Time Lock
Give yourself time to stop a large transfer.
You choose how much can leave immediately. Anything above that rolling allowance stays blocked until a 1, 3, or 7-day countdown finishes.
What it protects
An unlocked watch does not have to mean unlimited access.
If someone gets temporary control of your unlocked watch, they cannot immediately approve more than your remaining allowance.
If someone pressures you to approve a large transfer, the countdown keeps the watch from signing it immediately.
The same delay protects your recovery phrase, new Recovery Sheets and Photo Backups, and certain unrecognized contracts and spenders.
Apple Watch enforces the policy. The iPhone and a connected dApp cannot bypass it.
Ordinary transfers
Choose what can leave without the countdown.
A $1,000 limit with a three-day delay allows up to $1,000 in approved transfers across any rolling 72 hours. Each transfer uses part of the allowance until older activity leaves the window.
- 01Choose a rolling allowance and a delay on Apple Watch.
- 02Each approved transfer reduces the allowance that remains.
- 03A transfer above the remaining allowance stays blocked unless you start the countdown.
- 04With no allowance, every outgoing transfer waits through the countdown.
No instant escape
Loosening the rules takes the time already set.
The current policy stays in force while a less restrictive change counts down.
Raising the allowance, shortening the delay, or disabling Time Lock starts the countdown under the current policy. The existing rules remain in force until the change is ready.
You can make the policy stricter immediately. Increase the delay, lower the allowance, or require every outgoing transfer to wait.
The countdown
Starting the countdown does not approve the transfer.
The watch keeps each approval separate from the timer.
- 01The watch does not sign a request that Time Lock blocks.
- 02You start the countdown on Apple Watch and can cancel it at any time.
- 03When the countdown finishes, you retry the request and approve it separately.
- 04The ready window closes on its own, or you can choose Lock Now.
Limits
A sustained attacker can outlast the delay.
Time Lock limits what can happen during a short period of pressure or unauthorized access. If you see a countdown you did not start, cancel it before it finishes and your existing limits remain in place.
Time Lock cannot stop a sustained attacker who maintains control longer than the chosen delay. It does not hide public wallet information or block incoming transfers.