# Roots: Screen Time Control — user reviews > 352 indexed App Store user reviews of Roots by MWM, rated 4.80/5 from 2,631 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roots-screen-time-control/id6446800962/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roots-screen-time-control/id6446800962.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 2,310 · 4★ 182 · 3★ 40 · 2★ 26 · 1★ 73 ## What do users think of Roots? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Helpful for reducing screen time - 🚀 Effective in cutting down app usage - 💡 Customizable app blocking and downtime settings - 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface - 👍 Responsive customer support - 💡 Useful features like 'Monk Mode' and 'Dopamine Hits' - 👍 Positive impact on productivity and focus - 👍 Appreciated the student/needs-based discounts **Cons** - 🐛 Occasional performance issues and bugs - 🐛 Inconsistent app blocking and unblocking - 🐛 Inaccurate screen time tracking - 🐛 Difficulty deleting account or changing subscription - 🐛 Frustrating when apps are locked unexpectedly **Commonly reported bugs** - Apps getting blocked when they shouldn't be - Screen time data not syncing correctly - Frequent app crashes and freezes - Subscription issues and inability to cancel - Trouble with the initial setup and syncing **Most requested features** - Home screen and lock screen widgets - Customizable challenges and ability to share with friends - More options for the 'Do Not Disturb' mode - Improved analytics and progress tracking - Ability to easily adjust app limits without resetting ## Newest reviews (15 of 352) ### 3/5 — COSTLY!! *2026-07-23, version 2.20* this app was awesome and helps me so much during the free trial, if it had more free aspects i’d definitely use it!! ### 3/5 — Incredible but needs free version *2026-07-18, version 2.20* During my free trial, it worked incredibly, but the target audience of people that want help with their screen time is largely going to be from 13-21, which most kids in that age can’t pay that subscription, and I understand that you need to make money off this, but maybe it needs a free version with just less options. Again, it worked incredibly for me but I just need a free version. ### 5/5 — It helps *2026-07-13* This app will reduce your screen time!! It helps me a lot **Developer response:** Thank you so much for sharing this, Sophie! We're thrilled to hear it's helping you cut down on screen time. Wishing you continued success on your journey! ### 5/5 — Helped decrease the doom scroll *2026-07-10, version 2.19* I have been using this app for a little over a year and absolutely love it! I tend to go monk mode and it has helped with the impulsivity of just scrolling on my phone with no purpose. I have also discovered my mental health is better due to less time on social media and other apps. I’ve become more active and engaged face to face with my community. ### 5/5 — Changed my Life *2026-07-06* I’ve never written a review for an app before - but this app warrants all the five stars I can give. I downloaded the app around a year and a half ago, and it has completely changed the way I interact with my phone and social media. Before Roots, I had a very difficult time resisting the addictive effect of scrolling through endless reels and posts. Especially as a student, I wanted to curb my social media use to invest more time in my studies. By setting three five minute limits for social media, I am still able to interact and respond to friends’ posts and engage in content I find interesting without falling down the rabbit hole of endless scrolling. I also find the ability to build a “streak” to gain “pauses” aka individual days without limits very encouraging and effective. In my experience, it is worth every penny. **Developer response:** Thanks so much for sharing this, it truly means a lot to hear how Roots has helped reclaim your time for what matters most to you. Turning three five-minute limits into a sustainable, year-and-a-half habit while balancing studies is a real testament to your commitment. Wishing you continued success on your journey! ### 5/5 — Great App *2026-07-04, version 2.19* Simple and intuitive. Effective! ### 5/5 — Nice *2026-07-02, version 2.19* Really getting me off my phone ### 5/5 — Best app I ever used I had 9 hours daily and they reduced me to 4.5 hours! *2026-07-01, version 2.19* Omg you have to use this app it helps with self control anxiety and with different activity’s through your weeks on this app I loved it very much thank you roots for improving my life! ### 5/5 — It just works *2026-06-30* For the longest time, I thought restricting screen time was simply a matter of self discipline, but these platforms are specifically designed to trap your mind and waste away your life. If you’re constantly dealing with software engineered for you to lose, why not try something designed for you to win? Of all the screen time apps I’ve tried, Roots is significantly the most effective and unpretentious at doing just that. For one, it doesn’t use flashy colors, animations, or haptics drawing attention to itself, which makes sense as that is exactly what an app like this should be reducing. It’s a simple interface yet extremely customizable in terms of blocking yet very uncomplicated to configure. My favorite part is that it reminds me that I’m looking out for myself; gently yet firmly guiding me away from time drains. I have it set to block certain apps and websites in the morning and at night because the