Understand Active Aura

Learn everything that happens while your Aura is active — the lock screen, notifications, background behavior, and how to interact with it.

When your Aura is active, your phone becomes a focused, quiet space. This guide explains what happens and how to interact with it.

The Aura screen

The main Aura screen shows the Aura name, the remaining time, a progress ring, the active apps as icons, and the actions you can take: return, pause, extend, change apps, or end.

Accessible apps

Only the apps you selected remain fully accessible. All other apps are gently blocked. This is the whitelist principle: the boundary is defined by what you allow, not by a list of what you forbid.

The boundary screen

If you open an app outside your Aura, AuraLock shows a calm screen: "This app is outside your Aura." You can:

Return to Aura — go straight back to your session
Leave the Aura — only available if your boundary allows it (Standard ends or pauses; Strict asks for a deliberate confirmation)

The boundary screen does not shame you. It gives you a moment to decide whether this is what you need right now.

System apps

Essential system functions, such as emergency calls and settings when needed, remain available. AuraLock protects focus without compromising safety.

Notifications

AuraLock provides a persistent notification while your Aura is active. It shows the remaining time, a Return to Aura action, and a pause action when your boundary allows it.

The notification keeps your Aura one tap away even when you are using a kept-alive app. Session end sounds and vibrations are configurable in Settings. Under Quick Toggles you can turn on the reward chime and vibration for a completed Aura.

Background behavior

AuraLock runs in the background to maintain your focus boundary, keep the timer accurate, and fire scheduled sessions. For reliable operation, ensure:

Battery optimization is disabled for AuraLock — see the battery optimization guide
Background activity is allowed — check your manufacturer's background settings
Autostart is enabled where your device offers it — see autostart

Guardian keeps it reliable

AuraLock's Guardian health check verifies all of this for you. If a permission or battery setting would silently break your boundary, Guardian flags it and offers a one-tap fix. Run it after every device update.

When the session ends

When the timer reaches zero, AuraLock marks the session as complete and shows a summary of what you protected. Then the practice continues: log the session in your journal, review your goal and streak, or start the next Aura.