Case Study
How a Family of Four Reclaimed Dinnertime with Untap
A working couple and their two teenagers used Untap's friend-lock and scheduled-block features to put phones away during family meals. 60-day case study.
- Before
- 6.2h
- After
- 3.1h
- Reduction
- 50%
- Duration
- 8w
The starting point
Sarah K. reached out after a dinner where all four members of her family ate without speaking — each on their own phone. She didn't want to ban phones; she wanted to design dinner back into a shared moment.
The setup
We helped the K. family set up Untap on all four devices with a shared scheduled block: 6:30pm–7:30pm every weekday, all entertainment and social apps locked. Each family member also chose one personal friction type — Sarah picked breathing, her husband picked QR-scan (the QR code lives on the fridge), the kids picked math challenges. Friend-lock was enabled across the family so no one could bypass alone.
What changed
- Average daily screen time across the family: 6.2 hrs → 3.1 hrs
- Phone pickups during the 6:30–7:30 dinner window: 47/day → 3/day
- Sarah reported 'meaningful conversation' at 6 of 7 weekly dinners (vs. 1 of 7 before)
- Both teenagers voluntarily extended the lock window by 30 minutes after week 4
“I was skeptical, but after a week I noticed I was more present with my kids. Less scrolling, more living. Highly recommend.”