compulsion to scroll was ruining my sleep. I also like that I can select which apps don’t count towards screen time eg. maps when driving so I can actually see how much I’m diverting my life awareness into the screen. It gives you a score for each day and you can go back and see your progress. There’s more that I love about this app but just download it and see for yourself. Thank you. **Developer response:** What a beautiful review - thank you so much for taking the time to share this. Our team absolutely loved it! The line that touched us most was that Roots reminds you that you're looking out for yourself. That's exactly the relationship we hope to help people build with technology — one based on intention rather than compulsion. Thank you for trusting Roots to be part of your journey and for sharing your experience with others. It means a great deal to our small team. ### 5/5 — How this will help me *2026-06-26, version 2.19* I love how Apple allows an app that doesn’t help Apple be on their servers. This can be very useful thought due to my screen time ### 5/5 — Good *2026-06-25, version 2.19* Good sir ### 5/5 — An Amazing App *2026-06-12* I’ve been using this app for a little while now and it’s been a game changer. My screen time has always been high and I’ve tried many ways to fix it, but none of the other options seem to work. However, ever since I got Roots, my screen time has decreased significantly and I’ve been able to live my life off my phone. I seriously cannot recommend this app more if you have ever struggled with screen time. **Developer response:** What a journey - from high screen time to actually living life off your phone. That's a real shift, and you put in the work to make it happen. Thank you so much for sharing this - it genuinely means a lot to us. ### 5/5 — Solid Time Reclaimer *2026-06-11, version 2.18* Having used this service for almost a year now, I can confidently say it’s worth the subscription. It’s easy to use, easy to enforce discipline with edit locking, and the developers are always willing to help out if you’re running into any issues. That’s all you can ask for really. ### 5/5 — It’s genuinely perfect *2026-06-07, version 2.18* What I’m saying is very vague but it’s true I can’t recommend this app enough it works ### 5/5 — I love this app *2026-06-05, version 2.18* good for me ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Horrible app set up screen time password without telling you *2026-07-23, version 2.20* I download the app expecting it to be free. It’s not it’s cost money. And randomly set up a Screen Time password, which I didn’t know which sent me a long time trying to figure it out. ### 1/5 — Can't delete from iPhone *2026-07-21, version 2.20* After approving this app's access to my screentime, Deleting this app has been restricted because it needs a screentime passcode. This app requires a subscription, so why can't it disable screentime access? This app isn't free so don't approe access If you're not gnna pay ### 1/5 — Horrible app *2026-07-16, version 2.20* Why would they make you pay for getting better habits ### 1/5 — Can’t log in and they still charged me *2026-06-29, version 2.19* I signed up for a trail. Could not get logged in & several weeks later my credit card got billed $110. ### 1/5 — Login issues with Premium Subscription *2026-06-08, version 2.18* I have an active roots subscriptions through August 22. I have not used the app in a while but since I am taking a class this summer I wanted to take advantage of my subscription. I am unable to login using my Apple ID and when I use the option to sign in via email and use the password reset option, it says there is no account that exists under my email address. It is extremely frustrating to pay for a premium service and be unable to use it. There are no answers on the website and the customer service form is a joke. I have tried a reboot of the app, deleting and redownloading, and restarting my phone and nothing works. I feel like they just took my money and since I turned off the automatic renewal decided they no longer need to service my account. ### 1/5 — Pay pay pay *2026-05-31, version 2.18* I signed up and connected it to the screen time but it told me to pay afterwards after a free trial and forgot my screen time code. It put me through 39 minutes of trouble and dispute being an anti screen time app, it literally added an extra hour of screen time. DO.NOT. DOWNLOAD. ever. ### 1/5 — Can’t even open the app anymore *2026-05-20, version 2.16* It suddenly stopped working over a month ago, and it still not working till now. The app just crashes right after the splash screen each time I tried to open it. Restarting, redownloading, etc doesn’t work. I paid for 6 months up front but only got to use it for 2 months :( ### 1/5 — Was great… than it stopped working properly *2026-05-18, version 2.17* Initially this app was great for helping me get off of my apps and getting my work done, but now I’m deleting it because it became unusable. An update occurred and the app completely stopped functioning properly. I gave myself 4 hours of social media time a day. I tend to be awake late at night and don’t go to bed until the next day starts, and suddenly less an ONE HOUR into the day my apps are blocked and nothing I try will fix it. It’s not worth the headache to try and figure out what is wrong with it and I will not be redownloading. It doesn’t work anymore and it’s ridiculous. It was working great before and now it doesn’t work at all. Thank you for at least getting me through finals, but I’m sad to have to let it go now. ### 1/5 — Disappointed *2026-05-03, version 2.17* I signed up for the free trial and it still charged me anyways…very sad about this :( ### 1/5 — Does not work as promised *2026-04-07, version 2.16* I spend more time trying to fix the app than the time I would save using it. The app has always been a little buggy but their team cannot keep up with iOS updates and it’s a constant struggle to keep the app working. They blame any issue on an “iOS bug” but it makes no sense why an iOS bug would break app level data. