The Window

What it is

The Window is the only time you may change the terms: The Vig, The Pass, launch hold, relaunch period, The Lock, grain, marked lists, permissions. Outside The Window those settings lock. Marked apps accrue The Tab, launch Hold fires, and tamper paths stay guarded.

You do not negotiate with yourself at midnight. You configure in the morning — or on the schedule you chose.

Show week — reading the grid

In Settings you define one or more windows per weekday. Tap Show week to preview the full seven-day picture: each column is a day, time runs top to bottom (midnight to midnight). Accent bands are open hours. Everything else is closed.

You can stack multiple windows on the same day — a morning admin block and a lunch break, for example. End time earlier than start time spans midnight (10 PM → 1 AM on selected nights).

Scenarios

Weekday grind, weekends off

Mon–Fri: a morning Window to tune the lists. Sat–Sun: no Window configured — or configure full-day open bands if you want zero restrictions on weekends.

Lunchtime admin

Keep the morning Window and add noon–1 PM on workdays. Fifteen minutes to move an app from hard to soft beats cheating at your desk after hours.

Saturday afternoon — Close Window as your focus tool

Many users treat Close Window as their main way to manage phone use — not just a mistake-recovery button. The schedule gives you permission; Close Window is how you take it away when you are done.

Example: you configure Saturday 1:00–5:00 PM open so you can use the phone on your terms — tune lists, scroll guilt-free, whatever you planned. At 2:30 PM you have had enough. You do not wait for 5 PM. You tap Close Window.

Enforcement resumes immediately — launch holds, tab accrual, locked settings. The 1–5 PM band is still on your schedule, but you are not inside it anymore. Future-you cannot reopen Settings just because the clock says 3 PM. That is the point.

• 60-second grace — tap Open The Window to cancel if you tapped by mistake.
• After 60 seconds — The Window locks for the duration you chose in the Close Window popup (default 1 hour). No reopen until it expires. The red banner counts down.
• While locked — marked apps run up debt on The Tab if you open them. You chose focus; the ledger keeps the receipt.
• Scheduled hours do not override the lock — if your Saturday window runs until 5 PM but you closed at 2:30, the close lock wins until 3:30 PM (1h default), 4:30 PM (2h), or 6:30 PM (4h). The schedule does not reopen The Window early.

Close Window — lock duration

When you close The Window and miss the 60-second reopen grace, enforcement stays on and The Window stays locked for a fixed period. You choose how long in the Close Window confirm dialog — not in Settings. It defaults to 1 hour every time; pick 2 or 4 hours for that close if you want a longer lock.

Lock duration (Close Window popup)

When you tap Close Window on Home (or Settings while The Window is open):

• The confirm dialog asks how long to lock if you miss the 60-second reopen.
• 1 hour — selected by default
• 2 hours
• 4 hours

Tap your choice, then confirm. That duration applies only to this close — next time you close, the dialog defaults back to 1 hour. Pick a longer lock when you mean “I am done for the afternoon”; keep 1 hour if you close often and might want back in sooner after the lock expires.

Using Close Window on purpose

Common patterns:

• Weekend admin, weekday discipline — open band Saturday morning to adjust lists; close when setup is done; enjoy a locked, enforced rest of the day.
• Wide schedule, manual close — keep a generous daily or weekend window on the books, but close as soon as you finish what you opened for. The schedule is the ceiling; Close Window is the floor you actually live on.
• Testing enforcement — open, tweak a slider, close, feel launch hold and debt on The Tab under fire (see below).

Testing — tune settings, peek at enforcement

While The Window is open, change hold duration, The Vig, or grain. To see what that feels like under fire, tap Close Window and let enforcement run.

• The red banner warns you: locked in 60 seconds unless you reopen.
• During the countdown, tap Open The Window again — tweak another slider, close again, repeat.
• Miss the minute and you serve the close lock you picked (1, 2, or 4 hours — default 1). Test deliberately; do not fumble into it.

Setup grace (first three days)

For three days after install you may open The Window anytime — not only on the morning schedule — so you can mark apps and learn the ledger without fighting your own rules on day one. After grace, only your configured bands apply. You may lock in early starting on day 2 if you are ready to run scheduled windows only.

Settings — what changes only in The Window

Most enforcement terms lock when The Window closes. In Settings, sliders and chips show a lock dialog if you tap them outside The Window (or outside setup grace with the Window manually opened). Plan changes during your scheduled bands — not at midnight.

The Window section (Settings → top card)

• Schedules — add, edit, or remove maintenance windows. Each window has a start hour, end hour, and weekdays. Overnight ranges work (e.g. 10 PM → 1 AM).
• Show week — preview the seven-day grid from your current schedules (same layout as on this page).
• Emergency contacts — trusted email addresses for contact unlock (see below). Tap the row to add or edit. We never email them except an acknowledgement when they write to unlock@thevig.eu.

Enforcement terms (Settings — locked outside The Window)

• The Vig — markup on collection debt.
• The Pass — daily quota and duration.
• Max tab run — session cap before collection lockout on hard marks.
• Launch hold — confirm code length, countdown seconds, and relaunch period before another launch is required.
• The Lock — pocket-send / pocket-dial shield for Phone, WhatsApp-style messaging, and SMS. Slide once per app (60s); proximity cancels grace.
• Grainy grey overlay — where the overlay applies (launcher, marked apps, or both), grayscale toggle, grain intensity, stutter and VCR-style tracking amounts.
• Emergency PoW rounds — how many typing rounds are required for emergency disable outside The Window (5, 10, or 15). Set this while The Window is open so future-you cannot lower the bar in a weak moment.
• The Marks / Soft Marks — add, remove, or reclassify targets (also editable from the app picker while The Window is open).

