Let’s get you moving again.

What do I need to use Anchor?

You need Anchor on a compatible iPhone. Ordinary habits can always be completed manually. For physical tap routines, use a blank, writable, unlocked NDEF tag such as an NTAG213, NTAG215, or NTAG216 sticker or key fob.

How do I connect a habit to an object?

1. Create or open the habit in Anchor.
2. Open its NFC setup.
3. Choose or name the physical object.
4. Hold the top of your iPhone near the writable tag.
5. After pairing, test the tag once in the location where you will use it.

Can I use Anchor without NFC?

Yes. Ordinary habits remain manually completable. NFC is a physical cue that makes a routine easier to begin; it is not required for basic habit tracking.

The tag does not scan

1. Unlock your iPhone.
2. Hold the top edge of the phone close to the tag for one or two seconds.
3. Temporarily remove thick or metal phone accessories.
4. Move the tag away from bare metal.
5. Confirm that the tag is compatible, writable, and not locked.
6. Open Anchor and try the foreground scanner.
7. If NFC fails across every tag, restart the iPhone and try again.

The tag opens a website instead of Anchor

• Make sure Anchor is installed and has been opened at least once.
• Confirm the tag was paired through Anchor.
• Tap the NFC notification shown by iOS.
• On the fallback page, use the Open Anchor action.
• If another NFC app wrote the tag previously, pair it again in Anchor.

The tag is attached to metal

Standard NFC stickers may fail when placed directly on metal. Move the tag to plastic, glass, wood, or fabric, or use a purpose-built on-metal NFC tag.

Which tags cannot be used?

Payment cards, transit cards, hotel keys, and most building-access badges are not suitable Anchor habit tags. Use a blank consumer NDEF tag that can be written by an iPhone.

Can one tag control several habits?

Anchor uses a clear one-to-one relationship for ordinary habit tags: one habit, one physical tag, and one primary action. Dedicated alarm tags are kept separate.

The habit did not complete

• Confirm that the tag remains connected to the intended habit.
• Check whether the habit uses a timer, app-shield toggle, Health data, or another action instead of instant completion.
• Try completing the habit manually.
• Reopen Anchor and scan again.
• Review the habit’s NFC section for its current connection status.

Walking progress is not updating

If a walking habit uses Apple Health, open Health or iOS Settings and confirm Anchor still has permission to read steps. Anchor uses read-only step access. Manual and NFC logs are handled separately while Health is selected as the step source.

Notifications do not appear

Open iOS Settings, find Anchor, and review notification permissions. Then check the habit’s reminder schedule inside Anchor. iOS controls final notification delivery and may delay notifications in some Focus, power, or system states.

My past progress looks different

Review the habit schedule, goal, unit, and tracking start date. Timer, Screen Time, and Health-owned activity can behave differently from ordinary manual progress because their source must remain accurate.

Is app blocking free?

Your first complete Social Media Block routine is free, including a daily allowance you choose, on-demand blocking, app selection, and NFC breaks. It does not use one of your three ordinary habit slots. Anchor+ lets you create additional named routines with separate app choices and limits. Existing routines keep working after a subscription expires or the 10 free wake-ups are complete. Focus-session blocking in an existing habit and post-alarm blocking on an available alarm remain available without an additional purchase. Apple’s Screen Time permission and a selection of apps or categories are still required.

Screen Time blocking does not start

1. Confirm Family Controls permission is granted.
2. Open the habit and review the selected apps or categories.
3. Confirm app blocking is enabled for the habit.
4. Start the focus habit again.
5. If iOS no longer shows authorization, grant permission again.

Does Anchor know which apps I selected?

Apple’s Family Activity Picker returns opaque tokens. Anchor can apply the chosen restrictions without learning ordinary human-readable names for the apps you selected.

A focus session is still active

Open Anchor and return to the active focus habit. Use its pause, resume, or stop controls. If a Screen Time shield is involved, follow the linked habit’s configured action to remove it.

An alarm will not verify

• Use the specific NFC tag linked to that alarm.
• Hold the top of the iPhone near the tag.
• Confirm the tag was tested during setup.
• Keep alarm tags separate from ordinary habit tags.
• If traveling without the tag, use the travel backup path offered by Anchor.
• Review alarm and notification permissions.

Apple Stop silenced the alert

The first alert belongs to iOS. If Apple Stop is used, Anchor’s Wake Gate can continue the verification flow and schedule a retry. Scan the linked NFC object or follow the travel backup path shown in Anchor.

How should I place an alarm tag?

Use a dedicated tag far enough from bed that scanning it supports the wake-up routine. Avoid unsafe locations, bare metal, and places where you may scan while walking on stairs or in another risky situation.

Can I use the same tag for an alarm and a habit?

Keep alarm tags separate from ordinary habit tags. A dedicated alarm tag makes verification clear and avoids changing the action connected to an everyday habit object.

How do the 10 free wake-ups work?

You can try 10 completed wake-ups using one NFC alarm without Anchor+. Setup scans, alarm tests, cancellations, failed verification, and retries for the same wake-up do not use additional wake-ups. After your tenth completed wake-up, the free alarm pauses; choose Anchor+ before scheduling the next one. No subscription starts automatically, and your habits and saved progress remain available. If you have previously granted free-alarm access, the app shows the access that applies to you.

Restore Purchases does not find Anchor+

1. Confirm the device uses the Apple Account that made the purchase.
2. Open the Anchor+ screen.
3. Choose Restore Purchases.
4. Allow App Store synchronization to finish.
5. If no purchase is found, check Apple purchase history or subscription settings.
6. Contact support if the purchase appears in Apple history but not in Anchor.

How do I cancel a subscription?

Subscriptions are managed by Apple. Open iOS Settings, select your Apple Account, open Subscriptions, choose Anchor, and follow Apple’s cancellation controls. Deleting Anchor does not cancel a subscription.

What does lifetime purchase mean?

Lifetime is a one-time purchase for the Anchor+ product offered with that option. It refers to the supported commercial lifetime of Anchor, not the purchaser’s lifetime, and remains subject to technical compatibility, Apple platform availability, and the Terms of Use →.

How do I request a refund?

Apple processes App Store payments and refunds. Use Apple’s purchase-support process with the Apple Account that made the purchase.

What is stored on my NFC tag?

A random Anchor UUID inside an Anchor universal link. The tag does not contain your habit name, health information, alarm details, progress, or selected apps.

Where is detailed habit data stored?

Your habits, tag links, alarms, and detailed progress are saved in the app’s local database on your device. Optional Momentum Circles use iCloud for the Circle name, chosen display name, and current and previous weekly momentum percentages.

What can Circle members see?

Invited members can see the Circle name, member display names, and shared weekly momentum percentages. They cannot see habit names, tag links, selected apps, alarms, individual completion events, or raw Health data.

How do I make a privacy request?

Email support@anchorhabits.app →. Much of Anchor’s detailed data exists only on your device or in your personal iCloud context, so support may provide deletion or access instructions rather than being able to retrieve the data directly.