Science-backed iPhone · Apple Watch · Free

Catch the urge.
Not the shame.

Most apps just count days. Anxora meets you in the 30 seconds the urge actually hits — for nail biting, skin picking, and hair pulling.

Notice it, name it, watch it pass. One tap. Under 10 seconds.

No account required
≈3
episodes a day,
on average
10s
to catch one,
start to finish
Episode logged · 17:51
Today
1episode
Boredom Tension
A guide, not a logger

Trackers count. Anxora guides.

Every other app is a record-keeper — it tells you what you already did. Anxora catches you in the moment the urge hits and walks you out of the loop. Every logged moment is a tiny guided pause.

Feeling
Confusion Restlessness Helplessness Loneliness Irritation Overwhelm Shame Fear Anger Panic Tension

{{ feelingNote }}
The method

Awareness breaks the loop.

Anxora is built on awareness-based habit change — the same approach studied by Dr. Judson Brewer and used in Habit Reversal Training. You don't fight the urge. You get curious about it, and the loop loses its grip.

Stress, boredom, a screen — a cue sets the urge in motion before you even notice. One tap marks the moment. Noticing is the practice — that single act interrupts the autopilot. Name the feeling, occupy your hands, breathe. The urge rises, crests, and passes on its own. Each caught moment teaches your brain what the habit really delivers. Awareness compounds where willpower fades.

Grounded in published research on mindfulness-based habit change and Habit Reversal Training for body-focused repetitive behaviors. Anxora is a self-tracking tool, not a medical treatment.
Inside the app

Calm by design.

Seven screens, one job: get you through the moment and give you the pattern afterwards.

One-tap catch

Open the app and tap “The urge is here” — the moment is marked. The week strip and the day line show where episodes and urges fell.

  • ✓Under 10 seconds, nothing required after
  • ✓Or catch it from the wrist, no phone needed

Did it, or Urge only

Say whether it happened or you held off — held-off urges count too. Then name the feeling and the trigger, or press Save and move on.

Something for your hands

Pimple Pop, Glue Peel, Tweezers and Bubble Wrap give your fingers the same move on a screen instead. Box, 4-7-8 and coherent breathing help the wave pass.

Sessions for the long stretches

A film, a deadline, an evening at the mirror — start a session and Anxora checks in quietly every few minutes. Answer with one tap from the Lock Screen.

Calendar

A month coloured by intensity, with the count printed in the cell. Days without episodes are sage — noticed, not scored.

Patterns, not judgement

Your week against the same point last week, the peak day and time, top triggers and which feelings come with which triggers — over a week, a month or longer.

A report you can share

Turn any period into a PDF self-monitoring report for a therapist or doctor. It's made on your phone and goes only to whoever you send it to.

What it does

Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

Calendar heat map

A month coloured by intensity, with the count in each day. Days without episodes are sage — noticed, not scored.

Calendar month: each day coloured by number of episodes

Deep analytics

Your week against the same point last week, the peak time, and the feelings and triggers around it. Feeling-to-trigger links over 7 days, 30 days, 3 months or all time.

Weekly analytics: 9 episodes, 8 fewer than last week, feelings and triggers around them

One-tap catch

Open the app, tap once — the moment is marked. Add the feeling, trigger or a note after, or skip it. Your pace.

The large button on the home screen: The urge is here

Multiple habits

Track a few side by side and switch from any screen. Lip biting and skin scratching are in there too.

Nail biting Skin picking Hair pulling Your own

Apple Health

Overlay episodes with your heart rate variability and sleep to spot whether low HRV or a short night line up with harder days.

HRV · sleep · on-device only

Practice games

Pimple Pop, Glue Peel, Tweezers and Bubble Wrap give your hands the same move on a screen — a competing response from Habit Reversal Training.

Bubble Wrap game
Bubble Wrap
Glue Peel game: pick up the edge and pull slowly
Glue Peel
Tweezers game: grab a hair and pull it out with the root
Tweezers

Guided breathing

Box, 4-7-8 and coherent breathing with a visual guide and haptic rhythm.

Breathing guide: a soft circle with Inhale 4

Apple Watch

Catch the urge straight from your wrist. Syncs to iPhone over Bluetooth — no phone needed in the moment.

One tap on the wrist
Design philosophy

No cheering. No shaming.

We designed Anxora for the moment right after the urge hits — when the last thing you need is an app that makes you feel worse.

  • —Neutral language everywhere. "Episode", not "relapse". Numbers, not verdicts.
  • —Steps credit the days you show up — not days you were "good". Miss one and nothing scolds you.
  • —No "great job" when you log. Catching the urge is the practice, not a performance.
  • —No account, no ads, no tracking across apps. Your data stays yours.
An open, relaxed hand resting
By habit

Whichever one brought you here.

A figure biting their nails

Nail biting

Onychophagia. Often boredom and concentration, not stress.

Nail biting tracker → A figure picking at their skin

Skin picking

Dermatillomania. Mirrors, late evenings, one spot at a time.

Skin picking tracker →
A figure pulling at their hair

Hair pulling

Trichotillomania. Long sessions, often in front of a screen.

Tracked in the app · page coming
Privacy

Private by design.

Anxora runs no servers and has no user accounts. Your log lives in your Apple Account's private database — we have no way to read it. When you're signed in to iCloud, your log syncs privately and automatically — backed up and on all your devices, free. Not signed in? It stays on-device. We collect anonymous usage stats via Firebase (which tabs you open). Never note contents, never trigger text.
FAQ

Good questions.

Still something open? Write to us.

A body-focused repetitive behavior — nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling, cheek biting and similar habits. They're common, often tied to stress or boredom, and nothing to be ashamed of. Anxora helps you notice and understand yours. Yes. Download and all core features — catching the urge, the calendar, analytics, breathing, one fidget game and private iCloud sync — are free. A one-off paid upgrade unlocks tracking more than one habit and App Lock (Face ID). No subscription. No. There's no sign-up and no login. Anxora runs no servers of its own — your log syncs privately to your own iCloud when you're signed in, and stays on-device if you're not. Most trackers count days after the fact. Anxora meets you in the moment the urge hits — one tap to notice it, then it helps you name the feeling, occupy your hands or breathe through the wave. It coaches the skill, not just the record. Yes. Your log syncs to your own private iCloud database, tied to your Apple Account — only you can read it, and we run no servers that could. If you're not signed in to iCloud, everything stays on your device. We collect anonymous usage stats (which tabs you open) via Firebase, never the contents of your notes or triggers. No. Anxora is a self-tracking tool, not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. For clinical BFRB care, consult a therapist trained in Habit Reversal Training (HRT) or comprehensive behavioral treatment (ComB).
Contact

Write to us.

Support, a bug, a feature you're missing, or a data request. One person reads every message — usually within a day.

support@anxora.app

For anything clinical, please talk to a therapist trained in HRT or ComB. Anxora is a self-tracking tool, not a medical product.

Start catching the urge.

Free to download. All core features included. No account required.

A person holding their phone, calm, inside a ring of caught moments
Free, no account. One tap the next time the urge hits. Download on iOS