BetterScreens vs ctrl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BetterScreens
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Social apps are designed to keep you scrolling. BetterScreens makes it easier to stop doomscrolling and cut your screen time — even if timers and blockers haven't worked for you. The longer you scroll, the longer the next post takes to load. Each Micro Pause interrupts autopilot, so putting your phone down stops feeling like a fight with yourself. You keep every app you already have. Blockers and timers ask you to fight the urge. BetterScreens makes the feed itself less rewarding, so you stop on your own. Once your plan is calibrated, reaching your daily goal pauses supported feeds until the next day, so the session has a real ending. BetterScreens requires an auto-renewing subscription. Eligible accounts start with a 14-day free trial. NO WILLPOWER BATTLES - No timers to start or sessions to schedule. - Keep every app on your phone. - Works quietly in the background. Nothing to open or start. HOW IT WORKS - Adaptive Micro Pauses. New feed content takes a little longer to load as a session stretches on, and eases off after you take a break. - Works inside the feeds that pull you in most, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, X, Reddit, Snapchat, and Twitch. - A daily goal built around you. BetterScreens starts from your own estimate, then calibrates to how you scroll. - A clear daily stopping point. After calibration, supported feeds pause when you reach your daily goal and resume after the next daily reset. - A 5% weekly taper. Your daily goal edges down each week instead of dropping all at once. - Progress you can see. Daily usage, goal progress, trends, and streaks for supported social and video feeds. - Pause when you need to. Turn Micro Pauses off briefly and they return on their own. WHAT PEOPLE SAY “I was astonished by how quickly I wanted to put my phone down during the tiny pauses. It didn’t take willpower — scrolling just stopped being satisfying.” — Brandi N. “It stops you from scrolling on autopilot and makes you more mindful — and because the change is gradual, it’s the kind that actually sticks.” — Debbie S. PRIVACY FIRST - Micro Pauses run on your device through a local VPN configuration. Your traffic is never routed through BetterScreens servers. - BetterScreens does not receive what you browse or watch. - No account required. - Limited app-use analytics and subscription status are handled as described in our Privacy Policy. BETTERSCREENS PREMIUM A subscription unlocks Micro Pauses, your daily goal, and your progress dashboard: - Individual Annual - Family Annual, including Apple Family Sharing for up to six people Apple determines introductory-offer eligibility. After the trial, the localized annual price shown before purchase is charged unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends; the subscription then renews annually. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Prices vary by region. Privacy Policy: https://betterscreens.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://betterscreens.app/tos
ctrl
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You're losing 4+ hours a day to your phone. That's 60 full days every year—gone forever. ctrl-time helps you take them back. WHAT MAKES CTRL-TIME DIFFERENT Most screen time apps shame you with numbers. ctrl-time does something different: it shows you what those numbers actually mean for your life. Every minute wasted is a minute you'll never get back. Every minute saved is a minute you can spend on what truly matters. YOUR LIFE IN WEEKS Inspired by Stoic philosophy, the Life in Weeks grid shows your entire existence at a glance—4,160 weeks, each represented by a single dot. The filled dots are weeks you've already lived. The empty ones are all you have left. It's not meant to scare you. It's meant to wake you up. - See exactly what percentage of your life you've lived - Tap any week to explore what you did (or didn't do) - Export the grid as your iPhone wallpaper - A daily reminder that your time is not infinite FOCUS MODE — BLOCK DISTRACTIONS One tap. Zero willpower needed. ctrl-time uses Apple's native Screen Time integration to block the apps that steal your attention. Choose sessions from 15 to 120 minutes and watch the distractions disappear. - Block Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and any time-wasting app - Native iOS integration—no workarounds or hacks - Live Activities show your timer on Dynamic Island MINUTES RECLAIMED — YOUR NEW KPI Every focus session gives you back precious minutes. ctrl-time tracks them all, showing you exactly how much life you've reclaimed. Watch the counter grow. Those aren't just numbers—that's time you've taken back from the algorithm. REPLACEMENT ACTIONS What will you do with your reclaimed time? - Read a book - Exercise - Learn a new skill - Spend time with loved ones Log your activities and give meaning to every minute you save. Turn screen time into life time. DAILY JOURNALING A minimalist journal to reflect on your day. Each entry is linked to its corresponding week in your Life in Weeks grid—building the story of your life, one week at a time. THREE MOTIVATION STYLES Choose how you want to be guided: STOIC — Direct messages inspired by ancient philosophy. "Memento mori. Your time is not unlimited." EMPATHETIC — Gentle, compassionate reminders. "It's okay to slow down. This is living too." PRAGMATIC — Data and concrete numbers. "18 minutes on Instagram = 18 minutes of life." ALWAYS WITH YOU - Home Screen widgets: Life in Weeks, minutes reclaimed, quick journal - Live Activities: timer visible on Dynamic Island and lock screen - Smart notifications: only when they truly matter PREMIUM Unlock everything: - Unlimited focus sessions - Advanced stats and trends - Goals Progression - Journaling Monthly: $9.99 | Yearly: $25 (save 79%) Spend life, not screen. Your next week starts now. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: BetterScreens at none against ctrl's shown. ctrl's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. BetterScreens sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year and ctrl sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
BetterScreens ships an update every 6 months, ctrl every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.
| Parameter | BetterScreens | ctrl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BlinkLabs | Giuseppe Renna |
In-app purchases
BetterScreens
- Individual Annual Plan$49.991 Year
- Family Annual Plan$79.991 Year
ctrl
- ctrl-time Premium Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- ctrl-time Premium Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year









