NailSafe Desk Mode: camera setup and missed alerts

Start with a stable position

Prop your iPhone securely on the desk, with its front camera facing you. Open NailSafe Desk Mode and check that your face and the area where your hands approach your mouth fit in the view. Try a comfortable working position rather than leaning toward the phone for the test. This setup is a practical reminder arrangement, not a medical assessment or a guarantee that every nail-biting movement will be detected.

Check camera permission

Desk Mode requests camera permission when needed. If access was denied, check Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera and the NailSafe entry. Only grant access if you want to use this feature. If the app cannot start its front camera, changing your hand position will not fix that access problem. Return to Desk Mode after checking permission and note any message that still appears before repeating other setup steps.

Frame the movement you want to notice

Keep your face visible and move your hand near your mouth without actually biting a nail. The detector looks for fingertips near the lower part of a detected face, with a short delay of about two seconds. It does not directly identify nail biting. A hand outside the view, a partly hidden face or a movement too brief for the detection rule may therefore produce no signal.

Separate framing from sound

If the camera view appears but no reminder is heard, note whether the app displays any warning or alert before changing settings. A visual state and audible sound are different observations. Try one adjustment at a time, such as improving the viewing angle, and repeat the same harmless movement. Do not make a habit episode happen merely to test the app, and do not assume every missed sound indicates a camera failure.

Expect imperfect signals

Resting your hand near your mouth for another reason can also satisfy the detector’s rule. Conversely, a real habit movement can be missed. Treat a reminder as a chance to notice your posture, not proof that you bit a nail. If repeated interruptions are unhelpful, stop Desk Mode and use another support tool. The app’s alert count is not a verified count of nail-biting episodes or a clinical severity measure.

Understand what is kept

Desk Mode analyses camera frames on the device without saving a video recording. Its implementation does save reminder events, so camera-image privacy should not be confused with an absence of all activity records. Close the feature when you finish. If you contact support, send your app version, permission state and reproduction steps; avoid sending a private camera image unless you deliberately choose to and it is necessary. We publish this guide and NailSafe; this is not an independent app review.

Further reading

• Apple, control access to hardware features on iPhone