1. Choose the app you want to pause
On your own iPhone, allow Apple's Screen Time permission and use Apple's app picker to choose an individual app. The choice is yours. 5:16 is built for adults authorizing their own devices, not for secretly controlling someone else's phone.
2. Meet a short passage
When the selected app is shielded, Apple's shield offers a handoff to 5:16. The Scripture interaction happens in the 5:16 app, not inside the shield. Read a short, human-selected passage with an exact reference and choose a phrase that stands out. That action is a deliberate pause; it does not verify reading or spiritual growth.
3. See the allowance deadline
After you choose a phrase, 5:16 makes the selected app available for fifteen wall-clock minutes and shows the deadline. You may need to open that app yourself. A founder-device test found that the app did not automatically re-shield at the deadline; this is being fixed before public release.
What if you need access immediately?
Emergency access and protection off let you open the selected app without a Scripture pause. “Not now” leaves it paused. Screen Time authorization is voluntary and can be revoked in iPhone settings. 5:16 cannot promise unbreakable blocking.
Can I read the whole Bible?
Yes. The private beta contains the complete 66-book World English Bible reader offline, so you can continue past the short pause without an account. The text is the bundled WEB edition; other translations are not yet available in 5:16.
Sources and product status
- Apple Family Controls documentation describes individual authorization and Apple's app picker.
- Apple Managed Settings UI documentation describes system shields.
- Apple Device Activity documentation describes activity monitoring.