep focus mode.

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I LOVE OPAL! Seriously! However, whenever I want access to what it’s supposed to be restricting I can just go into my app settings, turn off screentime restrictions for Opal, and access everything distracting. Obviously I could just not do that, but then what’s the point of Opal if I’m just turning it on and off when I want?

@Michael_Lacobee Take a look this

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@cade

Hi, I just had a problem, I have an iPhone 13 pro with iOS 18.1.1, I realized that you could just completly turn off the phone and then when you turn it on again there are some problems that appear. Here there are, and then one possible solution I found:

  • first the Opal app dosen’t block the apps, immediatly, which isn’t really important to be honest, I can only use the blocked app for 20 to 30 sec more or less

  • The first real problem, and I don’t know if you are really able to fix it is that the shortcuts to block Setting while an opal session is running I put and even the others don’t run. I don’t know if it’s because Shortcut is supposed to be blocked by Opal in this session or if it’s just because of Apple (the shortcuts don’t run even though this notification appear: PS: look at the screenshot I put further please🙏(sorry the notification is in French but that’s just the usual one)) that allows me to unlock the sessions

  • And last but not least, I turned off and then on the iPhone, then I went to Opal, as the shortcut were disactivated, and as I wasn’t in deep focus mode, I took a break of 15 min without even leaving early the session. I went to Instagram, and at the end of the break, the usual notification pop saying « your break is about to end, finish what you’re doing » and then « your break is over, let’s get back to work » but it didn’t cut the app, I was able to use Instagram without being stopped as long as I wanted

Do you think this could be fix please?

(And I don’t know, but maybe same happen when your phone run out of battery and then you charge it and use it again/ also, same problem on IPad (iPad Pro (11 inch) (4th generation) + IPadOS 18.3.1)

  • I was thinking, maybe the shortcuts could be activated right after the device’s code is activated without any delay or even better, before the first passcode is needed and put. This wouldn’t allow access to setting app. But then i was thinking, actually the first problem I said is then important because if Opal app doesn’t block immediatly the apps, I have a lot more than the needed time to go to the shortcut app and turn off the shortcuts.

  • A solution I found for that would be to disable the access of shortcut the same way as setting: with a shortcut while a session is on. That way, if the problem of the delay or desactivation of the shortcuts when turning on the phone is solved, this second problem would be solved at the same time. However this last solution I put isn’t possible for now, or at least not with the devices I use (except if I did a mistake somwhere, I don’t think but nothing is 100% sure), Apple doesn’t allow to use the app shortcut as the app that start the automation when you open it, I can’t find it in the list of app, even when searching it.

I’m reeeally sorry for that massive comment, I couldn’t do shorter, I hope that the possible solutions help and that the issues will be solved as Opal isn’t really totally fullproof for now, thanks for reading that if you did.

(To be honest, I search many ways to use apps while in a session, and this is the last and only that I found yet that works and should be fix to improve significantly the app. :))

Is it possible to prevent the user from switching off the screen time access ?

Take a look at here: Feature Request | Lock Opal's Screen Time Access Behind Screen Time Passcode - #14 by kenneth

I went to edit a Focus and it brought me to settings which I had blocked using the shortcut settings. Once I noticed I was in settings, I realized I was able to backtrack to screen time. Im pretty good about sticking with my blocks so I didn’t turn it off, but now that I know of this workaround I can’t forget it
would love to know how to block this loophole from allowing me to access screen time.

@Stephanie_Botto Feature Request | Lock Opal's Screen Time Access Behind Screen Time Passcode - #32 by cade

Agreed I stoped using opal because it breaks the whole point of the app