ScreenPact vs PhonePause
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScreenPact
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ScreenPact allows extremely fine-grained control over which apps are available to your kids and when. Apps can turn on and off on individual custom schedules, limit the time spent within those schedules, refresh based on time away from the screen, and more.
PhonePause
This app helps parents manage their child's screen time with instant phone locking. It offers features like PIN-protected access, app whitelisting, and manual unlocking. Premium options include scheduled locks and blocking specific communication apps.
- Instant phone locking
- PIN-protected parent access
- App whitelisting during lock
- Scheduled school hour locks
- Timed punishment locks
- Block messaging apps
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PhonePause - Parent Lock helps parents manage their child's screen time with powerful phone locking features. FREE FEATURES: • Lock your child's phone instantly with one tap • PIN-protected parent access • Choose which apps to allow during lock • Manual unlock when you're ready PREMIUM ($1.99 one-time): • School Hours Lock — automatically lock during class time with weekday scheduling and holiday support • Timed Punishment Lock — set a lock duration (minutes or hours) that auto-unlocks • Messages & FaceTime Blocking — block messaging apps during lock DESIGNED FOR PARENTS: Set up directly on your child's iPhone. No accounts, no cloud, no subscriptions. Everything stays on the device. IMPORTANT: Remember your PIN. If forgotten, the only way to regain access is to erase and restore the iPhone from a backup.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ScreenPact at none against PhonePause's 1. ScreenPact also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. PhonePause sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ScreenPact asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and August 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScreenPact | PhonePause |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Powers | Andrew Meyers |
In-app purchases
ScreenPact
No in-app purchases
PhonePause
- PhonePause Premium$1.99
