Block selected distracting apps before the call starts. Keep Zoom, Teams, calls, calendar, and notes available. No calendar automation, no meeting detection — just fewer exits while someone is talking.
A check that feels small still moves your attention elsewhere. Opening a feed during a slow moment in a call looks like a second, but returning to the conversation often means rebuilding who said what, what decision was due, and what you were about to say. Over a 30-minute meeting, two of those exits can cost the thread.
The phone invites a check right when listening is hardest. A vague update, a slide that needs slow reading, or a question you do not yet have an answer for are the exact moments a scroll offers easier input. The habit is not only about notifications — it is self-initiated when attention feels effortful.
You also signal the check to everyone else. On Zoom or Teams, eyes drop, responses lag, and the speaker adjusts. In person, the glance is visible. Even if no one comments, the credibility of being present is reduced.
Blokuj wybrane rozpraszające aplikacje przed połączeniem. Zachowaj Zoom, Teams, połączenia, kalendarz i notatki. Bez automatyzacji kalendarza.
You choose the apps to block — not Fella. During setup Fella requests Apple's Czas przed ekranem authorization and opens the system Family Activity picker. You select the apps or categories that pull you out of meetings — social media, short video, games, news, shopping, or other feeds — from the iPhone's own list. Work apps stay unchecked by default.
iOS applies the shield, not an automation. When a session or routine is active, Fella gives the selected-app rule to Apple's Managed Settings framework. Opening a blocked app shows the system shield instead of the app. No Shortcuts, App Intents, calendar triggers, or VPN are involved. See how Fella works for the full flow.
There is no meeting detection to trust or mis-trigger. Fella does not watch your calendar, detect that Zoom or Teams joined, or read which meeting you are in, and it does not integrate with those apps' events or chat. You start blocking before the meeting; the meeting app stays available only because you left it unselected.
Fella is an iPhone blocker, not a device-wide filter. It is built for selected iPhone app blocking via Czas przed ekranem frameworks on iOS 16 and later. It does not filter websites or block apps on Mac, iPad, or other platforms.
| Use | Manual meeting session | Recurring meeting routine |
|---|---|---|
| When it starts | When you tap Start in Fella | Automatically at the scheduled time |
| When it ends | After the duration you set | At the routine's end time |
| Does it repeat? | No — single block | Yes, on the weekdays you choose |
| Best for | A client call, interview, or ad hoc meeting | Daily standups, recurring blocks, or office hours |
| How timing is kept | Start and end dates saved locally; Device Activity interval registered | Routine schedule persisted and started/ended by the Device Activity monitor extension |
A manual session is the fastest path to a shielded meeting. Pick a Quick routine (30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or 4 hours) or set a custom duration, then start before the call. Fella stores the real end time, applies the shield, and reconciles the manual blocking source when the interval completes. Apple requires a 15-minute minimum for the Device Activity monitoring interval; for shorter saved durations Fella keeps the real earlier end time.
A routine makes the same boundary repeat without a daily start. Choose days plus start and end times — for example, weekdays 9:00 AM–5:00 PM for a deep-work block or 9:25–9:45 AM for a standup — and Fella registers it with Device Activity. iOS runs the monitor extension at the start and end even if the app is not open. Learn more about blocking apps at certain times.
Both are the same blocking mechanism applied to a different window. There is no special meeting mode with different rules. Meetings use Fella's standard sessions and routines, just pointed at the distracting apps that break attention on a call. For an ad hoc block that should end automatically, see the temporary app blocker.
Block the feed, keep the meeting. Most meetings need Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, or FaceTime plus Calendar, Notes, Phone, Messages, or email. Leave those unselected and they remain available. Block the social, video, news, shopping, dating, and game apps that usually capture more than a glance.
You decide how narrow the allowance is. If a standup should still allow a quick Slack check, leave Slack unblocked while blocking the apps that usually extend beyond a check. If even that is a trap, block it too and rely on the single awaryjne odblokowanie for the genuine exception.
Calls and core phone functions stay reachable when left unselected. Phone, FaceTime, and other essential apps remain available when not selected. For category-based blocks, iOS keeps Phone in the Always Allowed list so a full-category shield does not remove it. Choose the smallest set that actually protects the meeting and compare the trade-off with a broader Focus mode blocker.
Changing the selection changes every future session. Edit the selection in Apple's picker once and every later manual session or scheduled routine uses the new set. You do not maintain a separate meeting-only block list.
Each calendar day includes one five-minute awaryjne odblokowanie. Use it for a 2FA code inside a blocked app, a message you must answer, or a file you need to retrieve right now. Fella stores the five-minute window locally, lifts the shield, and schedules an on-device Device Activity callback to reapply the current blocking rule when time ends.
