The HoneyBeacon guide
Set up HoneyBeacon.
Choose your apps, set a routine and find answers when you need them.
Leaving the room
Does HoneyBeacon stop blocking when I leave the room?
It depends on how the session began. This is the one rule worth knowing.
HoneyBeacon · zone
Leaving ends it.
With a paired HoneyBeacon, a nearby session starts when your iPhone is in the zone and ends when you leave it.
HoneyTag · scan
Walking away doesn’t.
Walking away from a HoneyTag does not end blocking, because a tag is a scan, not a zone.
Timers · Bee Together
The timer decides.
An app-only timer, and a Bee Together session set for the full timer, keep blocking until that timer ends.
Getting started
Start your first focus session.
HoneyBeacon helps you block distracting apps while keeping the ones you need. Start with a timer or schedule in the app. For a physical way to begin, add a HoneyTag to scan or a HoneyBeacon to use nearby.
01
Allow the permissions.
Allow the permissions needed by the features you choose.
02
Choose your apps.
Choose Allowed Apps or Blocked Apps. Phone and FaceTime stay available.
03
Choose how to begin.
Start a Quick Session, save a schedule, register a HoneyTag or pair and calibrate a HoneyBeacon.
A shield is the screen shown instead of a distracting app. Another active session may still apply restrictions when one session ends.
Permissions and privacy
Permissions, explained.
Screen Time
Apple’s Screen Time permission lets HoneyBeacon apply app restrictions on your iPhone. Choose Allowed Apps or Blocked Apps before starting, then test the tools you need. The physical devices provide a cue; they do not block apps themselves.
Bluetooth and Location
Beacon modes use these permissions to help your iPhone recognise a nearby HoneyBeacon, including in the background. GPS does not define the focus zone. App-only timers do not need a Bluetooth zone.
Wake and notifications
Wake requires iOS 26 or later and alarm permission. Notifications support session reminders and supported shared features. HoneyTag notification scanning also depends on the iPhone’s state and connectivity.
Accounts and sharing
Official tag registration and shared features use your account and cloud services. Relevant session or presence status can be shared with your household or Bee Together group. HoneyBeacon does not collect a GPS route history.
Camera access supports QR scanning. Photo access is for images you choose. Each feature explains its setup in the app.
HoneyTag setup
Set up your HoneyTag.
In Settings → HoneyTags, add and name your official tag. Registration needs a verified signed-in account and internet access. More than one person can register the same tag, while routines and permissions remain separate.
Walking away from HoneyTag does not end blocking. It does not create a proximity zone.
Choose your session
Choose a session type.
Quick Session
Give the next task your attention.
Choose your session length. Then choose whether blocking lasts for the whole timer.
Start a personal timer without hardware.
Choose HoneyTag to save a routine and begin with a scan.
A personal HoneyTag routine can also be Open, with no timer.
Schedule
Make room for it every week.
Protect a regular study window, or set aside time for a one-off task. Choose Weekly, One-off or Quick.
Schedule Only follows your time window without hardware.
Beacon routines use your paired device and configured zone.
Allowed Apps
Different moments. Different essentials.
Choose Allowed Apps or Blocked Apps before you begin. Phone and FaceTime stay available, and Camera stays available after you select it once. The Hive adds separate lists for supported routines, so bedtime can differ from work.
Open a mode to review that routine. Leave the list empty to use Home.
Other active sessions can still apply restrictions.
Compare all session types
Bee Together
Start or join Bee Together.
01 · Make the time
A little less scrolling. A little more us.
Start Bee Together from Home when you want to give a meal, conversation or study session your attention. Create or join a Together group with an invite code or link, then choose who to invite this time.
Host a session for up to 32 people.
Everyone needs HoneyBeacon on their iPhone or iPad and a signed-in account.
The person starting the session needs The Hive. Accepting is free.
02 · Choose together
Agree it before it starts.
Choose your session and invite participants. Choose whether everyone must accept. When they must, one decline cancels the invitation for everyone; otherwise the host starts with the people who accepted.
Each person keeps their own allowed-app choices.
No HoneyBeacon or HoneyTag is needed for a full-session invitation.
03 · Two ways to be together
A shared timer. Or time spent nearby.
For the full session protects the agreed time, even if someone walks away. While together blocks while your phone detects a linked phone inside the zone chosen for the session.
While together needs phone-linking and proximity setup.
Keep HoneyBeacon open as instructed in the app for nearby detection.
Bee Together Honey has its own nearby and app-open requirements.
Bluetooth proximity is approximate. Test it on your phones. It is not a fixed-distance guarantee.
