Many of us struggle with setting - and more importantly, maintaining - our goals, including our screen time goals. On that note, Opal’s new Assist feature on iOS helps you stay mindful of your screen time by monitoring your use of your top three most distracting apps. It then sends reminders when you exceed thresholds that you set. This feature is gentler than our Time Limit feature, and helps you stay on track.

Where to Find Assist on iOS

To find the Assist feature, please ensure you have updated to the newest version of the iOS app here. Once you’ve updated, tap on the “Home” tab. You should see the “Assist” feature displayed there. It includes:

• A toggle to turn monitoring “On” or “Off”
• A circular progress gauge showing how much of your daily limit you’ve already used
• Quick access to Assist Settings

How to Use the Assist Feature on iOS

To enable our Assist feature on iOS, please open Opal and locate the Assist card on your Home tab. Once that’s complete, follow these steps:

• Toggle Assist “On”
• Ensure that your “Assist” Notifications are toggled on within “Settings” > “Notifications”
• Tap on “Daily Limit” and select your time frame
• Tap on “Remind me” and select how often you’d like to be reminded of your usage

Once you’ve enabled Assist, you will see the circular progress gauge dill up as you use distracting apps:

• Green: under 50% of your limit
• Yellow: 50–75% of your limit
• Red: over 75% of your limit

Note: Assist requires Notification permissions to function. If your Notifications are disabled, the card will show instructions to enable them. Once enabled, you’ll receive reminders at your chosen interval whenever you’re using distracting apps. If you do not enable Notifications, you will be unable to use our Assist feature.

Why isn’t Assist working for me on iOS? Why is the card greyed out?

If the Assist feature is not working for you, please update to the newest version of the app here. Once that is complete, please ensure your Notifications for Assist are enabled by navigating to your “Profile” tab > “Settings” (accessible via the gear icon in the top right corner of the app) > “Notifications” > “Assist”. Once you’ve taken both steps, the issue should be resolved. If not, do not hesitate to contact Support in-app to report the issue.

Why don't I see the Assist feature on the Android version of the app or the Mac App?

Currently, we're working on implementing feature parity for our Mac app and for our newly launched Android app. Stay tuned on that front!