Turning protection off
You can always turn Haven off. It is your phone.
What you cannot do is turn it off quickly, and that is the entire point of the app. This page describes the route honestly, so that nobody has to hunt for it in a bad moment and so that nobody is surprised by it later.
The route#
Home → Guard → Extra Guard → More. That is the only place in the app where protection can be switched off.
The depth is deliberate. It is not hidden — it is documented here and reachable in four taps — but it is not somewhere you arrive by accident either.
The four gates#
1. Access — your PIN#
If a PIN is set (and it is required whenever protection runs), you unlock first.
Biometric unlock works here too if you enabled it.
2. Intent — the reflection screen#
Haven asks you to name a reason. There is no wrong answer and nothing is judged.
There is also a "stay protected" button, always, with no friction at all. That is the outcome this screen exists to produce.
3. Time — the cooldown#
Confirming starts a waiting period that you chose yourself, earlier, when you were steady. Protection stays fully on for the whole period.
Repeated attempts make the wait longer. If that happens, Haven tells you it happened rather than silently extending it.
The countdown survives closing the app, force-stopping it, and rebooting the phone.
4. Completion#
When the wait is over, one more deliberate action finishes it.
Nothing ever switches off by itself. A cooldown that expires while you are asleep does not leave your phone unprotected in the morning.
Changing your mind#
Cancel the pending request at any point during the wait. It takes one tap, has no friction, and asks you nothing.
If you have an accountability partner, they are told that protection is back on — the good news travels too.
What your partner sees#
If you have paired a partner, they are told when the request starts and when protection is actually switched off. They are not told what you browsed, which sites were blocked, or anything about your money. Only that a guard moved.
Other ways off#
Haven does not pretend these do not exist.
| Route | What happens |
|---|---|
| Revoke the VPN permission in Android settings | Filtering stops. Haven does not detect, block or fight this |
| Deactivate delete protection, then uninstall | Works. Both routes are logged, and the in-app route notifies your partner |
| Force-stop Haven | It restarts on next launch or reboot, if protection was enabled and consent is in place |
| Safe mode, factory reset, ADB | All work. Haven does not fight the platform |
Haven raises friction. It is not a cage, and it was never designed to be one. If you truly want it gone, you can get there — it just is never one impulsive tap.
Turning it back on#
Instant. One tap, no waiting period, no questions.
Strengthening protection never costs anything in Haven. That asymmetry is the whole design.
Before you turn it off#
Not an obstacle, just a suggestion: the cooldown you are waiting out was set by a version of you who wanted this. If the urge has passed by the time the countdown ends, the mechanism did exactly what you built it for.
And if you are having a hard time, please reach out to a real support service as well. Haven is a tool, not a substitute for one.