Support
Questions, bug reports and feature suggestions all go to the same place. Whittle is made by one person, so a reply may take a few days.
Reporting a bug.
A report with these details can usually be reproduced on the first try, which is most of the work.
Include in your email
- Device model — for example Pixel 8a or Galaxy S23.
- Android version — found under Settings → About phone.
- Whittle version — shown at the bottom of Whittle’s settings.
- Free or premium, if the problem touches a premium feature.
- What you expected and what happened instead.
- Steps to reproduce it, in order, from a fresh start.
- A screenshot or short recording, if the problem is visual.
Things worth writing in about
- Setting Whittle as the home app, or returning to your old launcher.
- Favorites, hidden apps, renamed labels and widgets.
- Focus schedules, daily limits, time blocks or Open Challenge misbehaving.
- Screen-time figures that look wrong for what you opened through Whittle.
- Weather providers, API keys and location.
- Importing or exporting a settings backup.
- A premium purchase that did not unlock, or did not restore on a new device.
Common questions.
What is free and what needs premium?
The launcher itself is free: home screen, app search and drawer, Quick Targets, widgets, Focus sessions and schedules, daily app limits, time blocks, Open Challenge, themes, the twelve built-in fonts, every layout control, the screen-time overview, and backup and restore. Premium adds four things: unlimited favorites, unlimited hidden apps, app renaming, and weather. It is a single purchase, not a subscription.
Why are favorites and hidden apps limited on the free version?
The free version allows five active favorites and three active hidden apps. Both limits are removed by premium. Nothing is deleted if you stop at the free limits — you simply cannot make a sixth favorite active.
Does Whittle collect analytics or track me?
No. There are no analytics, crash-reporting or telemetry frameworks in the app, and no advertising. You are never asked to create an account with the developer.
Buying premium does not change that. The purchase runs through Google Play, using the account you already installed the app with, and the developer never sees your payment details or a list of who bought it. The full detail is in the privacy policy.
What do Focus, App Rules and Open Challenge actually do?
Focus runs a session, either started by you or by a schedule, and you choose which apps stay allowed while it is running. App Rules cover daily limits for individual apps and time blocks that cover a stretch of the day. Open Challenge is different again: it puts a countdown in front of an app you have selected, so opening it takes a deliberate moment. None of these is a hard block, and none of them force-closes an app that is already open.
Does the screen-time overview cover my whole phone?
No, and this is worth being clear about. Whittle only measures sessions for apps that were launched from Whittle itself. It does not use Android’s Usage Access permission, so anything you open from a notification, a link or another launcher surface is not counted. The numbers are a picture of what you opened through Whittle, not a system-wide total.
Can I add my own font?
Not at the moment. There are twelve fonts built in, and importing a .ttf or .otf file is not supported in the current version.
Does weather work without an API key?
Open-Meteo’s public endpoint works without a key. WeatherAPI.com and Visual Crossing both require a key that you create and enter yourself. Keys are stored in the app’s private storage and are excluded from exported backups. Weather is a premium feature; the setup guide walks through it.
Where are my settings stored, and can I move them to a new phone?
Settings live on your device. You can export your configuration to a local JSON file through the Android system file picker and import it again later. The export leaves out API keys, other secrets, your usage history, purchase state and widget IDs, and nothing is uploaded anywhere.
How do I set Whittle as my home screen?
Android handles this, not Whittle. The setting usually sits under Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app, though the exact path differs between manufacturers. Searching your system settings for “home app” or “default apps” is the quickest route.
Does Whittle support Android’s Private Space?
On compatible devices running Android 15 or later, yes — Whittle can show the Private Space profile and lock or unlock it. On older versions, or on devices where the manufacturer has not shipped the feature, it will not appear.
What are Quick Targets?
Quick Targets put the actions you reach for most into a sheet you can pull up, so they do not have to sit on the home screen as icons.