The Hive Family
Set up your family.
One household, up to six people. The Hive Family combines shared focus routines with a reward everyone can work towards, while each person keeps their own progress on their own iPhone.
01 · Family sessions
Make space for the next family moment.
The organiser, called a Beekeeper in the app, can send a Quick Session for homework or downtime, or share a schedule with the people you choose.
Create your household and invite up to five others with a code.
Members normally choose Start or Decline on their own phones.
Full-session blocking works without a beacon. Near HoneyBeacon needs a paired device and zone.
Quick Sessions can start automatically when that option is enabled. Supervised members follow their configured Beekeeper permissions.
02 · Something to look forward to
A shared effort. A treat for everyone.
Choose a pizza night, a day out or another reward that matters to your household. The Beekeeper sets the family goal and the eligible modes that contribute to its Honey Jar.
Eligible focus time contributes Honey, the app’s progress points.
Work towards one shared family reward.
Completed goals become trophies you can look back on.
You provide the reward. Honey has no cash value.
03 · See what you are building
Small habits. Progress you can share.
See your household’s progress side by side, celebrate each person’s contribution and keep the next shared goal in sight.
Explore Lifetime, Weekly, Monthly and Challenge views.
See each person’s contribution, not only a household total.
Personal Lifetime Honey stays separate from the family Jar.
Progress reflects eligible focus sessions. It is not a measurement of screen-time reduction.
Sessions and pauses
Choose allowed apps and take a break.
Allowed Apps
Choose Allowed Apps to keep selected apps available, or Blocked Apps to switch off only what you pick. Phone and FaceTime stay available in every mode. Camera stays available after you select it once. Empty mode lists use Home. In Blocked Apps, an empty Home list blocks nothing. The Hive adds lists for its modes and extra HoneyBeacons. The Hive Family adds a list for Family sessions.
Take a Flight
A Flight temporarily pauses blocking without ending the session. Core includes three per month; The Hive and Family include up to ten. Blocking returns if the session still applies. Honey does not accrue during the pause. Requiring a configured tag does not add to your quota.
Your session, at a glance.
Check active-session information on supported Lock Screen and Dynamic Island surfaces without opening the app each time. A Home Screen widget gives you a shortcut back into HoneyBeacon.
Focus and greyscale
Optional iOS Shortcuts can complement a session with Focus or greyscale. These are separate from HoneyTag’s native scanning setup.
Goals and rewards
Set a goal and track your progress.
A new phone, a weekend away or something smaller to look forward to. Give your reward a name, choose its difficulty and decide which modes contribute.
Honey Jar. Completed eligible focus time earns Honey, the app’s progress points. Core includes Lifetime Honey. The Hive adds personal goals, a Honey Jar, Rank, streaks and reward history. Choose a reward and target, build progress, then mark your reward complete. The Hive Family adds a shared Jar and family progress, with the Beekeeper choosing the goal and contributing modes.
Streaks and Rank. Streaks celebrate returning to eligible focus sessions. Rank reflects your longer-term progress. Your current thresholds, streak rules and reward history are shown in the app.
Good to know
Rewards are chosen and provided by you or your family. Honey is an in-app motivational reward and has no cash or monetary value. It is not a voucher or payment from HoneyBeacon. Focus time records time spent in eligible sessions, not a measurement of reduced screen time.
Actual app screen · Choose your goal and difficulty
Insights
Understand your session data.
Insights is in the menu on Core, The Hive and The Hive Family. Focus and Patterns use completed HoneyBeacon sessions. Apps reads Screen Time on your iPhone, and that report stays on the device. These views describe sessions and use. They are not a score for sleep, or for how much less you scrolled.
The Bluetooth device
Set up your HoneyBeacon.
Pair each HoneyBeacon and calibrate its own zone where you will use it. The device uses Bluetooth to help your iPhone recognise when you’re nearby. Your iPhone handles app blocking. Location permission helps iOS detect the beacon in the background; GPS does not define the zone. The Hive can add further HoneyBeacons, each with its own allowed apps. In The Hive Family, a Beekeeper can share a starting zone, and each phone checks it with its own walk before that phone uses it.
Walls, furniture, device placement and iOS background behaviour can affect detection. The zone is approximate, so test arriving and leaving in the space where you plan to use it.
HoneyBeacon measures about 56 mm across and 23 mm tall. It’s battery powered and uses Bluetooth Low Energy, designed to sit in one place for the long run.
HoneyTag is a separate NFC tag, 35.2 mm tall, 30 mm wide and 6 mm thick. It’s passive, so there’s no battery to charge.
