Help with Nopamine
The questions that come up most. If yours isn't here, write to me — it's one person answering, so you'll get a real reply.
Frequently asked
How do I change my calm window?
Open Nopamine and go to the Calm tab. Your existing windows are listed there — tap one to change its start time, end time, or which days it runs on. You can keep more than one: a weekday morning and a slower weekend one, for example.
Changes take effect straight away. If you're inside a window when you shorten it, the shield simply stops appearing from that moment.
Why does the shield sometimes not appear?
The shield is deliberately quiet — it only steps in when all of these are true:
- The app you opened is one you chose to guard.
- You're inside one of your calm windows. Outside those hours it never appears at all.
- Calm Mode is switched on.
- Nopamine still has Screen Time permission.
That last one is the usual culprit. iOS can drop Screen Time access after an update, or if permissions were changed in Settings. Check Settings → Screen Time on your iPhone and confirm Nopamine is still allowed. Reopening Nopamine once after granting it gets things running again.
It's also normal for the shield not to appear a second time immediately after you've chosen let me in — it asks once and then steps out of the way.
How do I get my data out?
Everything Nopamine knows about you is on your phone, so exporting is a local operation — nothing is fetched from a server, because there isn't one.
Go to Calm → Privacy and choose the export option. You'll get a file containing your companion's history, your calm windows, and your reflections, which you can save or send wherever you like. The same screen lets you delete all of it permanently.
What happens to my four months if I delete the app?
They go with it. Nopamine has no account and no server, which is the point — but it means there is no copy of your companion's life anywhere except your phone. Deleting the app removes it, and reinstalling starts you from an empty first day. Nobody, including me, can restore it.
If you're changing phones or just want to keep the record, export first (Calm → Privacy) and save the file somewhere safe. It takes a few seconds and it's the only way those four months survive leaving the device.
Does Nopamine cost anything?
No. Every feature is free, there's no paywall in front of the part that matters, and no trial that quietly ends.
Which apps can I guard?
Anything on your iPhone, plus whole categories and specific websites. Nopamine uses Apple's Screen Time framework, which hands the app opaque tokens rather than names — so it can guard an app without ever being told which one it is.
Still stuck?
Email me and I'll get back to you. Please mention your iOS version and what you were doing when it went wrong — it makes a real difference to how fast I can help.
mamieorine@gmail.comYou can also find Nopamine on Instagram.