Home panel — primary actions

On the home screen, The Window card is your live status. Main actions depend on state:

• Close Window — while open: stand down enforcement now; pick 1h / 2h / 4h lock in the confirm dialog (default 1h); 60s to reopen; then lock if you do not.
• Open The Window — while closed but eligible (scheduled band, setup grace, or after a lock expires): pause enforcement and edit rules.
• Lock in early — I'm ready — during setup grace (from day 2): end the anytime-open grace and run scheduled windows only.
• Re-enable Blocker — while everything is disabled for 24h: turn enforcement back on before the timer ends.

Secondary links at the bottom of the card (smaller text) open detail screens — not the main daily workflow.

Disable everything (24 hours)

A separate escape hatch from normal Window behavior: all enforcement turns off for exactly 24 hours — grayscale, grain, launch holds, debt on The Tab, lockouts. Current balances on The Tab and collection are wiped. The timer runs out on its own; you may re-enable early from the home card.

While The Window is open

Tap the small Disable everything for 24h link on the home Window card. Confirm by typing DISABLE 24H. This can only be armed during an open Window — you cannot start a 24h disable from a cold start outside the schedule.

While The Window is closed

The same outcome requires the emergency proof-of-work path (see below). There is no one-tap disable outside The Window — by design.

Emergency contacts

For situations where you need someone else to vouch for you — locked out of settings, real emergency, not routine cheating — you can list trusted contacts who may authorize a one-hour Window by email.

Setup

1. Open Settings.
2. In The Window section, tap Emergency contacts (or the warning row if none are configured).
3. Add one or more email addresses — trusted friends or family, not your own. Addresses are synced to the server tied to your device.
4. We never email your contacts — except a one-time acknowledgement when they write to unlock@thevig.eu. No invites, reminders, or marketing.
5. Small typos still match — if you save friend@example.com and they email from friens@example.com (one letter off), it usually still authorizes. Type carefully, but a single-character slip is tolerated.
6. Save. Configure this while The Window is open or during setup grace — not after you are already locked out.

What contacts do

From their listed address, they send any email to unlock@thevig.eu. The server matches the sender against your saved contacts (with tolerance for minor address typos — up to two character differences), then authorizes your device. They receive only an acknowledgement reply from unlock@thevig.eu — nothing else is sent to that address. Your app polls in the background; within about a minute The Window opens for one hour.

A red banner appears: Emergency unlock — friend authorized via email, with time remaining. During that hour you have full Window privileges — edit lists, change The Vig, close the Window, etc. When the hour ends, normal closed-window enforcement resumes unless your schedule also has an open band.

Emergency unlock when The Window is closed

When enforcement is running and you are outside your schedule, tap the small Emergency options link on the home Window card. This opens a full-screen panel with two paths — use the one that matches what you actually need.

Path A — Emergency contact unlock (opens The Window)

Use this when you need to change rules or lists, not when you want the blocker off entirely.

• If no contacts are configured, the screen warns you and links to Settings → Emergency contacts. Set them up before you need them.
• If contacts exist, their addresses are listed. Ask one of them to email unlock@thevig.eu from that address. They get only an acknowledgement reply — we do not otherwise email them. Minor typos in saved addresses usually still match.
• Tap Check for unlock email — or wait; the app checks automatically every few seconds.
• Status shows whether an unlock was received: Unlock received · The Window is open with time left, or No unlock email received yet with the last check time.
• When unlock arrives, the panel closes and the home card switches to open-Window mode.

Path B — Emergency disable · proof of work (24h everything off)

Use this when you need all enforcement off for 24 hours and you cannot wait for The Window. This is deliberately tedious.

• Tap Begin proof of work. Round count comes from Settings → Emergency PoW rounds (5, 10, or 15 — whatever you configured in The Window).
• Each round: type a long random string exactly as shown (~70 characters, mixed case and symbols). Copy-paste is disabled; the OS clipboard and text selection are blocked on this screen.
• Timer: 90 seconds per round (e.g. 5 rounds = 7½ minutes total). A countdown shows time remaining. Expire the timer and the challenge fails — start over.
• Complete every round → 24-hour full disable arms immediately (same as typing DISABLE 24H during an open Window).

Quick reference

• Edit schedules & contacts: Settings → The Window (only while a Window is open, or during setup grace).
• Close Window — stand down now; choose 1h / 2h / 4h in the popup (default 1h); 60s to reopen; then lock. Scheduled bands do not reopen early during the lock.
• Disable everything for 24h — open Window: type DISABLE 24H; closed Window: complete emergency PoW.
• Emergency options — closed Window only: contact email unlock (1h Window) or PoW disable (24h off).
• Contact unlock: trusted sender emails unlock@thevig.eu → acknowledgement reply only; small typos in saved addresses usually match → poll / Check for unlock email.
• Emergency PoW rounds: Settings → 5 / 10 / 15 (set during The Window).

Still installing? Help & setup · Permissions · FAQ