It watches for signs that you've fallen asleep while watching videos or listening to audio. When that happens, it shows a 30-second countdown banner, gently fades the volume during that window, then pauses playback and lets your screen turn off.
Set your idle time with the dial (how long before it triggers), then tap the play button. That's it. The detection runs in the background while your screen is on.
Yes — drag the dial on the main screen to any value from 2 minutes upward, or use the Handheld / Hands-free presets (see the next question). Past 60, the dial wraps for longer durations.
It depends on how you watch:
If none match, drag the dial to any value from 2 minutes upward.
Yes — free, with no ads, no subscription, and no account. The free version is fully automatic and does everything: sleep detection, auto screen-off, every mode, no time limit. The optional one-time Pro upgrade (in the menu) changes just one thing — it keeps the automatic modes always-on, so you never tap Start. On the free version, after a generous monthly allowance of automatic sessions, you simply tap Start once before each use; detection and screen-off still run automatically. Pro is a convenience, not a feature unlock.
So StillAsleep can show the countdown banner on top of whatever you're watching. Without this permission the banner can't appear, and you wouldn't get the chance to extend the timer when you're still awake. (On Pixel and some other phones this permission is called "Display over other apps".)
These brands aggressively freeze background apps, so StillAsleep needs three things switched on. The app's home screen shows two banners to guide you: tap the first banner and it opens StillAsleep's app-info page, where you turn on items 1 and 2 below. The second banner sent you to this page for item 3 — autostart — whose exact location differs by brand (some put it on the app-info page, some deeper in Settings, Xiaomi in its Security app). Find your brand below.
Where to enable autostart (item 3). These are system settings — in your phone's Settings app (the gear icon); on Xiaomi it's the separate Security app (its own app icon, not a menu inside Settings) — not a setting inside StillAsleep. Where a step says "app info", that means Settings → Apps → StillAsleep:
If the countdown never fires after you leave the phone alone for a while, it's almost always because background activity / autostart is blocked.
Tap the first banner to turn on Appear on top (called "Display over other apps" on Pixel and stock Android) — that's the only required setting. A second banner offers a one-tap "don't optimize battery" prompt; allowing it makes the auto-screen-off more reliable on some phones, but it's optional.
Tap the banner, or shake your phone. Either resets the idle timer immediately.
No. On a typical day with 5 hours of unlocked screen time, StillAsleep uses well under 0.2% of your battery.
No — sleep detection itself works fully offline. The only network use is processing the optional in-app purchase through Google Play, if you choose to buy it. No account, no sign-up, no tracking.
Any app that plays media — YouTube, Netflix, TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music, podcast apps, local video players, and so on. Pausing uses the standard system media key, which virtually all media apps support.
In Handheld and Hands-free, no — once you've locked the phone yourself, there's nothing left to do. In Fixed Countdown, yes — the timer keeps counting and pauses your media at the scheduled time, even with the screen off.