Duck Out

Features

• Who calls, and when

  Mom, Boss and Alex are built in. Add your own or pick someone from Contacts, with a photo, a label such as work or mobile, a ringtone or recording you import, and a haptic pattern. Pick when it rings (Now, 30s, 1m, 5m, a custom delay of up to an hour, or a time up to 24 hours ahead) and tap Ring me.

• Rings as an alarm

  With iOS 26.1 or later and Alarms allowed, your locked iPhone rings as an alarm showing your caller's name, even on Silent or in a Focus. Tap Answer to open the call. Turn off Ring even when iPhone is on Silent, and calls come as notifications that follow the Silent switch instead.

• Stay ready

  Stay ready keeps the app open with a dark screen; tap it to see who calls and when, and the call comes in full-screen in the app. On iOS 17 to 26.0, a locked iPhone gets a Time Sensitive notification that follows the Silent switch.

• Its own call screen

  Duck Out's call screen is its own, not the iPhone's, in four original themes: Slate, Aurora, Midnight and Porcelain. Tap Answer or Decline. Once you answer, a recording you imported can play as the caller's short line, then you do the talking, and the call ends after the talk duration you set.

• If you don't answer

  Turn on If I don't answer and the caller tries once more 30 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes after the first call stops ringing, as a real person would. Both calls are set when you tap Ring me, so the second one rings even if the app stays closed.

• Weekly calls

  For a standing meeting, set up to five weekly calls, each with its caller, day and time. The next three weeks are set up at a time, so a weekly call rings even if you don't open the app in between, and you can still set other calls.

• A quiet screen after the call

  When a call ends, a plain dark screen stays until you tap it, instead of the app's own screen.

• Quick access

  On iOS 18 or later, add Duck Out's control to Control Center, the Lock Screen or the Action button. On every version, use the Home Screen widget, touch and hold the app icon, or use Shortcuts, Siri and Back Tap. Each one opens Duck Out, which then schedules the call.

• From your wrist

  With Duck Out on Apple Watch (watchOS 10 or later), tap Ring me now, Ring me in 1 min or In 5 min. Your iPhone sets the call from the caller you selected, and the watch counts down to it with Cancel right next to the countdown. Nothing is stored on the watch.

• A plain icon

  Swap the Home Screen icon for a plain one that says nothing about calls. The name under it stays Duck Out.

• Will my call ring?

  Send yourself a test call first, so you know it will ring: see whether Alarms and notifications are allowed, review your recent calls and send a test call in 15 seconds. You can also try a demo call, which needs no permissions.

Requirements

Requires iOS 17.0 or later on iPhone. Ringing as an alarm on a locked iPhone needs iOS 26.1 or later, the control for Control Center, the Lock Screen and the Action button needs iOS 18 or later, and the Apple Watch app needs watchOS 10 or later.

Languages

English, Español, 日本語, 한국어, Tiếng Việt, 简体中文

When your iPhone is locked, a call rings at your ringer volume, and pressing a side or volume button stops it. If you hide Duck Out or lock it with Face ID, iPhone can't ring it. On some iPhones a call can arrive a few seconds late; send a test call to check yours. One call can be scheduled at a time.