Comparison

Lockn vs ByWhen

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

Head to head
About

Lockn

This app helps students focus by disabling distracting applications during study sessions. It integrates with campus tap stations to initiate and end focused work periods. Users can track their study history and engage with classmates through friend and leaderboard features.

Highlights
  • Disable distracting apps
  • Integrates with campus tap stations
  • Track study session history
  • Friends and leaderboard features
  • Promotes phone-free study
Features
Read full description

**Lockn integrates with installed tap stations in designated areas across libraries and other study spots. Please ensure that your school has partnered with Lockn before downloading the app.** As you enter the library, tap your phone to a Lockn tap station to disable distracting apps and begin a lock-in session. Use the friends and leaderboard features to interact with your classmates and see whose ahead! Log your sessions in history. When you are done studying, tap your phone on your way out. Lockn prevents phone distractions during study sessions by creating distance between you and your phone.

About

ByWhen

Features
Read full description

A deadline is not just a date. It is a promise your future self needs help keeping. ByWhen helps you turn important tasks into practical reminder plans. Instead of relying on one alert, ByWhen looks at what needs to be done, when it is due, how long it may take, what kind of attention it needs, and when your day has realistic space for it. Add a task, set the due date, estimate the effort, choose the task type, and ByWhen helps you stay aware of the work before it turns into last-minute pressure. ByWhen is built for: - Work projects with real due dates - Assignments, exams, and study sessions - Calls, forms, paperwork, and admin tasks - Errands that need time away from home or work - Personal tasks that are easy to postpone - Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and selected-day routines DEADLINE PLANS ByWhen helps you think beyond a simple due date. It considers time remaining, estimated effort, task priority, task type, and available windows in your day. A short call can fit differently than a focused work session. An errand that requires leaving home can be treated differently from a quick task you can do during a break. REMINDERS WITH CONTEXT ByWhen keeps the deadline visible as time passes. It highlights whether a task is on track, needs attention, is at risk, or has become critical. If you do not act on a reminder right away, the task remains part of your plan so you can return to it later. OPEN-TIME PLANNING With your permission, ByWhen can use calendar busy blocks to avoid suggesting times that are already occupied. You can choose what to include, ignore imported blocks, and keep control of your schedule. ROUTINE SETTINGS Set your wake time, sleep time, work hours, and workdays so reminder timing fits your real life. ByWhen can avoid unhelpful times and protect parts of the day when reminders would not make sense. TASK TYPES Different tasks need different kinds of time. ByWhen supports task types such as focused work, admin, calls, study, errands, and away-from-home tasks. This helps ByWhen suggest more realistic moments instead of treating every reminder the same way. REPEATING TASKS Create repeating tasks for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or selected days of the week. When you complete a repeating task, ByWhen moves the next cycle forward so you are not reminded again for the period you already finished. QUICK ACTIONS Act from a reminder when possible. Start work, be reminded later, log time, or mark the task done so your plan can stay up to date. PRIVATE BY DESIGN ByWhen is built with privacy in mind. Your tasks, schedule blocks, routine settings, and reminder plans stay on your device. No account is required to start. If you choose to export a backup, it goes to your own selected destination. BYWHEN PREMIUM Your first 7 days are ByWhen Premium. During this time, all smart planning features are available. ByWhen Premium keeps every reminder active and unlocks the full planning experience, including unlimited active reminders, deadline plans, open-time planning, task-specific reminder styles, repeating tasks, quick actions, and routine personalization. After the first 7 days, your reminders stay safe, but Premium is required to keep all smart reminders active. Download ByWhen and give your deadlines a plan you can trust. Privacy Policy: https://nionlite.com/bywhen-privacy.html Terms of Use: https://nionlite.com/bywhen-terms.html

Screenshots

Lockn3 screens
ByWhen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lockn at none against ByWhen's 2. ByWhen's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. ByWhen sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Lockn asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lockn ships an update every 2 months, ByWhen every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Lockn versus ByWhen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLocknByWhen
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLucas MylonNiONlite LLC

In-app purchases

None

Lockn

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

ByWhen

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
  • Annual Premium$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Lockn free?
Lockn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ByWhen free?
ByWhen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lockn or ByWhen have ads?
Neither Lockn nor ByWhen shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lockn or ByWhen?
Lockn ships an update every 2 months, and ByWhen every 3 days. Most recently, Lockn was updated on September 30, 2026 and ByWhen on September 18, 2026.

Other comparisons