How it works (in detail)

Everything you need to know about focus streaks, resets, phone calls, and lock screen.

1. How the focus streak works

The streak is a counter that adds time when your phone is idle and you're not touching it. It does not use the clock to compute "time since start"—it adds roughly 1 second every second when conditions are met.

When the streak grows

All of these must be true:

App is active — in the foreground, not minimised
You're not touching the screen — any touch pauses the streak
You're not viewing Statistics — opening Stats pauses the streak (so you can browse without losing progress)

A timer fires about once per second. Each tick, it adds the elapsed time (~1 sec) to your streak. Points and theme progress grow at the same time.

2. When the streak pauses vs resets

Pause (streak stops growing, then continues)

Touching the screen — any tap or swipe while on the Focus tab pauses the streak. The timer stops adding time. When you stop touching, the streak continues from where it was—nothing is lost.

Reset (streak goes to 0)

App goes to background — switching to another app, opening the app switcher and going elsewhere, or anything that puts MyDigiDetox in the background resets the streak. Before resetting, the app saves the session to your daily stats.
Manually locking the screen — pressing the side button to lock resets the streak. (The app disables auto-lock and uses dimming instead—see section 4.)

What "reset" means

When the streak resets:

The session is saved to your daily statistics (longest session, session count)
Current streak goes to 0
Reward points and theme progress for that session go to 0
Your best streak ever is kept—it only goes up, never down

3. Phone calls

Depends on how you answer

If the app stays in foreground (e.g. compact call banner at the top):

App state is usually inactive, not background
The streak pauses — it doesn't grow (timer doesn't run)
The streak does not reset
When you end the call, the streak continues from where it was

If the app goes to background (e.g. full-screen phone UI):

Same as switching apps
The streak resets
Your session is saved to daily stats, but the live streak goes to 0

The app also treats being on a call as a special case: if you're in a call, touching the screen (e.g. to mute) does not count as "touching" for the purpose of pausing. So during a call, the streak can keep growing if the app stays active.

4. Auto-lock, dimming & manual lock

The app disables auto-lock

MyDigiDetox keeps your screen on (disables iOS auto-lock) while you're focusing. That's why we have auto-dim—the screen gradually dims when you're not touching it. This saves battery and lets you stay focused without the screen going black or locking.

Manual lock resets the streak

When you manually lock your device (press the side button):

The app goes to background
The streak resets
Your session is saved to your daily statistics

To keep your streak growing, keep the app open and avoid locking the phone. Let the app dim the screen instead—it's designed for that.

5. Quick reference

What happens	Streak	Session saved?
You touch the screen	Pauses	No (continues when you stop)
You switch to another app	Resets	Yes
You manually lock the phone	Resets	Yes
Phone call (banner, app stays visible)	Pauses	N/A
Phone call (full screen, app backgrounded)	Resets	Yes
You open Statistics	Pauses	N/A

In short: Don't leave the app or manually lock the phone, and your streak grows. The app keeps the screen on and dims it to save battery. Touching the screen only pauses—when you stop, it continues. Switching apps or manually locking resets the streak (but the session is saved to your stats).

6. Competition mode

In local competitions, streak timing uses the clock (time since the host started), not the counter. When you're eliminated or the competition ends, your result is recorded for head-to-head stats.