It does not extend the meeting or create daily extra time to scroll. When the five minutes end, the apps are blocked again. If the meeting session itself has ended, Fella reconciles which blocking source — manual or routine — should remain. The allowance is one per calendar day and does not accumulate; a second unlock is not available that day. Read the exact awaryjne odblokowanie rules.
A bounded exception beats abandoning the block. Without it, an urgent exception often becomes a reason to stop blocking entirely for the day. Here the exception is short, counted, and reversed automatically, so the meeting stays the path of least resistance.
Zoom and Teams calls where your face is visible. A phone check is most noticeable on video. Leave the meeting app unselected and block the feeds that compete for the same screen. Start the Fella session when you join; it ends automatically. Fella does not integrate with Zoom or Teams — it only leaves them available when you do not select them.
Client meetings where attention is the product. The client is evaluating whether you are present, not whether you can multitask. A shielded session removes the private negotiation of “is this check worth it” so listening can stay continuous. Keep notes and calendar open if they serve the meeting.
Standups and recurring syncs that are short by design. A 15-minute standup does not need a 15-minute decision. A routine that covers 9:25–9:45 AM on weekdays can shield the same distractors every morning without remembering to start anything. If the team runs long, the routine's end still reapplies the rule.
Interviews — hiring, user research, or press. The cost of a missed follow-up question is higher than the cost of not seeing a feed for an hour. A manual session before the interview keeps the distracting apps behind the shield while Phone, Notes, and the video app stay available.
In-person meetings and shared rooms. The same reach exists even when the meeting is not on the iPhone. A timed session that covers the room booking keeps Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, X, YouTube, or games unavailable while the conversation continues.
| Approach | What it does to distracting apps | What it costs a meeting |
|---|---|---|
| Fella selected-app block | Installed and shielded during the session or routine; one 5-minute unlock per day | Meeting apps stay available; no silent-switch dependency |
| iOS Tryb skupienia | Filters notifications and can hide Home Screen pages; optional Czas przed ekranem limits with extend buttons | Setup lives across Settings, silencing can hide the meeting app itself if misconfigured, limits are easy to extend |
| Manual silent / Do Not Disturb | Mutes sound and banners | Apps remain one tap away; muting does not block opening them |
| Czas przed ekranem App Limits / Downtime | Time-based limits with Ignore Limit and One More Minute | Limits invite negotiation at the moment focus is most fragile |
Silencing is not shielding. Muting reduces noise but leaves every distracting app immediately openable. A Fella session adds the system shield so the next reach meets a block rather than a choice.
Tryb skupienia solves a broader job. Focus helps across the system — notifications, pages, and people — and is valuable broadly, but it is not a selected-app shield that stays blocked with one bounded exception per day and reapplies automatically. Compare Fella and the Czas przed ekranem alternative, and the broader Fella vs Czas przed ekranem.
The narrow job is intentional. Fella does not manage your calendar, join calls, or mute your microphone. It blocks selected iPhone apps for the window you set. Pair it with a simple meeting habit — start the session when you join, phone face-down or in a pocket.
Yes. Choose the distracting apps in Apple's Family Activity picker, then start a manual timed session before the meeting or let a recurring routine start automatically. iOS shows the system shield if you try to open a blocked app.
No. Fella does not detect meetings, read calendar events, or integrate with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or other meeting apps. Leave those meeting apps unselected so they stay available, and start blocking via a manual session or a scheduled routine.
Yes. Fella blocks only what you select. Leave Phone, Messages, Calendar, Notes, Zoom, Teams, and other essential apps unchecked; iOS also keeps Phone in the Always Allowed list for category-based blocks.
Start a manual session — a Quick routine (30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or 4 hours) or a custom duration. Fella saves the start and end locally, applies the Managed Settings shield, and registers a Device Activity interval; Apple requires a 15-minute minimum for that interval.
Use a manual session for a single meeting. Use a routine when meetings repeat — for example, weekday standups or 9 AM–5 PM focus blocks — so the shield starts and ends automatically on the weekdays you chose.
Each calendar day includes one five-minute awaryjne odblokowanie. Fella lifts the shield temporarily and reapplies the current blocking rule automatically when the five minutes end. It does not extend the session or accumulate.
Silencing mutes sound; Focus filters notifications and pages. Neither applies a Managed Settings app shield that stays blocked with one bounded exception per day and reapplies automatically during the meeting window.
No. There is no automatic meeting mode or calendar trigger. Meetings use Fella's standard selected-app sessions and routines — the same mechanism used for reading, study, or focus.
