Whenever I post a screenshot like this one…
I am invariably asked what app it is that I use to track how long and in what device Belle keeps me locked. Recently, I’ve also been asked to explain how I use the app. And since we’re close to the end of the year, I figure now’s a good time to oblige.
The app is called ATracker. I got it from the iOS App Store, but there’s also a Google Play version. Today, there’s a version called ATracker Pro, but that’s not the one I have. It didn’t exist when I first started using it. I’m not sure how they’re different, but they look very similar based on the App Store listings. Also note, I never upgraded to the premium version. I just didn’t need the extra features. At this point, I have no idea what I paid. It’s just been too long and I barely remember what I had for dinner yesterday. I do know my version doesn’t have ads and only the Pro version lets you remove them so I must have bought some level of the app that’s not offered anymore.
In any event, my first entry tracking the locked status of the contents was on 12/30/2015 when I went into the Steelheart. Since then, I’ve been locked in the Steelheart 1,427 days, 9 hours, 36 minutes. Almost four years. The device I’ve been locked into the second most is the Evotion Orion. Four hundred seventy six days, thirty six hours. After that is the titanium Evotion Orion at 393 days, 45 minutes. Overall, in the 3,650 days that have occurred between that first day tracking and yesterday, I’ve been locked for almost 3,384 of them. That’s nine and a quarter years. Ninety two percent of the time.
I know all that thanks to ATracker! So, how do I use it?
If you wanted to just know how long you’ve been locked, you can create a task in the app and call it something like “Locked.” From the Today screen, just tap the “+ Create Task” button at the bottom of the screen and name it “Locked.” That screen looks like this:
I add little icons, but that’s optional. Also, all my devices are colored blue. Just a matter of preference. If you wear multiple devices and want to track how much time you spend in each, make a task named for each one. Once the task(s) is created (either just the “Locked” task or one named for the device you’re in), clicking on the little stopwatch-looking icon in the top right corner of the Today screen will allow you to start the timer.
At this point, you can also do what I eventually did and create a task for when you’re not locked. I used to just not have a task running when I wasn’t locked but once the rule became clear that I was to be locked unless specifically allowed not to be, I realized I needed to track that unlocked time the same as my default state. So, you make another task and call it “Unlocked” if that’s what you want to do. Depending on your dynamic and any rules that have been established for your enforced denial, you might make multiple. Maybe to track when you’re unlocked with permission or unlocked for necessities of life (TSA, doctors), etc.
Once you have multiple tasks (ie, devices or locked states), you can switch back and forth on the Today screen by simply tapping the one that’s running to end it and tap another to start it. My Today screen looks like this:
You see all the devices I’ve ever added to the app, though I only wear about four (at least, that’s how many I’ve worn this year). it also shows the unlocked states I used, but right now, since I’m basically never allowed to be unlocked, I only use the “Unlocked (punishable)” task if I’m out longer than five minutes. It’ll also show you how long the current running task has been going.
Note that the app will let you have multiple tasks running at the same time, so be careful to stop one before starting another. I thought there was a setting to avoid that, but I can’t find it now. Maybe it’s in there somewhere.
The Reports tab lets you see the numbers you’ve logged. You can look at today, the last seven days, etc. Usually, I’m looking at a month at a time or a range to get year-to-date.
So…that’s about it. If you have any questions, just ask!