unhookd vs ScreenTimeGuard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
unhookd
This app helps you break phone habit by blocking distracting apps by default. You intentionally choose when to access them through scheduled slots or quick peeks, promoting focus and mindful usage.
- Default-locked apps
- Scheduled access slots
- Mindful 'peek' feature
- Healthy friction prompts
- Usage insights and score
- Focus on intentional use
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Your phone is designed to hook you. Notifications. Autoplay. Infinite scroll. unhookd is the antidote: the first app that blocks your distracting apps by default, 24/7. No willpower. No time limits you'll override. Just apps that stay blocked until you decide otherwise. —————————————————————— DEFAULT-LOCKED APPS The moment you install unhookd, your chosen apps are blocked. Around the clock. SLOTS Schedule recurring windows for when apps become accessible e.g. YouTube on Weekdays from 6-7pm PEEKS Need quick access outside a Slot? Set a duration (max 20m), pick a reason, get in, and get locked out when the time's up. INSIGHTS & SCORE See when, why, and how often you peek. Build real awareness of your digital habits. —————————————————————— All other screen-time apps: Apps available all day → you decide when to block unhookd: Apps blocked by default, 24/7 → you decide when to access That shift changes everything. Use unhookd to: → Stop opening Instagram or TikTok "just to check" → Protect deep work, study time, or creative flow → Be more present with the people who matter → Actually follow the rules you set for yourself "I've been using unhookd for a couple weeks now, and it has been amazing! I only use it for social media, and it has taken my daily average from 3.5 hours down to only 20 minutes a day! Works wonders for me, thank you." - JP Boyd Stop scrolling on autopilot. Block distractions by default. Use your phone with intention. —————————————————————— Terms of Use: https://www.unhookd.app/tos Privacy Policy: https://www.unhookd.app/privacy-policy
ScreenTimeGuard
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ScreenTimeGuard is a calm, minimal screen-time app for people who want fewer impulse opens. It is built around three ideas most blockers get wrong. You earn a budget of real app time. Most blockers start a countdown the moment you unlock, and the timer keeps running while your phone sits in your pocket. ScreenTimeGuard grants a usage budget instead: 1, 3, 5, or 10 minutes of actual app time, counted only while a blocked app is open. Reply to the message, put the phone down, come back later. One allowance can be spread across several openings until it is spent. Access is earned, not waited out. The signature unlock is a zip puzzle: draw one continuous line through every cell of a grid, passing numbered checkpoints in order. It asks for a moment of real attention — enough to interrupt autopilot, never enough to punish a genuine need. If you prefer arithmetic, switch to a math challenge instead. Both come in three difficulty levels. Your data stays yours. No account. No sign-up. No backend. No analytics or tracking SDKs. Your app groups, schedules, unlock history, and insights are stored on your device, never on a server of ours. Your groups, schedules, and preferences are also backed up to your own iCloud account so a reinstall or a new iPhone does not cost you your setup — we cannot read that copy, and your unlock history and insights are left out of it entirely. The app makes exactly one kind of network request: fetching the attributed daily quote on the dashboard, once a day. Without a connection, everything still works. Around those three ideas, an explicit rule system: - Recurring schedules block selected app groups during work, study, sleep, or any routine that matters to you. - During scheduled hours, each group is either fully blocked or set to solve-to-open. - Outside the schedule, leave apps free, or require a challenge and a time budget for every visit. - Block Now starts an immediate block, for a fixed duration or until you end it. - Emergency unlock stays available during a full block, with deliberate friction: an optional reason, a cooldown between uses, and an optional daily limit. Every use is recorded in your history. - Insights stay on the device: unlock attempts, emergency unlocks, and protected time. ScreenTimeGuard is built on Apple's Screen Time technology, using only Apple frameworks. Free for up to 3 apps. ScreenTimeGuard Premium is an auto-renewable subscription billed yearly, unlocking unlimited apps, whole app categories, and website blocking. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://joepbruin-hue.github.io/screentimeguard-privacy/ Friction here is intentional, never punitive. Pause the impulse, then choose.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: ScreenTimeGuard at none against unhookd's shown. On price, update cadence, 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. unhookd sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ScreenTimeGuard sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $8.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
unhookd ships an update every 3 weeks, ScreenTimeGuard every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | unhookd | ScreenTimeGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (20 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 20 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | unhookd | Joep Bruin |
In-app purchases
unhookd
- unhookd Pro3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- unhookd Pro3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- unhookd Pro3 Days trial$6.991 Month
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- unhookd Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- unhookd Pro3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- unhookd Pro7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- unhookd Pro3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- unhookd Pro$49.99
- unhookd Pro$129.99
- unhookd Pro$149.99
ScreenTimeGuard
- ScreenTimeGuard Premium$8.991 Year









