Dale vs Amber Lock
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dale
This app helps you visualize your year's progress and count down to important events. It offers customizable widgets and smart notifications to ensure you never miss a milestone. Track birthdays, vacations, and more with a clean, privacy-focused interface.
- Year progress visualization
- Event countdowns
- Home screen widgets
- Smart notifications
- Customizable color themes
- Privacy-focused, local data storage
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Make Every Day Count with Dale - The Minimalist Year Progress Tracker and Days Countdown App Track year progress like never before with Dale, a beautiful countdown app for iOS. See exactly how many days are left in the year and create event countdowns so you never miss what matters most. YEAR PROGRESS TRACKER Visualize your entire year with an elegant dot grid display Track year progress in real time with today highlighted See days completed and days remaining at a glance Year progress widget for your iPhone home screen Watch your year unfold day by day EVENT COUNTDOWN AND DAYS LEFT COUNTER Create countdowns for important dates Track birthdays, vacations, and anniversaries Days left calculator shows exactly how much time remains Track multiple countdowns at once Never forget important moments with reminders HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Year progress widget shows your annual journey Year countdown updates daily on your home screen Multiple widget sizes to match your style Customizable color themes SMART NOTIFICATIONS Countdown reminders when events finishes Get alerts so you never miss important dates CUSTOMIZATION 9 color palettes including Electric Blue, Neon Mint, and Purple Dream Customize year progress colors Personalize event countdown colors Premium themes with modern aesthetics Enhanced glow effect for today PREMIUM FEATURES Unlimited event countdowns (free users have limits) Advanced color customization with 9 premium themes Priority support Ad free experience One time purchase, yours forever WHY DALE Clean and minimal interface following iOS design guidelines Fast and lightweight countdown app Privacy focused, all data stored locally Seamless iOS widget integration Ideal for time management and goal tracking PERFECT FOR Year progress tracking and time awareness Birthday and anniversary countdowns Vacation and travel planning Retirement or graduation countdowns Project deadline tracking Goal setting and milestone tracking Life event planning POPULAR USES How many days left until my birthday Track my year progress Countdown to vacation Days until retirement Track project deadlines Anniversary countdown Dale transforms how you experience time. Whether tracking year progress to stay motivated or counting days until lifes biggest moments, Dale makes every day visible and meaningful. Download Dale now and start tracking your year with a beautiful countdown app for iOS. Privacy Policy - https://sites.google.com/view/daleapp/privacy Terms of Service - https://sites.google.com/view/daleapp/terms
Amber Lock
This app locks distracting applications behind a unique challenge: you must walk to unlock them. Earn screen time by increasing your daily steps and reclaiming your focus.
- Seal distracting apps
- Unlock apps by walking
- Customize step-to-time ratio
- Set unlock duration limits
- Track reclaimed screen time
- Home screen widget for quick access
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Amber Lock seals your most distracting apps in digital amber. To get them back, you have to stand up and walk. Whether your goals are to reduce screen time, increase your daily steps, or both, Amber Lock has got you covered! THE LEGEND Gnomish stories tell of a distracted worker whose candied berries were sealed in tree sap until he finished plowing the fields. Amber Lock applies the same friction to your phone. HOW IT WORKS 1. Seal your distractions. Pick your worst offenders (social media, games, news) and lock them inside the amber. 2. Set your own rules. Decide how many steps buy one minute, how many steps the tank can hold, and how long a single unlock is allowed to run. 3. Walk. Put the phone in your pocket and go. Your real steps charge the Melter. 4. Melt the amber. Spend that charge whenever you choose, up to the limit you set. 5. Watch it re-seal. When the charge runs dry, the amber locks your apps again. BUILT FOR YOUR SCREEN TIME, NOT SOMEONE ELSE'S A 4am doomscroller and a gamer who wants one clean hour at night need opposite things from a blocker. Most apps give them the same one. If your problem is the slow drip (five minutes here, twenty there) run a small tank and a short unlock cap. A slip costs you five minutes, not the entire evening. If your problem is that you want your hour before bed and you want it uninterrupted, use the deep tank instead. Bank steps all day, then spend them in one sitting without the app locking you out halfway through. SEE WHAT YOU GET BACK Amber Lock tracks your time in sealed apps week over week, so you can watch the hours come back. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN A widget sits beside your locked apps showing the time you have left, so you can melt or re-seal without opening anything. PRIVACY Amber Lock uses Apple's Screen Time API to block apps directly on your device. Your app usage data never leaves your phone. It isn't sent to us or to anyone else. Your step data stays on your device too. NO SUBSCRIPTION Amber Lock is free, and it's fully usable that way. One optional upgrade is available as one-time purchases. This gives you access to premium settings which allow you to further customize your Amber Melter! Take back your time. Seal the distractions. Earn your screen time. Terms & conditions of use: https://www.gnomesteadcollective.com/terms?app=amber-lock#amber-lock
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Amber Lock at 5.0 against Dale's 4.2. Amber Lock also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%). Dale's advantage is ratings volume (14 vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Dale sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Amber Lock sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Amber Lock holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dale has 14 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Dale's written reviews are positive against 100% of Amber Lock's.
Dale ships an update weekly, Amber Lock every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dale | Amber Lock |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sanjay Pathak | Gnomestead Collective LLC |
Customer experience
Dale
Amber Lock
In-app purchases
Dale
- Dale Lifetime$3.99
Amber Lock
- 1,000 Step Power Bank (1x)$0.99
- 1,000 Step Power Bank (3x)$1.99
- 1,000 Step Power Bank (10x)$4.99
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- Premium Step Tank$7.99
- Premium Burn$7.99
- Premium Settings Bundle$9.99









