Self-Control & Release Locks
What self-control does
Self-control lets you manage your own Android Device Control rules without a keyholder. You can set screen time limits, block apps, configure browser restrictions, and allow supported AI or Bot Coach actions.
A self-control device session is different from a self-lock. The first controls Android phone restrictions; the second is your Chastify lock session. You can start ordinary self-control without an active lock. Linking its release to a lock session is an optional step.
Start with ordinary self-control
- Install the Android app, sign in, and complete the permissions under Device Control.
- Open Device Control. In Enable Self Parental Control, choose Self-control if the page also offers a keyholder transfer.
- Choose Enable Self Parental Control.
- Open Manage self-control to configure your limits and restrictions. Check that essential apps are in your intended protected-app list before applying restrictions.
- Test your rules, pause/resume behavior, and Disable Self-Control before adding a release lock.
Ordinary self-control lets you manage and end your device session. A release lock deliberately removes some of that control until its condition is met. Optional Device Owner setup and Android permission recovery are separate; see Device Ownership.
Pause, end, or lock
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Pause Phone Control | Pauses app, browser, and protected-settings restriction checks. Keeps the saved rules and device-control session. |
| Resume Phone Control | Applies the saved restrictions again. |
| Disable Self-Control | Ends the device-control session when release is allowed. |
| Make Self-Control Unremovable | Adds a release lock that prevents ordinary disabling, pausing, wearer settings changes, and transfer to a keyholder until the release condition is met. |
A normal pause remains in effect until it is explicitly resumed. It is not the same as a coach's separate, wearer-approved 60-second temporary bypass. Pausing also does not remove Device Owner or other Android administration setup.
Choose a release lock
Open Manage self-control, choose Make Self-Control Unremovable, and review the available choice:
| Mode | When release becomes available |
|---|---|
| Fixed duration | After the self-control release timer expires. Choose at least one minute. The duration starts when you confirm. |
| Lock self-control for the rest of this session | When the associated active Chastify lock session ends. An active session is required. |
For a fixed duration, set the time shown in the picker. For a session lock, enable Lock self-control for the rest of this session instead. Choose Enable Lock, review the final confirmation, then choose Yes, lock it if the settings are right.
Confirming a release lock resumes Phone Control if it is paused and applies your saved rules. You cannot then use the ordinary pause, disable, settings-editing, or transfer controls to undo it. Review the actual rules and coach permissions before confirming.
Two different timers
A fixed self-control release timer is independent of your Chastify lock timer. Ending the lock session early or drawing a release card does not cancel an active fixed self-control timer.
Starting another chastity lock does not cancel or restart that self-control timer either. A new shared lock that requires transferring Device Control to a keyholder cannot take over while the timer is still active.
A session-bound release lock follows the session instead of a separate countdown. Reaching zero on the lock timer alone does not finish that session. Complete its unlock or end flow. See Unlock Your Lock for the relevant release conditions.
Once a release lock is active, you cannot replace it with the other mode through the ordinary setup flow. Finish its release condition first.
These are self-control release rules, not the rules for keeping a keyholder in control after a lock ends. For that setting and what happens with a new keyholder, see Persistent Device Control and starting another lock.
While self-control is locked
The Device Control page shows either when self-control can be disabled or that it is locked until the session ends. Opening its normal management screen while locked may return you to the dashboard with an explanation; this does not mean the saved rules were lost.
For an active fixed timer, the page offers time additions such as +1h and +1d. Confirming an addition extends the existing release time. It does not start a replacement timer from now. Session-bound locks cannot be extended using a timer.
The session and rules apply across your synced Android devices. Usage and permission status are still separate for each phone; see Multi-Device Support. Switching phones does not create a separate release condition.
AI and Bot Coach access
Coach control needs both the coach's relevant enabled features and AI Coach & Bot Coach parental-control access in the phone-control settings. Configure that access before locking self-control. An authorized coach can change supported rules, including relaxing them, while your own settings controls are locked.
When a coach asks to create a release lock, the app shows a confirmation where you can choose the fixed duration or session mode. The chat response alone does not activate a new release lock.
With the required access enabled, AI or Bot Coach actions can extend an already-active fixed self-control timer without a new release-lock confirmation. This differs from the initial request to start a release lock. Review coach access and instructions before locking yourself into a duration.
Temporary Restriction Bypass is a separate coach permission. It must be enabled before starting Device Control and requires wearer approval on the Android device. A temporary bypass does not end the control session or cancel its release lock. See AI Coach for the related permissions.
End self-control
For ordinary self-control, or after a fixed release timer permits release:
- Open Device Control, then Manage self-control.
- Choose Disable Self-Control.
- Confirm Disable Control.
- Keep each controlled phone connected until it receives the release and verify that its restrictions have cleared.
For a session-bound release lock, finish the associated lock session. Device Control is released as that session ends. A fixed timer reaching its deadline means you can disable self-control; do not assume the phone has already processed a release.
Ending Device Control and removing Device Owner are separate actions. Saved device entries can remain after release. To remove an old phone, open Device Control → Synced devices in the Android app on another phone signed in to the same account, then choose Remove → Remove device. The phone marked This device cannot remove itself, and pausing self-control does not make removal available. See removing an old device.
If release or sync looks wrong
- “Locked until…”: check the self-control deadline, rather than the Chastify lock timer. A time extension may have moved it.
- “Until this lock session ends”: finish or unlock that associated session; a timer reading zero is insufficient.
- Old restrictions after release: open Chastify on the affected phone, check its connection, and use Sync protection status under Protection recovery.
- Missing Android permission: use the permission's repair action. Enabling a release lock does not grant Android permissions or guarantee uninterrupted enforcement.
- Still blocked after a successful release and sync: contact Support with the phone model, displayed release state, and exact failed action.
Keyholder-controlled sessions use different release rules, especially Keep device control after lock ends. See Device Control release rather than applying the self-control instructions to a keyholder session.