Private · Local-first · iOS
THE SPACE
BETWEEN
you and the urge.
UrgeShield is a private space to stop gambling, stay accountable, and build a life that doesn't have a hole in it gambling used to fill.
The moment this exists for
It's 2am. The urge doesn't wait for business hours, a good mood, or the right moment. It just shows up.
UrgeShield shows up too. A blocker that actually holds. A streak that doesn't lie to you. A companion for the exact hour nothing else is open.
No feed. No leaderboard. Nothing designed to keep you scrolling — just the tools that actually help.
Real screens, not mockups
What day 42 actually looks like.
What it does
Six tools. No noise.
Streak
A live counter with milestones and your personal best — something concrete to point to on a hard day.
Blocker
Blocks the apps that pull you back in, through Apple's own Screen Time controls, with a 24-hour cooldown before any unblock.
Savings
Turns what you used to spend into a running total saved, with real goals you're actually saving toward.
August
An AI companion who talks from lived experience, not clinical distance. Not a therapist — and says so.
Resources
Curated recovery guides, clearly labeled — never presented as something they're not.
SOS
One tap from anywhere in the app routes straight to the National Problem Gambling Helpline.
Nothing here is a pitch
Just what's true.
How it works
Four steps. No onboarding maze.
Set up privately
No account, no email, no sign-up. Just open it.
Start your streak
Mark day one. The counter does the rest, quietly, in the background.
Block what pulls you back
Screen Time does the blocking. A 24-hour cooldown does the holding.
Talk to August when it's hard
Midday or 2am — he's there.
Core stays free, always
Nothing that keeps you safe is behind a paywall.
- Streak tracking with milestones
- Blocker with 24-hour cooldown
- Savings dashboard and goals
- Curated recovery resources
- Core conversations with August
- SOS — one tap to the helpline
- Extended memory for August
- Savings pace projections
- Personal urge pattern insights
- Multiple accountability partners
Something between you and the urge.
UrgeShield is coming soon to the App Store. If you're in crisis right now, please don't wait for an app — call 1-800-522-4700, the National Problem Gambling Helpline. Free, confidential, available 24/7.
Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 2026
The short version
UrgeShield is built local-first: your streak, savings, chat history, and preferences live on your device, not on a server we run. There's no account, no ads, no analytics or tracking SDKs, and we never sell or share your data with data brokers.
What we collect and why
Recovery data (streak dates, savings entries and goals, notes) is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework. It's never uploaded anywhere unless you personally export a backup file from Settings.
Chat messages with August are stored locally on your device. If the app is configured to use Claude (Anthropic's AI model) rather than the offline fallback, your message text is sent to Anthropic — either directly or through UrgeShield's own backend proxy — solely to generate a reply. We don't store your chat content on any server we control.
Accountability partner details (name and phone number) are stored locally on your device only. They're used to pre-fill a text message that you choose to send through your phone's own Messages app — UrgeShield itself never transmits this information anywhere.
Your name and companion preferences (conversation style, reply length, primary focus) are stored locally and used only to personalize how August talks to you.
Location is requested only if you use "Find Support" to search for nearby treatment resources. Your location is sent to Google's Places API for that one search and isn't stored by UrgeShield afterward.
Voice input, if you use the microphone button in Chat, is processed by Apple's on-device Speech framework to convert what you say into text. UrgeShield doesn't record or store audio.
Crisis detection stays on-device
The keyword check that watches for crisis language in your messages to August runs entirely on your device. Nothing about a message is sent anywhere just to perform that check, and it works even if you have no internet connection.
Third parties this app talks to
Anthropic, to generate August's replies when the AI-powered mode is active. Google, for the Find Support location search. Apple, for on-device speech-to-text, the Screen Time / Family Controls framework that powers Blocker, and StoreKit for Premium purchases. Each of these has its own privacy policy governing how they handle the specific request UrgeShield sends them.
Your control over your data
You can export a full backup of your data as a JSON file at any time from Settings, and import it back on another device. Deleting the app removes everything stored locally, since UrgeShield doesn't keep a server-side copy of your recovery data.
Age
UrgeShield isn't intended for use by anyone under 17.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes in a way that affects how your data is handled, we'll update the "last updated" date above and, where practical, note it in the app.
Contact
Questions about this policy can be sent to admin@urgeshield.com.
Legal
Terms of Service
Last updated: August 2026
Agreement
By using UrgeShield, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the app.
Not medical or professional advice
August is a supportive companion, not a licensed therapist, doctor, or financial advisor, and nothing in this app is a substitute for professional treatment. UrgeShield is not a crisis service. If you're in danger or thinking about harming yourself, call 911 or the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700 — free, confidential, and available 24/7.
Eligibility
UrgeShield is intended for users 17 and older.
Your data
UrgeShield doesn't require an account. Your recovery data is stored locally on your device, and you're responsible for backing it up (Settings > Data Backup) if you want to preserve it across a reinstall or new device.
Premium subscription
Premium is a recurring monthly subscription billed and managed entirely through your Apple ID, including any free trial. It renews automatically until canceled. You can view, change, or cancel your subscription any time in your device's Settings under your Apple ID > Subscriptions. Core recovery tools — Blocker, SOS, core August chat, Streak, and Savings — are always free and are never placed behind Premium.
Illustrative content
Success stories in the Resources tab are composite examples written to reflect common recovery experiences. They are not real people's accounts, and are labeled as illustrative wherever they appear.
Acceptable use
Please use UrgeShield as intended — don't attempt to reverse-engineer, disrupt, or misuse the app, including the Blocker feature's cooldown mechanism, which is intentionally designed to resist being talked around in the moment.
No warranty
UrgeShield is provided as-is. We work to keep it accurate and reliable, but we can't guarantee it will be error-free or uninterrupted, and we're not liable for outcomes related to your gambling recovery journey — the app is a tool to support your own efforts and those of any professionals you're working with, not a guarantee of any particular result.
Changes to these terms
If these terms change, we'll update the "last updated" date above. Continuing to use UrgeShield after a change means you accept the updated terms.