Mindful use of sex apps

Connecting online can be an exhilarating way to meet new faces.

For some people, there are times when using these apps can spiral out of control. Dr Anne-Marie Lewis gives some interesting tips on having a mindful relationship with sex apps.

Watch the video#

Taking stock of what you really want when using sex apps.

Have fun, safely#

Our colleagues at London Friend have come up with tips on app safety so you can have fun, safely.

Limit your screen time#

If you still find yourself using sex apps compulsively, you can use your phone settings to limit your screen time. You’ll need to create a passcode. Write this number down and put it somewhere not easily accessible, in a locker at work, or with a friend. You can create a random number using this random number generator.

Instructions for iPhone#

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings › Screen Time.
2. Choose ‘Use screen time passcode’.
3. When prompted to setup ‘ScreenTime Passcode Recovery’ click cancel (you do not want to have the ability to reset this using your Apple ID).
4. When prompted with ‘Are you sure’ choose ‘skip’.

Next you want to choose which apps to restrict.

1. Go to Settings › Screen Time › App Limits › enable (green button).
2. Add Limit.
3. Click the arrow to the right-hand side of ‘Social Networking’.
4. Choose the apps you want to limit, for example Grindr or Recon.
5. Choose the amount of time to allow. 1 minute is the lowest you can go.
6. Make sure ‘block at end of limit’ is enabled (green button).
7. You can also choose to block on certain days only, for example Fri–Sun, by choosing ‘customize days’.
8. Click Add in the top right-hand corner.
9. The limit has now been added.

Apple has more instructions for iPhone.

Instructions for Android#

1. Install the ‘Stay Focused’ app from the Google Play store.
2. Open the app and choose ‘grant access’, scroll down and give access to ‘stay focused’.
3. Click ‘create profile’, and choose a name, for example block apps.
4. Choose the app you wish to block, for example Grindr or Recon.
5. Click next, top right corner and choose the days/times you want.
6. Click ‘save’ in top right-hand corner.
7. On the main screen again, enable ‘lock mode’ ‘set new password’, and tick ‘block access to phone settings’.
8. Enter your passcode, and choose a fake email address (blah@blah.com), to prevent you from turning it off.
9. Activate device admin › activate.
10. Grant overdraw permission › allow permission.
11. Click Activate.