# Holdback: App Blocker & Steps — Walk to unlock screen time

> App blocker that uses physical activity and schedules to limit screen time. (iPhone/iPad app by Raman Pazdniakou.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/holdback-app-blocker-and-steps/id6793691152 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Raman Pazdniakou](https://appshunter.io/developer/1787426975)
- Category: Productivity, Health & Fitness
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings · 1 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.6 · 262 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-08-26
- Data updated: 2026-10-08
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/holdback-app-blocker-and-steps/id6793691152/reviews.md

## What is Holdback?

Holdback locks the apps that eat your day until you've walked your step goal — or on a schedule, or on a daily limit. Steps come from Apple Health

FOUR WAYS TO LOCK
• Step goal — your apps stay locked until you've walked your goal for the day.
• Schedule — pick the hours your apps stay shut. Nights, work blocks, early mornings.
• Daily limit — give an app twenty minutes. When they're gone, they're gone.
• Never Allowed — apps you are done with, blocked around the clock, with no unlock at all.

All four apply only to the apps, websites and categories you choose. Nothing else on your phone is touched. When you want the whole phone shut for an hour, that's a focus session.

WALK TO UNLOCK
Set a step goal. Until you reach it, the apps you picked won't open. Steps are read from Apple Health, so there is nothing to fake — no taps to farm, no coins to earn, no minutes to buy back.

Open Hours keep your morning usable. Pick the window where your apps stay open even if the goal isn't done — or switch it off and the lock runs around the clock. Reach the goal, and everything opens for the rest of the day.

YOUR STEPS, IN ONE PLACE
Week, month and year of walking, drawn out day by day. Days on goal, longest streak, best day, averages. The record starts the day you install Holdback and keeps going.

Six milestones sit on top of it, from 20 000 steps in a day up to 100 000.

FOCUS SESSIONS
The four rules above run on their own, all day. A focus session is the one you start by hand — and while it runs, every app on your phone is locked, not just the ones you picked.

Set a timer, or run an open-ended stopwatch and stop when the work is done. Rain, waves, thunder, fire or birdsong in the background.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Choose the apps you want under control.
2. Pick how they unlock — a schedule, a limit, steps, or not at all.
3. Get on with your day.

HARD MODE
Switch it on and your settings lock along with your apps. You can raise a goal at any time, but lowering it, changing the days, or swapping the apps waits until that day's steps are done.

It closes the loophole most blockers leave open — editing your way out instead of walking.

You can remove every restriction at any time by deleting Holdback. Calls, messages and emergency services are never affected.

YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS
Holdback cannot see which apps you block. Apple's Screen Time framework hands the app anonymous tokens, not app names. Your step data is read from Apple Health and never leaves your device. No account, no sign-up, no ads, no data sold.

Terms of Use: https://holdbackapp.github.io/legal/terms-of-service.html
Privacy Policy: https://holdbackapp.github.io/legal/privacy-policy.html

## Key features

- Unlock apps with step goals from Apple Health
- Schedule app availability
- Set daily time limits for apps
- Permanently block apps
- Focus sessions to lock entire phone
- Hard mode to prevent changing settings
- Track walking history and milestones

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Holdback Pro Weekly | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Holdback Pro Yearly | $49.99 | per year |


## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/holdback-app-blocker-and-steps/id6793691152/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Finally beating doomscrolling

*2026-09-23*

Oh, this is awesome. I can finally stop doomscrolling and actually spend my time on something more productive. The app looks great, works efficiently, and honestly makes me more productive too. There’s a Russian word that describes it perfectly: Zaebis’ (very, very good). That’s probably the best way I can describe it.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the kind words! We’ll keep adding more features to help you stay productive and spend less time doomscrolling! 🙌

## Frequently asked questions about Holdback

### How does Holdback use my steps?

Holdback reads your step data from Apple Health. You can set a step goal, and your chosen apps will remain locked until you reach it for the day. This ensures a genuine connection between physical activity and screen time access.

### Can Holdback lock my entire phone?

Yes, Holdback offers 'Focus Sessions' which allow you to lock every app on your phone for a set duration or until you manually stop the session. This is ideal for dedicated work periods or when you need complete digital disconnection.

### What happens if I try to cheat the system in Holdback?

Holdback has a 'Hard Mode' that locks your settings along with your apps. This prevents you from easily lowering goals or changing app restrictions without meeting your daily step requirements, closing common loopholes in other blockers.

### Does Holdback have ads?

No, Holdback is ad-free. The app explicitly states 'no ads' and that your data stays yours, with no account sign-up or data sold.

### Is Holdback available on all devices?

Based on the provided data, Holdback is currently supported on iPhones. It utilizes Apple Health for step tracking, indicating a strong integration with the Apple ecosystem.

### How often is Holdback updated?

The latest version of Holdback is 1.1, which was last updated on September 7, 2026. This suggests a relatively recent update, indicating ongoing development and maintenance.

### What are the different ways Holdback can lock apps?

Holdback offers four primary locking methods: a step goal, a specific schedule, a daily time limit for each app, and a 'Never Allowed' option for permanent blocking. You can also choose to apply these rules only to selected apps or websites.

### How does Holdback protect my privacy?

Holdback prioritizes user privacy by not seeing which apps you block, as it uses anonymous tokens from Apple's Screen Time framework. Your step data is read from Apple Health and never leaves your device. There is no account creation or data selling.

## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.1 — 2026-09-07

Fixed bugs

### 1.0 — 2026-08-26

No release notes.

## More apps by Raman Pazdniakou

- [DateLog](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/datelog/id6749398843)
- [AI Dream Journal – Drevia](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-dream-journal-drevia/id6780023694)

All apps by Raman Pazdniakou: https://appshunter.io/developer/1787426975

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-08.*