You don’t need both accessories.
Final hardware, mounting and delivery details will be confirmed before ordering.
HoneyBeacon and HoneyTag use different designs and dimensions. Product design visualisation.
Memberships and hardware
Compare app plans and hardware.
| Experience | App only | With HoneyTag | With HoneyBeacon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Begin a focus session | Start a timer | Scan your configured tag; no interaction inside the app needed | Use your configured nearby zone |
| Weekly schedules | Time-based, without hardware | Your app schedules still work | Set hours and a nearby cue |
| Always On zone | Not applicable | Not applicable | Block whenever nearby, after setup |
| Wake · iOS 26+ | Needs a configured physical cue | Scan your assigned tag | Walk to it, or walk away when Leave is set |
| Bee Together | Prepare an invitation; friends accept | Prepare an invitation; required participants scan | A device is not required for a shared timer |
With a paired HoneyBeacon, a nearby session starts in the zone and ends when you leave it. Walking away from a HoneyTag does not end blocking, because a tag is a scan, not a zone. An app-only timer, and a Bee Together session set for the full timer, keep blocking until that timer ends. Bluetooth proximity is approximate. Shared sessions need accounts, participation and the relevant permissions.
| Included | Core · Free | The Hive | The Hive Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timers and schedules | Included | Included | Included |
| Wake · configured cue required | Included | Included | Included |
| Allowed Apps | Home and Schedule Only | Separate lists for modes and extra beacons | Those lists, plus Family sessions |
| Insights | Included | Included | Included |
| Flights per month | 3 | Up to 10 | Up to 10 |
| Lifetime Honey | Included | Included | Included |
| Personal goals, Rank and streaks | Not included | Included | Included |
| Bee Together | Join free | Sessions for up to 32 people | Sessions for up to 32 people |
| Household and shared reward | Not included | Not included | Up to 6 people |
Rewards are chosen and provided by you. Honey has no cash value.
Planned hardware prices (UK): Starter £69.99 (one beacon and one tag); Duo £119.99 (two beacons and two tags); Whole Home £169.99 (three beacons and four tags). HoneyTags: one for £14.99, two for £24.99 or four for £39.99. US, Australian and New Zealand prices show on the packs section in your currency.
UK hardware prices include VAT. Starter, Duo and Whole Home include free standard shipping. Single HoneyTag: UK delivery only. Two- and four-tag packs: free UK and US delivery; delivery to Australia and New Zealand is charged. Tags added to a HoneyBeacon order ship free in the same shipment. Starter includes three months of The Hive. Duo and Whole Home include three months of The Hive Family. The period starts at activation, with the renewal terms shown by Apple before redemption. Separate HoneyTag packs do not include paid membership. The site currently takes no payment.
Actual app screen · Setting up a weekday Wake
Wake
Set up your Wake alarm.
Choose your time and the days that fit your week. Put your configured HoneyTag away from the bed, or use a paired HoneyBeacon as your morning destination. When the alarm rings, getting up becomes part of finishing it.
Choose your morning cue. Set an alarm in Wake and choose its supported completion method. Assign the exact HoneyTag or configure the HoneyBeacon you will use.
Get up to finish. When the alarm rings, open HoneyBeacon and follow the Wake screen. For HoneyTag, hold the top of your iPhone near the assigned tag. For HoneyBeacon, walk to the device, or choose Leave and walk away from it.
Requirements
Wake alarm integration requires iOS 26+ (iPadOS 26+ on iPad), alarm permission, and a configured physical cue. Once each month you can silence Wake without the walk or scan, for a real emergency. That empties your Jar and resets your streak. Wake reminders can also appear on Apple Watch; stopping the sound there only mutes it briefly, so getting up is still how you finish.
Compatibility and setup
Check device requirements.
HoneyBeacon is available now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later. Android is not supported. HoneyTag and HoneyBeacon hardware pre-orders open soon; delivery dates and final product details will be confirmed before ordering.
iPhone or iPad with iOS 17 or later for the app, plus Apple Screen Time permission for blocking.
A compatible NFC-enabled iPhone for HoneyTag. Notification scanning depends on hardware, iOS state and internet access.
Bluetooth and Location permissions for beacon modes. App-only timers and HoneyTag do not create a Bluetooth zone.
iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 or later, alarm permission and relevant feature access for Wake.
A verified account and internet access for official-tag registration, notification routes and shared features.
When you are ready
Your next focus session starts here.
Download HoneyBeacon and start with free Core. No hardware needed for timers and schedules.
