Support for The Doorpost

Getting started in two minutes

Download The Doorpost from the App Store on an iPhone or iPad running iOS 17 or later. There is no account to create and nothing to sign in to. The first run walks you through choosing the apps you reach for without deciding to, and ends by letting you write your first verse.

When you pick your apps, iOS asks you to allow Screen Time access. That permission is what lets The Doorpost keep those apps closed. iOS never tells the app which apps you chose; it only holds tokens that the operating system alone can read.

From then on, the apps you named stay shut until you open The Doorpost, open your Bible, and write the verse across. Get it right and everything opens until your day resets. Tomorrow needs another verse.

It says my verse does not match, but I copied it correctly

Two things usually cause this. First, the whole verse has to be written, not just the opening. Stopping part way is rejected on purpose; the app tells you what is missing but never what to write.

Second, the check is deliberately forgiving about translation and unforgiving about effort. Wording from the ESV, NIV, NKJV, CSB or NASB passes. If you read a paraphrase such as the New Living Translation or The Message, a few verses share too few words with any literal translation to be recognised. Choose a different verse when that happens.

Tell The Doorpost which Bible you read, under the settings control, and it judges your wording against that translation. Choose the King James and it holds you to the King James exactly. Behind the scenes, verses are checked against the Berean Standard Bible and the King James Version, both public domain, which are bundled inside the app.

Changing which apps are blocked

Tap the small control at the bottom of the main screen, then Blocked apps. Add or remove apps there. The free version covers the apps most people start with; unlimited apps, whole categories and websites come with the full version.

A practical note from people who have used it for a while: lock the feeds, not the phone. Leave Messages and Phone open so the people who need to reach you still can. Locking everything tends to make you resent the whole setup within a week.

My day resets at midnight and I am still awake

Open settings, then Day starts at, and move it to three or four in the morning. The evening will no longer end mid-sentence, and the next verse is asked for when you actually wake up. A custom reset time is part of the full version.

Can I use the same verse every day?

No. A verse rests for thirty days after you use it, so the same easy favourite cannot carry every morning. There are 31,102 verses to choose from, and you choose: type the reference you want to write, then the words from your own Bible.

Free version and full version

The Doorpost is free to use, and writing a verse to unlock your day always will be, in every translation the app carries. The full version adds unlimited blocked apps, whole categories, websites, and your own daily reset time.

The full version is $2.99 a month with a 7-day free trial on the monthly plan, $19.99 a year, or $19.99 once for lifetime access. Purchases are tied to your Apple ID. If you reinstall and the full version does not come back, use Restore Purchases in the app and, if it still does not appear, email us with the date of purchase.

Stopping, deleting, and your data

To stop using The Doorpost, delete the app. Your apps unblock and everything it stored goes with it. You can also withdraw Screen Time access at any time in iOS Settings.

The Doorpost collects nothing. There is no account, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking, and the app makes no network requests at all beyond the App Store. The verses you write and your day count live only on your device. The full policy is on the privacy page.