Focus Protocol vs Relay Shortcut Trigger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Protocol
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Quiet the noise. Find your focus. FocusProtocol is more than a timer. It helps you settle into deep work and stay there. Pick a duration, name your goal and start. FocusProtocol blocks the apps you choose until the session ends. Distractions on hold Block the distracting apps and websites you pick. Built on Apple's Screen Time API. Your app selection is handled privately by iOS. Leave the app mid-session and you have 10 seconds to come back. After that, the session ends. Focus audio An optional built-in pink noise generator. Pink noise is a softer, steadier sound than white noise that many people find helpful for masking interruptions. This is not a medical product. Presets Save your favorite setups, such as Deep Work, Study Block or Pomodoro, each with its own duration, goal and blocked apps. Small wins Finishing moments, streaks and achievements keep the momentum going. Weekly charts show how your focus time adds up. Private by design No accounts. No tracking. No ads. Your sessions and stats stay on your device. OLED-optimized A true-black interface designed for long sessions, late nights and early mornings. FocusProtocol Make room for focus. FocusProtocol Pro (optional auto-renewable subscription) Free plan: 2 sessions per week. FocusProtocol Pro removes the weekly limit and is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. The yearly plan includes a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase (or when the free trial ends). Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms & Conditions: https://sudoswisshub.github.io/FocusProtocolLegal/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://sudoswisshub.github.io/FocusProtocolLegal/privacy.html
Relay Shortcut Trigger
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Relay turns a spare iPhone or iPad into a hands-free Shortcuts trigger. Run any Shortcut on a repeating interval or at specific times of day, or fire it from another device on your Wi-Fi with a simple, token-protected local web request. No subscription. No account. No cloud. Everything runs on your device and your local network. WHY RELAY Some automations only work when a device actively opens an app or runs a Shortcut ā showing a camera dashboard every few minutes, rotating a status display, kicking off a sync, opening a kiosk app on a timer. iOS only allows an app to launch Shortcuts while it is in the foreground, so Relay is built to be exactly that: a reliable foreground scheduler you leave running on a dedicated device. SCHEDULER ⢠Unlimited rules, each with its own Shortcut, interval (from 1 minute) or list of exact times ⢠Optional active window per rule (e.g. only 8:00ā17:00), overnight windows supported ⢠Wall-clock scheduling: if a fire time passes while the schedule was paused, Relay catches up the moment it becomes active again ⢠Live countdown to the next trigger, per rule and overall LOCAL NETWORK TRIGGER ⢠Built-in HTTP endpoint on your Wi-Fi: GET /run?shortcut=Name ā from a laptop, home server, Raspberry Pi, or any browser ⢠Token-protected (query token or Bearer header), with one-tap token generation ⢠Bonjour advertising (_relay._tcp) so other devices find the phone even when its IP changes ⢠/health and /next endpoints for monitoring and scripting, plus a built-in status web page ⢠Foreground-only and LAN-only by design ā nothing is ever exposed to the internet KIOSK ESSENTIALS ⢠Keep-awake (never lets the screen sleep) while active ⢠Stall detection: if another app kept focus and the loop stopped, Relay shows a one-tap resume banner and can notify you ⢠Battery level and charging state on screen, with Guided Access guidance for true kiosk setups ⢠Live event log of every trigger, request, and state change EXTRAS ⢠Home-screen widget with the next trigger and last run ⢠Live Activity countdown in the Dynamic Island while the schedule runs ⢠Diagnostics page: foreground state, listener state, address, recent triggers ⢠Step-by-step onboarding that builds your first automation loop with you Relay is 100% free ā every feature, forever. It runs the Shortcuts you created, and it never collects any data.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Relay Shortcut Trigger at none against Focus Protocol's 2. Relay Shortcut Trigger also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Focus Protocol sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Relay Shortcut Trigger asks for nothing beyond the download.
Focus Protocol ships an update every 5 months, Relay Shortcut Trigger every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | Focus Protocol | Relay Shortcut Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No ā better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alice-Georgiana TURCANU | All Things AI, Inc |
In-app purchases
Focus Protocol
- Focus Protocol Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Focus Protocol Pro Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
Relay Shortcut Trigger
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Focus Protocol free?
Is Relay Shortcut Trigger free?
Do Focus Protocol or Relay Shortcut Trigger have ads?
Which is updated more often, Focus Protocol or Relay Shortcut Trigger?
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