Support

Walk Away gives you a pause before you respond. Here's how to get the most from it.

Start a pause in one tap

In a heated moment, every extra step is a chance to skip the pause. Set up one of these once:

• Siri (no setup): say “Hey Siri, start Walk Away” or “Take space with Walk Away.”
• Action Button (iPhone 15 Pro and later): Settings → Action Button → Shortcut → Walk Away.
• Back Tap: in the Shortcuts app, add the Walk Away action “Start a Pause.” Then go to Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap → Double Tap and choose that shortcut.
• Control Center and Lock Screen (iOS 18 and later): open Control Center, tap +, then Add a Control, and search for Walk Away. On the Lock Screen, touch and hold, tap Customize, and swap a bottom button for Walk Away.
• Widget: touch and hold the Home Screen or Lock Screen, add a widget, and search for Walk Away.

How Do Not Send drafts work

1. Choose Do Not Send and write, or paste, what you want to say.
2. Tap “Lock it.” The draft stays blurred until the timer ends (5 minutes unless you change it). If you end the pause early, a kept draft stays locked until its original time.
3. Then read it again. You can rewrite it, copy it, keep it, sleep on it, or let it go. Letting it go deletes it from your iPhone, and you can undo that for a few seconds.

Drafts are stored only on your iPhone. They're encrypted while your phone is locked and left out of iCloud and computer backups, so if you delete the app or move to a new phone, drafts don't come with you. Kept drafts delete themselves after three days unless you change that in settings.

• The blur is a timer, not a password. It keeps you from rereading too soon. Drafts you keep also ask for Face ID or your passcode, if your iPhone has one (that's on unless you turn it off in Walk Away's settings). It stops a passing glance, not someone who knows your passcode or picks up your iPhone while it's unlocked. The draft on screen when a pause ends isn't locked. More in Privacy on a shared phone.
• When you tap Copy, the draft stays on your iPhone (it doesn't pass to your other Apple devices) and clears from the clipboard after about 5 minutes. Text you select and copy yourself uses the regular clipboard. Once you paste it into another app, it's saved and synced there like anything else you type, and Walk Away can't delete it.

The Lock Screen countdown

When a pause starts, Walk Away shows a plain countdown on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, so you can put your phone down. When time's up, you can add five minutes right from the Lock Screen. If you don't see it, check Settings → Walk Away → Live Activities. You can also turn on “Alert when a pause ends” in Walk Away's settings.

Sounds and scenes

Tap “Add a sound” under the countdown to choose Ocean, Rain, Stream, Wind, Fan, Hum, or one of our original songs. Ocean's waves rise and fall with the breathing circle, and a soft bowl chime marks the end of the pause (you can turn the chime off in Settings). Sounds keep playing when your iPhone locks during a long pause, and they play even when your iPhone is on silent, so a sound lasts one pause unless you turn on “Play my sound every pause” in Settings. If your headphones come out, it stops instead of moving to the speaker. To stop a sound, tap it and choose Off, or end the pause.

The background follows your sound: waves for water, sunbeams and dust for warm sounds. Choose one yourself, or None, in Settings → Background. Reduce Motion keeps everything still.

Can Walk Away silence my other apps?

No. iPhone apps can't silence other apps. You can set up a Focus that turns on while Walk Away is open: Settings → Focus → + → Custom, then in that Focus tap Add Schedule → App → Walk Away.

Does Walk Away send messages or read my contacts?

No. Walk Away never sends anything, and it can't see your contacts or conversations. “Let them know” messages are yours to copy or share through the standard iOS share sheet.

Privacy on a shared phone

• The Lock Screen countdown only says “Pause.” Turn on Discreet mode in Walk Away's settings and it says only “Timer,” alerts say only “Timer done” or “Reminder,” and Walk Away is covered in the App Switcher.
• Kept drafts live in Walk Away's settings, can require Face ID, stay blurred until you tap them, and delete themselves after three days (you can change this).
• To lock or hide Walk Away itself, touch and hold its icon and choose Require Face ID.
• To keep alert text off the Lock Screen: Settings → Notifications → Show Previews → When Unlocked.
• To turn off the Lock Screen countdown: Settings → Walk Away → Live Activities.
• Walk Away can't detect monitoring software on your phone.

Need more than a pause?

Walk Away is a timer for everyday tense moments. It isn't therapy or crisis support, and it can't keep anyone safe.

If you're afraid of someone, or you might hurt yourself or someone else, contact your local emergency number or a free, confidential helpline. These are independent services, not part of Walk Away. Find one near you at findahelpline.com. In the US, you can call or text 988, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (or text START to 88788).

Contact

Email hello@designedcalm.com. We read every message.