Limit Usage For Any iPhone App By Time, Frequency & More With AppCap
Thanks to the availability of dedicated clients for almost all popular web services and sites, many people use smartphones as their primary means of surfing the internet. Almost all modern tablets and phones come with some level of social media integration, luring users away from their computers and keeping them glued to the smaller screens. iOS is famous for the quality and quantity of its apps, and that is why iPhone users account for a significant proportion of daily traffic on many websites. With such convenience however, the chances of spending too much time on anti-productivity websites have increased as well. There are computer application and web extensions to prevent users from staying too long on time-wasting websites, but the time is ripe for a similar app for iOS. Enter AppCap – a new Cydia tweak that helps you define usage restrictions for any app on your iPhone.
AppCap has to be configured through the menu it adds to the stock Settings app once it is installed. To start using it, enable the tweak, and enter the name of the app you want to restrict. This name has to match the exact label that appears below the SpringBoard icon of the app. There are two actions you can configure to be executed upon launching restricted apps. You can disable them altogether, or see a warning alert before you get to open the app. Here are the criteria that can be applied for these restrictions:
- Number of Launches: Define the maximum number of times an app can be launched within 24 hours. The available options range from one to six.
- Time: Using the ‘Earliest Time’ and ‘Latest Time’ options, you can set up a time window during which an app can be opened.
- Frequency: Doesn’t let you open the app until a predefined amount of time has elapsed since the previous launch.
- Day of Week: Don’t want to use an app on particular days? Try this option.
- WiFi: This option is handy for restricting an app’s usage to Wi-Fi. Another use for it is to allow the app to launch only when you are on a particular network. This can help you cut down on your mobile data costs, or use from your work network, for instance.
Unfortunately, only one app at a time can be limited using AppCap, which is a major handicap. To change the current app or any of the criteria, toggle on the ‘Reset at Next Launch’ option after making the alterations.
You can download the tweak from the ModMyi repo of the Cydia store for free. You might have to respring your device manually after installation and configuring some of the features.
