Agree with someone, then invite them
KeyBond is for an adult who chooses a lock and asks a person they already know. It is not a way to watch someone else’s phone or to lock a device they did not set up.
Ask first. You invite one partner by email or text. The invitation link works for 72 hours. They open it in a browser, see your name, and tap Accept invite. They do not install KeyBond, create an account, or pay.
Either of you can end the pairing. They can Return the key from the same kind of link, with no explanation owed to you. You can end it in the app. After that, your own schedule and emergency unlock still run; new asks to a partner do not.
Inviting a partner and sending requests are part of the paid plan. Blocking on a schedule without a partner stays available. Store listings are not live on this site yet; Download shows current availability.
Send a request and get a reply
During a protected time, open KeyBond and send an ask. Choose how long you want, and add an optional note.
Your partner gets a message with a link. They tap Grant unlock or Deny. They have ten minutes after the request is accepted. If they grant, you get temporary access for the minutes you asked. When that time ends, the schedule continues if it is still active.
You can also take a short Break yourself without asking anyone. A Break is your own timed pause. An ask is the path that waits for your partner.
A 15-minute example
Jordan (you) and Rae (the partner) are fictional. Jordan’s phone is online. A weeknight schedule is still running. At 19:02 Jordan asks for 15 minutes — a length Jordan chose, not a hidden default — and types Need maps for the airport run.
| Clock | What happens |
|---|---|
| 19:02 | The request is accepted. Rae’s link is good until 19:12. Jordan sees a countdown. |
| 19:06 | Rae opens the link, reads the 15 minutes and the note, and taps Grant unlock. Jordan’s phone is online, receives the grant, and applies 15 minutes of temporary access until 19:21. |
| If Rae does not answer | At 19:12 the request expires. The blocked apps stay blocked. A grant after 19:12 does not unlock. |
If Rae has not answered and Jordan cancels at 19:08, that request ends. Rae cannot grant it.
Ten minutes after 19:02 is 19:12 (the time to answer). Fifteen minutes after 19:06 is 19:21 (the temporary access, if the phone received the grant in time). If the phone receives the approval later, access still ends at 19:21. The delay leaves less time to use.
What your partner sees
On the answer page they see:
- your display name
- the minutes you asked for
- the optional note, if you wrote one
- Grant unlock and Deny
KeyBond does not automatically share the list of apps you blocked, or how long you used them. The note is text you type. If you write an app name there, they will read that sentence.
The message that carries the link includes your name, the minutes, and the note if you wrote one. It does not attach your blocked-app list.
If they do not answer, you are offline, or you need out now
If the ten minutes pass with no reply, the request expires and the lock stays.
You can cancel an unanswered request from KeyBond. A used or expired link does not unlock a second time.
A new ask needs a connection so it can be sent and so your partner can open the page. If you tap send while the phone is offline, the ask waits on the phone; the ten-minute window starts only after it is accepted. Temporary access that was already granted can run to its end without staying online.
Emergency does not wait for your partner. On the KeyBond shield, press and hold Emergency for three seconds. That hold is in KeyBond — not the iPhone volume-and-side-button shortcut, which is the phone’s own emergency SOS.
Emergency opens the rest of the current schedule window. Later scheduled windows still apply. It works offline. Your partner is notified; if you are offline, that notice goes out later. The unlock does not wait for the notice. If you have no partner (Solo), emergency still works and there is nobody to tell.
If iOS shows its own block screen over an app, that screen can close the blocked app. Finish the ask, a Break, or emergency in KeyBond. On Android, the block overlay can complete the three-second emergency hold.
What the phone still lets you do
You can turn off the permission KeyBond uses, or uninstall the app. KeyBond does not claim otherwise.
On iPhone, you authorize KeyBond for your own Screen Time. Apple’s documentation says that after you authorize an app this way, you can still delete that app. The system does not hand your partner the names of the apps you picked.
On Android (Pixel and Samsung for this version), KeyBond covers selected apps with an overlay. Google Play policy does not allow an ordinary self-control app to stop you from turning that access off or uninstalling. Parental-control and workplace-management apps are a different case; KeyBond is not those.
If you revoke access while KeyBond can see it, your partner may be told that protection was interrupted. If the phone goes quiet — asleep, offline, or otherwise unreachable — they may hear only that protection cannot be confirmed. That is not proof that you uninstalled on purpose.
Next
How it works is the shorter product tour. Download states current store availability. Privacy covers the invitation (72 hours) and the answer link (10 minutes). Support is support@keybond.app.