Straight answers.

It depends on the platform, and we say exactly what happens on each:

• TopstepX: You set the lock, Mast checks it.
• MetaTrader 5: Mast closes and witnesses.
• Binance, OKX, Bybit: You enable the exchange cooling-off, Mast watches.
• Hyperliquid: Mast watches and alerts.

Each platform page lists the level and every known way around it.

Yes. Nobody can stop you removing software from your own computer, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we do is make it visible: a removed EA, a revoked key or a trade from an unlinked device alerts your partner, goes into your log and lowers your score. Where the platform's own lock is on, it stays on the platform's side until it ends.

On Tradovate, the limit lives on Tradovate's servers, so it applies on your phone too. On TopstepX and the exchanges, the same is true once you've switched their lock on. On MT5, the EA runs on your PC or VPS: the witness sees the phone trade and your partner is told.

No. We use OAuth, scoped API keys and, on MT5, the read-only investor password. We never store trading passwords. Tokens and keys are encrypted.

No. Our servers never open trades. On MT5, closing is done by the EA on your own computer or VPS.

Mast doesn't log into your account and doesn't trade for you. It uses the connection types each platform offers. Firms set their own rules on third-party tools: when you connect an account, Mast asks for your firm first and only offers the levels it allows.

Use it. It's free and it's good. Native locks usually last one session, cover one account and one firm, and you can set a softer one tomorrow. Mast keeps your rules across sessions, accounts and firms, delays loosening and brings in a witness. On futures, we build on the native lock rather than replacing it.

Nothing changes. Every active lock runs to its end date and every pending loosening keeps its delay. Cancelling is never a way out of your own rules. You keep read-only access to your score history.

Someone who will say no when you ask at the wrong moment: a trading friend, a mentor, your educator. They approve or refuse loosening with two-factor authentication, and get a weekly summary. Commitment programmes report better results with a named referee (reported by stickK).

They can't trade, ever. By default they see your rules, locks, requests and bypass alerts. P&L and trade details are shared only if you choose.

Request it. It takes effect after your delay, once you confirm it again, or sooner if your partner approves. During a multi-week lock or a self-exclusion pause, loosening waits until the end. Our support team can't shorten it either. That's the point of choosing it.

If you never break your rules, you don't need it. Many profitable traders lose their month on one day. The score measures discipline, not profit, so it's useful for showing a mentor, a partner or yourself that your process holds.

No. One well-known study even found that long-term stress makes people more risk-averse, not less (Kandasamy et al., PNAS 2014). What we rely on is simpler: what you decide in advance holds better when undoing it takes time and a witness.

Mast has a self-exclusion pause from 7 days to 6 months, with no early exit. Billing pauses during it. It also links to independent support services. If trading is hurting your finances or your health, please talk to one of them as well. A tool helps, but it isn't treatment.

Hosted in the EU. Keys and tokens are encrypted. We never sell your data. Public reports only use anonymized, aggregated numbers. You can export or delete your data at any time.