Screen Time Control vs StreakMode
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Screen Time Control
This app helps you reclaim your time by blocking distracting applications on a schedule or for a set duration. It features a unique 'Focus Gate' to prevent accidental unlocks and rewards you with 'blocks' to build a virtual world for completed focus sessions.
- Scheduled app blocking
- On-demand focus sessions
- Focus Gate for accidental unlocks
- Virtual world building with earned blocks
- Privacy-focused design
- Offline functionality
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You don't decide to lose an hour. You open one app, and it's gone. Paused protects the time you meant to keep. Choose the apps that pull you in, set the hours you want back, and they stay shielded — even when Paused isn't open. FEATURES WITH PAUSED PLUS The protection features below require paid Paused Plus access: a weekly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Apple Screen Time permission is required. PROTECT YOUR DAY ON A SCHEDULE - Build recurring windows like Deep Work, Mindful Morning, Evening Reset, or Sleep Shield. - Pick apps and categories with Apple's own Screen Time picker. - Set start and end times, choose your weekdays, and create windows that run past midnight. - Reuse a selection you already made instead of picking the same apps twice. OR PROTECT THE NEXT HOUR, RIGHT NOW - Start a 15, 30, 60, or 90-minute session whenever you need one. - The shield goes up immediately and lifts on time, whether or not Paused is running. SET A DAILY LIMIT - Give selected apps and categories a shared daily allowance. Usage already accumulated today counts; the allowance resets at midnight. - Once the allowance is reached, those selections are blocked for the rest of the day. - Turning off or removing an enabled limit requires a 10-minute cooldown and confirmation within five minutes. Protection stays on while you wait; confirming ends the current streak, not permanent progress. WHEN YOU REACH FOR A BLOCKED APP A Break Pass makes temporary access a deliberate choice. Name your reason, hold continuously for 10 seconds, then choose 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Releasing early keeps protection on. Review the consequence before confirming: one pass is used and your active streak ends. Only the requested app, category, or website opens temporarily; other protected selections stay shielded. Earned blocks, outposts, and unlocked worlds are never spent or lost. WATCH KEPT TIME TURN INTO SOMETHING - The first completed Focus Now or Schedule session for each day earns eight permanent blocks and one streak day. - Further sessions add to your minutes and session totals, not another block reward. Daily Limits do not earn blocks or complete the daily quest. - Blocks build a voxel world that grows as you do. Unlock visual worlds through streak milestones. - Interrupted sessions do not count as completed focus. Active schedule removal or deactivation also requires a cooldown. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your app and category choices are handled by Apple and stay on your device. Paused never decodes or uploads the names of the apps you pick. Schedules, streaks, and progress live on your iPhone and keep working offline. BUILT PROPERLY iPhone and iPad, portrait and landscape. Dynamic Type and VoiceOver supported. Reduce Motion respected. PAUSED PLUS ACCESS Choose a recurring weekly or yearly subscription, or one-time lifetime access, from the plans shown in the app. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled; manage or cancel them in your Apple Account settings. Lifetime access is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Blocks and worlds are earned through focus, not bought. Your first saved protection plan stays inactive until Plus access is confirmed. Terms of Use: https://paused.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://paused.app/privacy
StreakMode
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A focus timer that keeps perfect time whether your phone is locked, in your pocket, or the app is closed entirely. StreakMode is built for deep work. Pick a task type, pick a duration, start the countdown, and get back to what you were doing. Every completed session extends one number: your streak. TIMING THAT IS ACTUALLY CORRECT Most timers drift or quietly stop when you leave the app. StreakMode tracks wall-clock time, so a 90-minute session is 90 real minutes — backgrounded, screen locked, or force-quit. A Live Activity keeps the countdown on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island without draining the battery, and switches to a completion state the moment you finish. AN ALERT YOU WILL NOT MISS Sessions end with a prominent alarm that cuts through silent mode and Focus (iOS 26+). If you work around other people, switch to Vibration Only and keep the room quiet. FOCUS WITHOUT THE CLUTTER No badges. No XP. No levels. No leaderboards, friends, or feeds. Just a daily streak counter and your best-streak record, built only from sessions you actually completed. A monthly calendar shows focused days, missed days, and claimed rest days at a glance. REST DAYS, HONESTLY Take a day off without losing your progress. Claim a rest day and your streak survives — and no fake focused time is added to your history. The record stays true. HISTORY THAT TELLS YOU SOMETHING Sessions are grouped by day, with weekly focused hours, your longest session, and your completion rate. Enough to see the trend, not so much that reviewing it becomes the procrastination. PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION Everything is stored on your device. No account, no sign-in, no cloud sync, no analytics pipeline, no ads. Nothing to leave your phone, because there is nowhere for it to go. DELIBERATELY MINIMAL A dark interface, a large animated progress ring, preset durations and a custom picker. That is the whole app. It does not block apps or manage your screen time — it assumes you can decide that yourself, and gives you a clean, accurate place to put the work. Free. No in-app purchases. Start a session and build the streak.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: StreakMode at every 2 days against Screen Time Control's every 4 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Screen Time Control sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and StreakMode sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Screen Time Control ships an update every 4 weeks, StreakMode every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Screen Time Control | StreakMode |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Worth A Try LLC | Aouni Damrah |
In-app purchases
Screen Time Control
- Paused Plus Weekly$6.997 Days
- Paused Plus Annual Offer$29.991 Year
- Paused Plus Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Paused Plus Lifetime$79.99
StreakMode
- StreakMode Pro$7.99









