Jamaah Lock · Help

Today

The next prayer and how long until it, then today's six rows (Fajr, Sunrise, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha) with adhan and, when known, iqamah. Tap the circle at the end of a row to mark a prayer; tap again to clear. Lock Health sits under the rows when apps are set to rest.

Masjid

Scan, import or type your mosque's monthly timetable, check it, and share it as a QR code.

Tracker

A month calendar of marks, a list of prayers to make up (qada), excused days, and the Quran khatm plan.

Settings

Mode and unlock methods per prayer, calculation method and madhab, place, resting apps, reminders, My dhikr, Siri & Focus, Pro, licences, delete all data.

Which calculation methods are available?

Muslim World League, ISNA, Egyptian, Umm al-Qura, Karachi, Moonsighting Committee, Diyanet (Turkey), UOIF (France) and Kemenag (Indonesia), with Shafi or Hanafi Asr, high-latitude rules and a minute offset per prayer. Settings → Times & calculation. The app suggests a method from your country; your mosque's own timetable always takes priority.

My times are a few minutes off the mosque's

That is normal for calculated times. Either add an offset per prayer, or scan the mosque's timetable (below) so the app uses the printed adhan and iqamah.

Does the app need my location?

Only once, to find your place, and only if you allow it. You can type a city instead. Your location never leaves the phone.

How do I scan it?

1. Masjid tab → Scan. Photograph the printed monthly timetable, or choose a photo, a PDF or an image from Files.
2. The app reads the table on your phone and shows every cell. Doubtful values are underlined; tap one to correct it.
3. Save. Choose whether windows follow the iqamah (recommended) and whether to be reminded on the 25th to scan next month.

Saving your own scanned or typed timetable is part of Pro. Tables other people share with you are free to save.

A cell is wrong after scanning

Tap the cell and set the right time. The verify screen also flags values that break the order of the day or drift from the day before. Nothing is saved until you confirm.

How do I share it with my mosque?

Open the saved timetable → Share. You get a QR code (save as image or print a page for the notice board) or a .jamaah file for WhatsApp or AirDrop. Anyone with Jamaah Lock scans the QR with the system Camera or the in-app importer and sees the same verify screen before saving. No server is involved: the whole month lives inside the code.

The timetable ended

Today shows "Timetable ended — using calculated times" and falls back to the calculation until you scan the next month. "Scan next month" merges into the same mosque.

Three modes

Reminders: notifications and the tracker only; Screen Time permission is never requested. Gentle: a shield with "Continue anyway" after a short wait (60 s by default, 30–180 s). Firm: the shield stays until you finish with one of your unlock methods; one pass per day always works. Choose per prayer in Settings → Prayers.

Why does it ask for Screen Time permission?

Only Gentle and Firm need it. iOS lets an app rest other apps only through Apple's Screen Time framework (Family Controls, individual authorization). You approve it once with Face ID or your passcode when you set up resting apps. Reminders mode never asks. The permission does not let the app see your usage or the names of the apps you pick.

Which apps rest?

The ones you pick in Apple's app picker when you set up resting apps. The app sees only an anonymous token for each, never the app's name. Keep the selection under 50 apps or categories; iOS cannot shield more.

The window and when apps return

A window starts at the adhan or the iqamah and lasts 15–60 minutes (you set it). Apps always return at the end of the window, whether or not you did anything. The shield itself says when.

What is Lock Health?

Three dots on Today: Screen Time permission, schedules for the next days, and the self-test. If something needs you, it says what in one line. It is never red.

Can I get stuck?

No. Every window ends on its own at the time the shield shows. Gentle always offers "Continue anyway"; Firm always keeps one pass per day; and each time you open the app, a self-test clears any shield that outlived its window.

Apps are still resting after the window

Open Jamaah Lock: the self-test clears any shield that outlived its window. If it keeps happening, tell us the iOS version and the prayer; this should not occur.

I want to stop using the lock

Settings → Resting apps → set the mode to Reminders, or remove Jamaah Lock in iOS Settings → Screen Time → Apps with Screen Time access. A change applies from the next window; the window running now finishes as planned.

Methods

Dhikr by voice (SubhanAllah ×33, Alhamdulillah ×33, Allahu Akbar ×34, counted on your phone), tasbih by tap, a wait timer, My dhikr (your own phrase and count) and "I have prayed". Pick one or more per prayer; the one you set first opens directly.

Voice counting does not hear me

Speak the Arabic phrase clearly and close to the phone; the small dot shows the input level. On iOS 26 the first use downloads the Arabic model from Apple once (about a minute). In a noisy room, tap instead; taps and voice add up. If the microphone was denied, allow it in iOS Settings → Jamaah Lock. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.

Where does the shield button lead?

Tapping it sends a notification "Tap to pray", which opens the unlock screen (iOS does not let a shield open an app directly).

Marks

On time, later, to make up, excused, not yet. Every change can be undone for 24 hours under "Recent changes".

Qada list

A prayer marked "to make up" waits in the list until you tap "Made up". Unmarked prayers are added to the list only if you turn on "Add unmarked prayers to qada". There are no streaks and nothing is counted against you.

Excused days

Tracker → Excused days: a date range and a reason (menstruation, illness, travel, other; the reason can be hidden). Those days are not counted and open qada entries inside the range are removed.

Reminders

Optional, each on its own: Jumu'ah before the khutbah, Surah Al-Kahf on Friday, and fasting days (Monday/Thursday, the white days, Arafah, Ashura) the evening before. Settings → Reminders.

What is free free

Everything to do with worship, with no ads: prayer times, all modes, all unlock methods, dhikr, the tracker and qada, reminders, Hijri date, Siri shortcuts, and receiving a shared timetable.

What Pro adds pro

Saving your own scanned or typed mosque timetable (and several mosques), and the Quran khatm reading plan. Updates will add more to Pro.

Prices and Family Sharing

Pro is a one-time purchase, or a monthly subscription if you prefer to spread it. The price is shown in the app in your currency. Both include Family Sharing, so your family's devices get Pro too. There is no trial and no advertising.

Restore or manage

Settings → Pro → Restore purchases, on any device signed in to the same Apple Account. Subscriptions are managed in iOS Settings → your name → Subscriptions; cancelling keeps Pro until the paid period ends.

Refunds

Purchases are made through Apple, so refunds are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.

Delete everything

Settings → About → Delete all data removes timetables, marks and settings and stops all schedules. Deleting the app does the same. A Pro purchase belongs to your Apple Account and comes back with Restore.