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — What I Needed *2026-09-02, version 2.20* Hello. I needed an app that could shut down my whole phone, and yet make it completely usable at the same time. I needed an app to not be obnoxious, but to be calm, helpful, and diligent in reminding me WHY I need this. I needed an app to thoroughly think of and block all the backhand ways I can cheat the blocking features when im not in control of myself. And yet, I still needed to be able to use the phone for a multitude of purposes. Roots is that app. Thank you. This is the perfect app for my problems. Please continue to update it with useful soul-saving tools! ### 5/5 — Fantastic app! *2026-08-31, version 2.20* The team is so responsive and it’s truly helped me be more intentional with the time I spend on my phone ### 5/5 — только открыл *2026-08-16, version 2.20* вроде норм ### 5/5 — This app works wonders *2026-08-01, version 2.20* If you’re looking to change your habits this app is a great start. Within a week of having it installed I cut my screen time in half. I feel so much more productive and more in touch with what’s going on around me. This app is truly an amazing tool to help those who want to experience a positive change in their life. ### 5/5 — Great tool for phone addiction *2026-07-29* I recently started graduate school after a long period of a work sabbatical & in that time a lot of bad habits around my phone usage got their hooks in me. Because I wasn’t working, I emailed the developers to see if I could use the Pro version for free and they got back to me right away and granted that to me. It was very nice! :) This app has been extremely helpful for understanding just how much time I spend on my phone scrolling social media, and being able to create better habits from that info. Thanks to the app, I was able to start locking myself out of all social apps until the early afternoon, then changed it to 5 pm, and now have taken them off my phone entirely while still locking myself out of the web versions….all within six months of having this tool. That wouldn’t have been possible without this app. It’s been very helpful for keeping me on track with school. The functionality of it is great, it’s easy to navigate, & given me a clear picture of what’s needed to change. I appreciate that you can easily choose which apps to include or take off of your usage report, as I don’t really need to know how much time I spend on search engines or maps since those are tools and not distractions for me. Overall, this app is a great tool for anyone wanting to make positive changes around their phone usage so they can start living life! **Developer response:** Thank you for sharing this - going from locking social apps until the afternoon to removing them entirely in six months is a real transformation, and that's all you. It's wonderful to hear it's helped you stay on track with graduate school during such a big transition. Wishing you continued momentum with school and with the habits you've built. ### 5/5 — Nice *2026-07-26, version 2.20* You can do most of the things such as blocking from time limits, blocking from days and times for specific things, and a score to tell you how well you are doing ### 5/5 — Helped when I needed it *2026-07-22, version 2.20* Had the app for about a year. It was a great to me at a time that I needed it. ### 5/5 — I love you *2026-07-19, version 2.20* Roots, I love you so much. I would name my first born after you. As a phone addicted student, you’re the reason I’m not failing. I’ve tried everythinggg and it wasn’t until I found you that I was finally able to focus and study. The fact that you can’t alter or delete a block until the time is up is just *chefs kiss*. It keeps me check. Every time I’m scrolling on insta and see “It’s time to take a break” it’s like a warm kiss on the forehead and a gentle nudge from roots telling me to go back to work. I’m finally starting to get my life back on track. ### 5/5 — Super Effective *2026-07-13, version 2.19* I started using this app to help fight my phone addiction back in August of 2025 and I must admit that it works well. I have a 340 day streak and haven’t felt the need to break it as if I need to adjust my screen time limits I can after a 12 hour cooldown. I often actually forget to adjust after initiating the cool down, signaling it probably wasn’t that important anyways. As a student, this is a great way to actually brick your phone for studying—would totally recommend to all students out there that need help disconnecting from their phone. ### 5/5 — Recommend *2026-07-13* Great UX, even better developer. Cares about users **Developer response:** Thank you so much for this thoughtful review! We're glad the experience has been smooth and that you're feeling supported along the way. Wishing you continued progress toward your screen time goals! --- *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 2026-09-16.*