ByTime vs app blocker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ByTime
Earn screen time by focusing on tasks. Spend your earned minutes to access blocked apps and websites on your own terms. This app offers a positive reinforcement approach to digital well-being, allowing you to regain control of your device usage.
- Earn screen time through focus sessions
- Spend earned time to access blocked apps
- Customizable focus sessions
- Positive reinforcement for digital well-being
- Privacy-focused, uses Apple's Screen Time APIs
- Calm and intentional interface design
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Earn your screen time. Most screen-time apps work by taking things away. ByTime works by giving them back — but only when you've earned them. Focus for a few minutes, and minutes drop into your wallet. When you want to use Instagram, TikTok, or any app you've blocked, you spend from what you earned. No daily quotas. No willpower contests. No guilt afterwards. It's the simplest behaviour change there is: you can have it, you just have to earn it first. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps and websites you want to keep at arm's length. 2. Run a focus session. Three minutes, thirty minutes — your call. 3. Spend what you've earned. Tap the shield over a blocked app, choose how many minutes to spend, and it opens. When the minutes run out, the shield comes back. A WALLET, NOT A WARDEN Your earned minutes sit in a balance you can see at a glance. Carry minutes forward. Spend them on whatever you want, in whatever order you want. The app doesn't decide what's important — you do. A FOCUS SESSION YOU CAN LIVE WITH The session screen is dominated by a slow, ambient surface that breathes for as long as you focus — Aurora, Sunset, Observatory, and a handful of other shader-rendered backgrounds you can pick from. The timer is there when you need it, but it isn't the loudest thing on the screen. And the reward you're earning sits next to the time you have left, so the session is about what you're gaining, not just what you're spending. BUILT ON THE 8-8-8 BALANCE Eight hours of focus. Eight hours of reward. Eight hours of sleep. ByTime is built around the idea that a day works best when those three are in rough balance — and your screen time belongs in the reward eight, paid for by the focus eight. You set the daily targets; the wallet does the accounting. A REWARD, NOT A PUNISHMENT The earn-then-spend loop works the way brains actually respond to incentives: positive reinforcement instead of punishment, delayed gratification instead of impulse. You're not being scolded for picking up your phone — you're being paid for putting it down. PRIVACY THE WAY APPLE INTENDED ByTime is built on Apple's Screen Time APIs (FamilyControls, ManagedSettings, DeviceActivity). Your usage data never leaves your device. We don't collect it, we don't see it, and we don't sell it. CALM, PREMIUM, INTENTIONAL Dark-first interface, tactile glass surfaces, fluid motion. ByTime is designed to feel like a well-made instrument — a tool you reach for, not one that scolds you. WHO IT'S FOR — Students who lose hours to TikTok between every study block and want their phone back on their own terms. — Anyone who's tried five blockers and felt punished by all of them. — Adults who want to spend less time scrolling and more time on what they actually planned to do. WHAT IT'S NOT — Not a parental control app. ByTime is built for self-management; you set your own rules. — Not a streak machine. There are no fires to lose, no badges to chase, no scoreboards. — Not a shame engine. The app never tells you you've used your phone too much. It just shows you what you've earned. Earn it. Spend it. Stop fighting your phone.
app blocker
This app helps you manage screen time by setting schedules and daily limits for distracting applications. It offers focused work sessions and progress tracking to build better digital habits without deleting essential apps.
- Smart schedules for automatic blocking
- Daily app usage limits
- Customizable block lists
- Focus sessions with break controls
- Progress tracking and visibility
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blokx helps you reduce screen time without deleting the apps you rely on. Set up schedules to block distracting apps during high-risk windows, add daily usage limits, and run focused sessions when you need deep work. blokx is built for people who want structure that actually sticks: - Smart schedules for automatic blocking windows - Daily app limits for intentional use - Block lists to target your biggest distractions - Focus sessions with break and resume controls - Progress visibility so you can stay consistent Start with one setup, then refine your routine as your habits improve. Privacy Policy: http://bettrdayz.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: http://bettrdayz.com/terms.html Apple Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ByTime at none against app blocker's 6. app blocker's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. app blocker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. ByTime asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for ByTime against 4.5 for app blocker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.
ByTime ships an update weekly, app blocker daily. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ByTime | app blocker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Baalavignesh A | Bettr Dayz s.r.o. |
In-app purchases
ByTime
No in-app purchases
app blocker
- Pro: Week$3.997 Days
- Pro: Week$4.997 Days
- Pro: Year$9.991 Year
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- Pro: Year3 Days trial$17.991 Year
- Pro: Year$19.991 Year
- Pro: Lifetime$34.99









