Can't find an answer? Email us directly.
Anchor sits in your Mac menu bar and watches what you're working on — frontmost app, window title, and active browser tab URL. When you start a focus session and drift into a distraction for more than 30 seconds, a small floating panel appears with three options: get back to work, take a 5-minute break, or tell Anchor this is actually work.
At the end of the day you get an honest report: how many minutes you were focused, how many nudges you received, and your weekly trend.
No. That's the whole point. Anchor pre-fills a starter rule set based on the persona you pick during onboarding (Founder, Freelancer, Student, etc.). You can start a session immediately and let Anchor learn from you over time — every time you tap "This is work", it saves a permanent rule.
Those apps hard-block: they prevent you from opening certain websites or apps entirely. Anchor nudges — it always offers an honest way through. If you're on YouTube and it's actually a tutorial, you tap "This is work" once and Anchor never flags it again. We think the hard-block model creates resentment; the nudge model builds awareness.
An iPhone app is in development. It uses Apple's Screen Time stack (FamilyControls + ManagedSettings), which works at the app and domain level — not the window or URL level. You'll see app shields with Anchor's "nudge not wall" copy, and the same daily report. Join the iOS waitlist.
Reading the active window title requires macOS Accessibility API access. Without it, Anchor can see which app is frontmost (everyone can) but can't tell the difference between "Xcode — MyProject" and "Xcode — StackOverflow tab". The window title is the primary signal for classification.
You grant this in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. It's revocable at any time.
To read the active tab URL in Safari, Chrome, Brave, Edge, and Arc, Anchor uses AppleScript (Apple Events). macOS requires a separate Automation permission prompt per browser the first time Anchor reads it. You'll see a dialog — click Allow. You only see it once per browser.
If you missed the prompt or clicked Deny, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation and enable Anchor for each browser.
No. All observations — app names, window titles, URLs — are stored in SwiftData on your device and never leave it. There's no Anchor server, no account, no telemetry. The only network request Anchor makes is checking for app updates (if you're on the direct-distribution build).
Yes. If you decline the Automation permission for a browser, Anchor falls back to classifying by the browser's bundle ID alone. It'll still detect that you're on Chrome — it just won't know which site. For most people, site-level classification makes a big difference, so we recommend allowing it.
When you're in an active focus session and Anchor classifies your current activity as a distraction for 30 continuous seconds, a small floating panel appears in the top-right corner of your screen. It never takes keyboard focus — your current app stays active.
Three buttons: Back to focus (dismiss, resets the timer), 5-min break (pauses enforcement for 5 minutes, then resumes automatically), and This is work — allow (saves a permanent rule). After a nudge, there's a 60-second cooldown before the next one.
If there's been no mouse, keyboard, or scroll input for 2 minutes, Anchor stops classifying. AFK time doesn't accrue as focused or distracted — it's just excluded from the totals. Step away for lunch and your focus ratio won't be diluted.
Yes. In Settings → Schedules, add a recurring time window (e.g. weekdays 9am–12pm). When that window starts, a focus session begins automatically. You can toggle schedules on/off without deleting them.
Settings → Rules. You'll see two sections: rules you created (via "This is work" taps or manually) and the built-in rules seeded from your persona. You can delete or modify any rule. The first matching rule wins — order matters for edge cases.
Fill out the beta form. We're rolling out in small batches via TestFlight. You'll get an email with a TestFlight invite link — no App Store purchase needed.
Yes, completely free. There's no subscription, no trial timer, no payment information required. Beta testers will get a discounted or grandfathered price when Anchor 1.0 launches.
We're thinking a small one-time purchase for the Mac app and a modest subscription for the Mac + iOS bundle. Nothing is final yet — beta feedback will shape the model. We'll communicate any pricing changes well in advance.
We're targeting both the Mac App Store and direct distribution. The App Store version may have limitations around certain AppleScript automations depending on sandbox review. The direct-distribution build (available via TestFlight today) has full capability.