How to Use Jeda

One Jeda device controls every screen. Pick your platform and follow the setup guide below.

iOS

iPhone

Requirements

An iPhone on iOS 16.4 or later with NFC
One Jeda device

Steps

Open the App Store app. If you need download links, visit the Download page.
Tap your profile picture or the sign-in icon at the top of the screen.
Choose Redeem Gift Card or Code (sign in with your Apple Account if asked).
Select Enter Code Manually and enter the code delivered alongside your device.
Type your code and tap Redeem — the Jeda app then installs automatically.
Allow Screen Time access when prompted. This permission is mandatory — without it Jeda cannot block apps at all.
The "Activate Your Jeda Device" screen appears automatically. Hold the Jeda device against the upper back of your iPhone until you see "Activation Successful".
Tap "Choose Apps to be Blocked" and pick the apps you want limited.
Tap the Jeda device to your iPhone any time to block (Tap to Block) or unblock (Tap to Unblock). There is no digital button for this — by design.

IMPORTANT

Keep the Jeda device somewhere slightly inconvenient to reach — another cupboard, or with someone else in the house. That friction is the point.

Lost the old device or want to use a new one? Tap "Reactivate Jeda Device" on the home screen — the old device stops working as soon as the new one is activated.

Android

Requirements

Android 7.0 or later with NFC
One Jeda device

Steps

Open the Google Play Store. If you need download links, visit the Download page.
Install Jeda.
When prompted about a payment method, choose Redeem Code.
Enter the code delivered alongside your Jeda device.
The Jeda app installs — then open it.
Grant Usage Access and Display over other apps when prompted. Both permissions are required so Jeda can detect and close blocked apps.
Tap "Activate", then hold the Jeda device against the back of your phone until you see "Tag written successfully".
Enable Device Admin when prompted. This prevents Jeda from being force-removed via Settings during an active session — the last required step before the home screen appears.
On the home screen, tap "Choose Blocked Apps" and pick the apps you want limited.
Make sure the Phone / PC selector at the top of the screen is set to "Phone".
Tap the device to start a session, tap again to end it.

OPTIONAL

Set the Session Timer on the home screen to add a delay before blocking actually starts — Instant, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or a custom duration. The countdown begins the moment you tap the device.

NOTE

The same Android phone can also control a Windows PC over Bluetooth — see the Windows section below for pairing. Just switch the selector at the top to "PC" once pairing is done.

iPadOS

iPad

Receiving device — no NFC reader, it follows the signal from your iPhone

Requirements

An iPad on iPadOS 16.4 or later
An already-activated iPhone (see the iPhone section)
The same iCloud account on both iPhone and iPad

Steps

Make sure your iPhone has completed the iPhone setup and has been tapped to the Jeda device at least once.
On the iPad, download and open the Jeda for iPad app from the App Store, then allow Screen Time access when prompted. If you need download links, visit the Download page.
Wait a moment — the iPad registers itself via iCloud, with no extra action needed.
Open Jeda on the iPhone and scroll down the home screen. A new toggle labelled "Sync to [your iPad name]" appears — turn it on.
On the iPad, tap "Choose Apps to be Blocked" and pick the apps to limit on the iPad specifically. This list is separate from the iPhone list.

IMPORTANT

The iPad app is a separate app from the iPhone app with its own App Store listing — search specifically for the iPad version of "Jeda", not the iPhone app.

HOW IT WORKS

Every time the Jeda device is tapped to the iPhone, the iPad blocks or unblocks its own selected apps automatically. While blocking is active, the iPad app list is locked and cannot be changed until the iPhone is tapped again to deactivate.

macOS

Mac

Receiving device — no NFC reader, it follows the signal from your iPhone

Requirements

A Mac on macOS 13 or later
An already-activated iPhone (see the iPhone section)
The same iCloud account on both iPhone and Mac

Steps

Make sure your iPhone has completed the iPhone setup and has been tapped to the Jeda device at least once.
Download the latest Jeda.dmg from the Download page.
Open the .dmg file, then drag the Jeda icon into your Applications folder.
Open Jeda from Applications (double-click). Because the file is officially notarized by Apple, no "unidentified developer" warning appears.
Allow the access requests macOS shows the first time the app opens.
Open Jeda on your iPhone, scroll down the home screen, then enable the "Sync to [your Mac name]" toggle.
On the Mac, click "Add App…" to choose the apps to limit on this Mac. This list is separate from the iPhone and iPad lists.

IMPORTANT

The Mac app is not distributed through the App Store but as an official .dmg that Apple has notarized (security-approved) — safe to use even though it is installed outside the App Store.

Unlike iPhone/iPad, which hide apps, blocked apps on the Mac are force-quit with no prompt to save documents. Save your work before starting a Jeda session. As on iPad, the Mac app list is locked while blocking is active.

Windows

Receiving device — no NFC reader, it follows the signal from your Android phone over Bluetooth

Requirements

Windows 10/11 with Bluetooth
An already-activated Android phone (see the Android section)

Steps

First pair the PC and Android phone over regular Bluetooth. On Windows: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Add device. On Android: Settings → Bluetooth → Pair new device. Just like pairing a Bluetooth headset.
Download and run the Jeda-Setup.exe installer from the Download page. No admin rights required — Jeda opens automatically after installation and appears in the system tray.
In the Jeda window, click "Pair Your Phone" — a 6-digit code appears on screen.
On the Android phone, open Jeda → tap "Pair Your PC" → select your Windows PC from the list of paired Bluetooth devices → enter the 6-digit code from the previous step → tap Save.
On the Android phone, switch the Phone / PC selector on the home screen to "PC".
In Windows, click "Choose Blocked Apps" to pick the apps to limit on this PC.
Tap the Jeda device to the Android phone (with "PC" mode active) to start or stop a session on the PC.

IMPORTANT

Windows is not an Apple product, so it does not use iCloud. The Windows PC connects directly to the Android phone over Bluetooth — not to an iPhone.

NOTE

The "Jeda PC is Active/Inactive" status shown on the Android phone is the last known status, not a live one — tap "Refresh Status" to update it manually. Closing the Jeda window on Windows does not end a session; the app keeps running in the system tray and can only be stopped via the Jeda device on your phone.

Other important notes

One device pairs with one phone

A Jeda device written by an iPhone is only recognised by that iPhone, and the same goes for a device written by an Android phone. If you use both an iPhone and an Android phone, get a separate device for each — one device cannot be shared between them.

Combinations that cannot be linked

iPad and Mac follow an iPhone via iCloud only — neither can be linked to an Android phone. Conversely, a Windows PC follows an Android phone over Bluetooth and cannot be linked to an iPhone. Pick your reader phone based on the receiving devices you want to use.

Changing phones or reinstalling the app

After reinstalling the app or moving to a new phone, the old device is no longer recognised. Rewrite the device from the activation menu ("Reactivate Jeda Device" on iPhone, "Activate" on Android) before continuing.

iCloud not syncing?

Make sure your iPhone and iPad/Mac are signed in with the same iCloud Apple ID and that iCloud is enabled in Settings on both devices. Syncing usually happens within moments of opening both apps.