Comparison

AppTimeOut vs Threestrand

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AppTimeOut

This app helps users break phone addiction by providing accountability features like friend-assisted unlocking and scheduled blocking. It allows users to block distracting apps and websites to improve focus and reclaim their time.

Highlights
  • Buddy Lock for accountability
  • Scheduled blocking of apps/websites
  • Timer-based blocking
  • Block any app or website
  • Safari website blocking
  • Screen Time integration
Features
Read full description

AppTimeOut helps you break phone addiction by putting real accountability between you and your distractions. Most blockers fail because you can switch them off the moment you feel the urge. AppTimeOut is different. • Buddy Lock — assign a trusted friend as your accountability buddy. To unlock, they send you a code. No code, no access. • Schedule Lock — block during recurring time slots. Set it once; it enforces itself every day. • Timer Lock — block distracting apps and websites for a set duration and stay focused until time's up. Block any app or website via Screen Time, plus Safari website blocking. Free to start. APPTIMEOUT PRO • Monthly — $0.99/month • Yearly — $4.99/year, with a 2-week free trial Unlocks Buddy Lock, unlimited apps & websites, and full Schedule Lock (all 7 days, unlimited slots). Take back control. Reclaim your day. — Manage subscription or cancel anytime in Apple ID settings. Privacy Policy: https://apptimeout.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Threestrand

This app helps you overcome phone addiction by pairing you with an accountability partner. Together, you can block distracting apps and require approval for access, fostering mutual support and focus.

Highlights
  • Pair with an accountability partner
  • Block distracting apps
  • Request partner approval for blocked apps
  • Mutual accountability with shared visibility
  • Set daily limits and schedules
  • Self-set PIN for solo use
Features
Read full description

Threestrand is about the people in your life, not your phone. Put phones away together, block what pulls at you every day, and when you need an app back, ask someone you trust instead of flipping a switch. THREE WAYS TO USE IT Phones away with people. Hold your phone to a Threestrand card on the table, or tap Phones away together, and everyone's apps go quiet until the timer ends. Calls still work. Family time. One tap puts the whole house down, and the phones come back on their own. A partner for every day. Pick the apps that stay open. Everything else waits, and your partner says yes when you need one. Your phone is designed to win. Threestrand changes the odds by giving you a person. Every focus app eventually loses to the same thing: a weak moment and an off switch. That isn't a you problem. Your phone was built by thousands of people engineering that exact moment, and nobody outlasts it alone. Threestrand pairs you with someone you trust, so you don't have to. Threestrand gives you accountability partners, one or several. You block the apps that pull you in, like social media, games, and endless browsers, and everything else stays open. When you genuinely need a blocked app, you don't just flip a switch. You send a request to your partner, and they answer. No secret overrides. No "just this once" at midnight. Real accountability, built into your phone. BUILT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW YOU BEST Threestrand works best between people already in each other's corner: couples reclaiming their evenings, friends keeping each other honest, anyone who's tired of fighting their phone alone. You're not outsourcing your willpower to an app. You're borrowing some from someone who loves you. NO WILLPOWER REQUIRED • Block by default: pick what stays, not what goes, so new distractions can't sneak in. • Partner-approved unlocks: temptation becomes a conversation, not a tap. • Web browsing that actually holds: block Safari behind the same accountability. • Daily limits and schedules: set boundaries and let Threestrand keep them. FAMILIES Teens 13 to 17 can use Threestrand inside a family with a parent. The teen joins from their own phone, and a parent confirms they are the parent or guardian and that the teen knows Threestrand is on the phone. The parent picks one of two ways Threestrand runs on the teen's phone, and can change it later. Family time only. The phone works as usual. During family time, notifications and apps go quiet for everyone in the family until it ends. The phone app always works. Threestrand for everything. The teen's phone runs Threestrand the way a partner's does. Blocked apps stay blocked until the teen asks a parent and the parent answers. Parents see what a partner sees and nothing more: no messages, no browsing, no list of apps used. When a teen leaves the family, their phone goes back to normal on its own. PRIVACY AND CONSENT FIRST Threestrand is not a monitoring or "spy" app. Pairing requires both people to opt in by exchanging a code. Either person can unpair at any time, and the other is always notified. Both partners see identical information; there is no one-way surveillance. Everything Threestrand does is disclosed in our Privacy Policy. YOU'RE NEVER LOCKED IN Threestrand is a commitment you choose, not a trap. • Need a blocked app? Ask. Your partner can say yes in seconds, for exactly as long as you both agree. • Done with a partnership? Unpair any time. The other person is simply notified. • Done with Threestrand? Delete it. Every block lifts immediately, and no one can stop you. The lock only works because you could walk away, and choose not to. GOING SOLO FOR NOW? You can start blocking immediately and add your partner when they're ready. A self-set PIN keeps you honest in the meantime. Threestrand. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://anchorph.one/privacy/

Screenshots

AppTimeOut4 screens
Threestrand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Threestrand at none against AppTimeOut's 2. Threestrand also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, rating, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AppTimeOut sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Threestrand asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for AppTimeOut against 5.0 for Threestrand. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Threestrand has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AppTimeOut ships an update every 5 weeks, Threestrand every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
AppTimeOut versus Threestrand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAppTimeOutThreestrand
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHarry HuynhAnchor Digital Limited Liability Company

Customer experience

AppTimeOut

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Threestrand

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

AppTimeOut

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium14 Days trial$4.991 Year
None

Threestrand

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AppTimeOut free?
AppTimeOut is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Threestrand free?
Threestrand is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AppTimeOut or Threestrand?
AppTimeOut and Threestrand are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do AppTimeOut or Threestrand have ads?
Neither AppTimeOut nor Threestrand shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AppTimeOut or Threestrand?
AppTimeOut ships an update every 5 weeks, and Threestrand every 5 days. Most recently, AppTimeOut was updated on October 7, 2026 and Threestrand on October 10, 2026.

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