# Pause: Focus & Screen Time — Asks why before doomscrolling

> Asks why before doomscrolling (iPhone/iPad app by Vassiliy Shmigirilov.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pause-focus-and-screen-time/id6773488024 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Vassiliy Shmigirilov](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896660058)
- Category: Health & Fitness, Productivity
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 1 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-06-02
- Data updated: 2026-08-23
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pause-focus-and-screen-time/id6773488024/reviews.md

## What is Pause?

The apps you choose ask you one question before they open: why now? Type a short answer, read it back as one calm sentence, and two seconds later Continue appears. Then you go in, or you put the phone down.

No timer to wait out and nothing gets blocked. Everything runs on your iPhone. What you type is never stored or uploaded; it is gone the moment you continue.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Pick the apps. Choose from a list of common social, video, chat, music and browser apps, or add any app by its link scheme.
2. Route each one through Pause. This uses a Shortcuts automation you set up once per app; the app walks you through the five steps and shows the exact link to paste.
3. Open a routed app. Instead of the feed you get one screen: the question, a text field, then your own reason mirrored back in a calm sentence, then Continue.

The friction is the typing and the reading, nothing more. Take an app off the list and its friction is gone the same minute.

TWO TONES
Neutral mirrors your sentence back plainly. Dry is shorter and a little more blunt. Switch in Settings whenever you like.

WHAT IT NEVER DOES
- No account and no sign-in
- No server, no analytics, no ads, no notifications
- No streaks, badges, points or "minutes saved" screens
- No history of what you typed; each reason lives in memory only for the moment it belongs to
- No reading of the content inside the apps you route
- No network calls of its own

WHAT YOU NEED
An iPhone on iOS 26. On iPhone 15 Pro and newer, with the system's on-device intelligence turned on, the reflection is written by the on-device language model in iOS 26. On other iPhones, or with it turned off, Pause uses a built-in set of static reflections instead, and the routing and the typing work exactly the same way. Either way it works offline.

WHO IT IS FOR
People who reach for the same few apps many times a day and want a beat before the next one, without handing a blocker the keys. Pause is an agreement with yourself. You can walk around it, and it will not tell on you.

FREE AND PAID
Your first routed session is free with the whole mechanic, so you feel it work before you decide anything. From the second session Pause asks you to subscribe or buy once; you can answer Maybe later and it asks again a day later. Both subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. The one-time purchase never expires and is family-shareable.

Pause is made by Hadger, a one-person iOS studio that ships calm, private apps for iPhone.

SUBSCRIPTION TERMS
- Pause Weekly: weekly subscription with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers, auto-renews until cancelled.
- Pause Annual: yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers, auto-renews until cancelled.
- Pause Lifetime: one-time purchase, family-shareable, never expires.
- The reflection mechanic is free for the first routed-app session. The paywall surfaces on the second routed-app session. Prices are shown in the app before you confirm.
- Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions.

Privacy Policy: https://hadgerapps.github.io/pause/privacy/
Terms of Use (EULA): https://hadgerapps.github.io/pause/terms/

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pause Weekly | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Pause Annual | $79.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pause Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |



## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.1 — 2026-08-16

A new app icon. It reads as a grid of apps with one tile paused, so it is easier to pick out at small sizes.

About now ends with a short More from Hadger list, so the other Hadger apps are one tap away.

About scrolls, so nothing is cut off at the largest text sizes.

### 1.0.1 — 2026-06-07

Small refinements and stability improvements.

### 1.0 — 2026-06-03

No release notes.

## More apps by Vassiliy Shmigirilov

- [Soft Day: kind journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soft-day-kind-journal/id6769456388)
- [Pith Voice: AI Diary Journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pith-voice-ai-diary-journal/id6770544476)
- [Wake: Sleep Insight & Score](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wake-sleep-insight-and-score/id6772706780)
- [Body Almanac: Alcohol & Sleep](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/body-almanac-alcohol-and-sleep/id6776374110)
- [Cushion: safe to spend today](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cushion-safe-to-spend-today/id6777035082)

All apps by Vassiliy Shmigirilov: https://appshunter.io/developer/1896660058

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*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 2026-08-23.*