FAQ

General

What is Hydrolock?

Hydrolock is a digital‑wellbeing app that encourages hydration by requiring you to take a picture of water before unlocking distracting apps. The pause snaps you out of autopilot so you can stay hydrated and decide whether opening that app is really worth it.

How much does Hydrolock cost?

Hydrolock offers two subscription options:

  • Weekly: £7.99 per month
  • Annual: £49.99 per year (equivalent to £4.17 per month, with a 3-day free trial)

Why did you create Hydrolock?

We built Hydrolock for anyone tired of doom‑scrolling yet frustrated by screen‑time limits with an "Ignore" button. By combining habit-building for hydration with app blocking, we created a double win for your health and digital wellbeing.

Where is Hydrolock available?

Hydrolock is currently available on iOS globally. We plan Android support and wider regions soon.

When will Hydrolock be available on Android?

Android support is in active development.

Is Hydrolock secure?

Yes. Photos are never saved by us. All analytics events are anonymised.

Account

How do I create an account?

On first network connection, Hydrolock registers an anonymous install — no email or password required.

Why do I need to grant camera and notification access?

Hydrolock needs camera access to verify your water photo, and notification access to alert you when you open a locked app to start the unlock process.

How do I delete my account?

You can delete your account from Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account.

What happens if I revoke camera access later?

Hydrolock falls back to a "soft lock" mode and reminds you that a camera is required. You can still browse past stats, but launches won't be intercepted until permissions are restored.

The App

How does the unlock process work?

When you tap a blocked app, Hydrolock launches first, prompts you to take a picture of water, verifies your hydration, and then gives you a session‑length picker (15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 6 h, rest of day).

What session lengths can I choose?

You can allow the target app for 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 6 hours, or the rest of the day. Once the timer ends, the intercept re‑engages automatically.

Are there emergency skips available?

Yes, Hydrolock includes configurable skips for edge cases when you need immediate access to an app. These can be adjusted in the Settings menu.

Do you track analytics?

Behaviour events (e.g. "unlock_attempt", "session_started") are sent to PostHog for anonymised product analytics. No personal identifiers or photos are transmitted.

Does Hydrolock track my water intake?

Hydrolock focuses on encouraging hydration at key moments rather than comprehensive tracking. We measure unlock attempts but don't track actual water consumption volumes.

Privacy and Data

How is my photo data used?

Only to validate unlock attempts. Your photos are never used for advertising, AI training, or sold to third parties.

Does Hydrolock store my photos in the cloud?

No. Photos are processed by us and then deleted immediately.

How long is my data retained?

Photos are never saved. Server‑side logs (push tokens, subscription receipts) are retained while your subscription is active, then purged within 30 days of account deletion.

How does PostHog integration work?

Each event is stripped of personal identifiers, batched, and transmitted over HTTPS. PostHog stores only anonymous install IDs, event names, and basic device metadata (OS version, locale).

Need more help?

If you have any other questions or need support, please email [email protected].