First off, we know battery drain and overheating can be really frustrating.
The good news is that Roots is designed to run very efficiently using Apple's Screen Time API, which shouldn't impact your battery life or cause your phone to heat up.
If you're experiencing unusual drain or heat, it's very likely not caused by Roots itself. Here's what to check:
Common causes
1) Recent iOS updates
After an iOS update, your phone runs heavy background work like re-indexing files and optimizing apps
Apple notes this can temporarily affect both battery life and heat
It usually settles on its own within 2 to 3 days
To confirm: go to "Settings > Battery" and look for a message saying updates are still completing in the background
The timing often overlaps with starting to use Roots, but they're unrelated
2) Other apps running in the background
Check which apps are using the most battery: "Settings > Battery"
Look for apps showing high background activity
Consider closing unused apps or limiting their background refresh
3) Other screen time or productivity apps
If you have other screen time apps installed, they may conflict with Roots
Go to "Settings > Screen Time > Apps with Screen Time Access" to see which apps have permissions
Try temporarily removing "Screen Time" permissions from other apps to test
4) Low Power Mode
"Low Power Mode" can affect how Roots performs in the background
Try turning it off to see if things improve
Important note
Roots uses Apple's native Screen Time API, which is specifically designed to be battery-efficient. The blocking features run in the background through iOS's built-in system and don't require constant active processing from Roots.
Need more help?
Get personal help from one of our founders here.