Delay vs DebtScroll
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Delay
This app helps users break phone addiction by interrupting mindless scrolling with challenges. It aims to stop the cycle of addictive app usage through strategic interventions.
- Challenge-based interventions
- Dopamine delay
- Stops mindless app opening
- Breaks scrolling cycle
- Fun and engaging
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Turn your screen time into study time. Delay makes you answer practice questions on topics you want to learn before you can open distracting apps like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Instead of setting aside more time to study, learning becomes a transparent layer integrated into something you already do every day. EARN YOUR SCREEN TIME Before opening a blocked app, Delay gives you a few quick practice questions. Answer them correctly to earn access. Every time you reach for a distracting app, you get another small repetition of something you actually want to learn. LEARN WHAT YOU WANT Choose exactly what you want to study. Whether you're learning a language, preparing for an exam, memorizing important concepts, or building knowledge in a new subject, Delay turns your material into questions you can practice throughout the day. LEARN THROUGH REPETITION Delay integrates learning into moments that would otherwise be spent scrolling. Instead of relying on long study sessions, you repeatedly encounter your material throughout the day. Over time, those small repetitions add up. END THE DOOMSCROLL Your apps automatically lock again after your earned screen time expires. If you want to keep scrolling, you study again. This creates a simple cycle: learn, unlock, scroll, repeat. IMPORT YOUR STUDY MATERIAL Bring the material you already want to learn into Delay and turn it into practice questions. Keep different subjects organized and choose what you want to practice when unlocking your apps. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See how much you've practiced, how consistently you're answering questions, and how your knowledge improves over time. The screen time you would have spent scrolling becomes measurable learning progress. SEAMLESS INTEGRATION Delay works directly with your apps so studying becomes part of your normal routine. Once it's set up, simply use your phone as usual. When you try to open a blocked app, Delay gives you your questions, you answer them, and you're right back in. MAKE SCREEN TIME USEFUL You’re already going to open your favorite apps throughout the day. Delay simply puts learning in between. Instead of finding more time to study, use the time and habits you already have. DOWNLOAD DELAY Delay requires a subscription to access certain features. Download Delay and start turning everyday screen time into learning time. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
DebtScroll
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Your screen time problem isn't a willpower problem. It's an accountability problem. DebtScroll turns your social circle into your strongest habit enforcer. Set limits on the apps that steal your time. The moment you try to sneak past them, your friends find out — and the debt starts ticking. Here's how it works: Set a daily time limit on any app: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, whatever your poison is. When you hit your limit and try to keep going, two things happen simultaneously: your accountability partners get an instant notification, and a debt entry lands in your shared tab. At the end of the month, you settle up. In real life. With people who were watching. For the apps you truly can't be trusted with? There's the Vault. The Vault is a 24/7 hard block — no time budget, no grace period, no sneaking through. Vaulted apps stay locked until you either pay a penalty or get a one-time unlock code from your accountability partner. They generate it. They decide if you've earned it. You don't get to unlock your own cage. Why this works when everything else hasn't: Screen time apps fail because breaking them costs nothing. There's no embarrassment, no consequences, no one watching. DebtScroll changes the equation. Now every slip has a price — social and financial — and the people in your life are witnesses. You don't need a therapist or a detox retreat. You need to know your best friend will see exactly how many times you opened Instagram after midnight. Features: — Set custom daily time limits per app — Vault: permanent 24/7 hard blocks on your worst offenders — Warden unlock codes — only your accountability partner can open the Vault — Instant notifications to your accountability partners when limits are broken — Automatic debt tracking per breach, per partner — Monthly settlement view — see exactly what you owe and to whom — Invite friends as free accountability partners (they never pay) — Clean, simple dashboard showing your streak, your debt, your discipline Most habit apps are a private conversation between you and your phone. DebtScroll makes it public — or at least, visible to the people whose opinions actually matter to you. That's what makes the difference. The debt isn't legally binding. The shame is. Who it's for: — Anyone who's downloaded a screen time app and ignored it within a week — People who want external accountability, not just internal motivation — Friend groups or couples who want to hold each other to better habits together — Anyone tired of handing hours of their life to apps designed to be addictive Download DebtScroll. Your friends are already waiting.
Screenshots
Verdict
Delay and DebtScroll are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Delay sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and DebtScroll sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Delay ships an update every 5 days, DebtScroll every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Delay | DebtScroll |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (105 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 86.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 105 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 85 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Focus Labs LLC (US) | Pranay Periwal |
In-app purchases
Delay
- Delay - Weekly$6.997 Days
- Delay - Monthly$9.991 Month
- Delay - Family Monthly$17.991 Month
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- Delay - Yearly3 Days trial$79.991 Year
DebtScroll
- Early User Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Early User Annual Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Year
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- Annual Subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year









