FitGuard · Guides

Push-ups to unlock your apps: how it works

Screen-time limits fail at the same place every time: the "ignore for today" button. FitGuard replaces that button with something a thumb can't do. Your apps open after real push-ups or squats, counted by the phone's camera.

The idea in one minute

You pick the apps that eat your day: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, anything installed. For some of them you can block only the Reels or Shorts part.
You set a small plan, like 15 push-ups and 20 squats, and how many minutes it earns, from 5 to 60.
You turn on the Guard. Opening a blocked app now shows a guard dog and a lock screen instead.
You do the reps in front of the camera. The count reaches your target, the apps open, and a countdown shows the minutes you have left.

How the phone counts reps

You prop the phone up a couple of steps away. An AI pose model finds your joints in the camera picture (shoulders, elbows, hips, knees) and measures the angles between them as you move. A rep counts only when you go through the full range: all the way down, all the way up.

Every rep gets a mark: good, partial or missed. A voice counts out loud so you don't need to look at the screen.

Can I cheat it?

Waving a hand at the camera: no body, no joints, no count.
Half reps: marked partial. They show in your history as partial.
Tapping a button: there isn't one. There is no manual "I did it" switch.

You can always turn the Guard off, because it's your phone. But while it is on, you can't remove apps from the list or loosen the rules, and in Monk Mode (Premium) switching it off costs 10,000 steps.

Why this works better than a timer

The workout matters less than the pause. Opening Instagram is a reflex, and a limit you can dismiss with one tap becomes part of the reflex. Fifteen push-ups can't be done on autopilot, so you get twenty seconds to ask "do I want this that badly?" Often the answer is no, and the phone goes down. When the answer is yes, you've at least moved.

Is the camera safe?

The camera is on only during a workout. Frames are analysed on your phone to count reps. No video is recorded, stored or uploaded.

What's free

Push-ups, squats and jumping jacks, three blocked apps (Reels-only on one of them), streaks, trophies, friends and the voice coach are free. Premium adds six more exercises, unlimited apps, schedules and Monk Mode.

Get it when it opens.

FitGuard is in closed testing on Android. Leave your email and we'll send you the link the day it opens.