Dotted vs why?
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dotted
Visualize your year as a daily grid of dots to track progress and stay intentional. Customize themes and add widgets for a personalized, distraction-free experience. Automate wallpaper updates to keep your year's progress visible.
- Yearly dot grid visualization
- Customizable themes and styling
- Home screen widgets
- Automated daily wallpaper updates
- Private by design, data stays on device
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Dotted is a simple way to visualise your year as a grid of dots—so you can feel time moving, celebrate progress, and stay intentional. - See your year at a glance: A clean “year dots” grid that updates every day. A quick snapshot that helps you plan, reflect, and stay consistent. - Make it yours: Choose themes and styling that match your wallpaper and home screen. Keep everything lightweight and distraction-free. - Home Screen widgets: Add widgets so your year progress is always visible. A subtle reminder that keeps you moving forward. - Automate your daily wallpaper: Add a shortcut to update your wallpaper each day with your current year dots. Set it once in Shortcuts automation, then it runs automatically. - Private by design: Your data stays on your device. If you ever want a new feature, open the app and send feedback—Dotted is built to evolve with your needs.
why?
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why? We don’t think your phone is the enemy. And we don’t think every minute on your screen is a minute wasted. Sometimes you open Instagram because you need to reply to someone. Sometimes you open YouTube because you want to watch something. Sometimes you just want to do nothing. That’s okay. The problem isn’t using your phone. The problem is using it without choosing to. We unlock. We tap. We scroll. And somewhere along the way, we stop knowing why we started. So we built why? Not to block you. Not to shame you. Not to tell you how many hours of your life you’ve wasted. Just one small question, at the moment it matters: Why? Why are you opening this? What are you looking for? What do you actually want to do? Sometimes, asking the question is enough. Sometimes, you’ll realize you do want to continue. Good. Continue. Sometimes you’ll realize you don’t. Good. Close it. Both are wins. Because the goal isn’t less screen time. The goal isn’t perfect discipline. The goal isn’t becoming someone who never scrolls. The goal is something much simpler: To put you back in the driver’s seat. A phone should be a tool you pick up, not a place you disappear into. So pause. Ask yourself. And choose. Why? FREE & PRO why? is free for two apps. Pro removes the two-app limit. The yearly plan includes a 7-day free trial. Monthly and yearly subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase and, for renewals, within 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Lifetime is a one-time purchase and does not renew. REQUIREMENTS why? requires Screen Time access, which iOS requests during setup. You can withdraw this permission at any time. Showing all three answers together requires iOS 26.4 or later. On earlier versions, the question still appears with one answer and a way back. Fifteen minutes is the shortest access window Apple’s system allows. PRIVACY No account. No sign-up. No ads. No tracking. Your data stays on your device. TERMS Privacy Policy: commalabs.co/why/privacy Terms of Use: commalabs.co/why/terms Apple Standard EULA: apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dotted at none against why?'s 3. why?'s advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). 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
Both are free to download. why? sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Dotted asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dotted ships an update every 2 weeks, why? every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dotted | why? |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ishaan Agarwal | Comma Labs |
In-app purchases
Dotted
No in-app purchases
why?
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Yearly$9.991 Year
- Lifetime$24.99









