Screen Time Control App vs Holdback
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Screen Time Control App
This app helps you regain control of your digital life by blocking distracting apps and providing insights into your usage. Set schedules for app blocking and receive motivational reminders to encourage a healthier digital balance and boost productivity.
- App Blocking
- Scheduled Blocking
- Instant Category Blocking
- Usage Insights
- Motivational Reminders
Read full descriptionHide full description
Screen Time Control App is the ultimate solution to help you regain control over your digital life and reduce screen time. With Screen Time Control App, you can break free from the addictive grip of your devices and cultivate healthier habits, allowing you to reclaim your time and focus on what truly matters. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Screen Time Control App empowers you to block specific apps for designated periods, ensuring that you stay productive and focused on your goals. Whether you need to concentrate during work hours or simply want to create space for meaningful activities, Screen Time Control App has got you covered. Key Features: App Blocking: Select and block specific apps that tend to consume your time and attention. Customize your list to include social media, entertainment, or any other apps that distract you. Scheduled Blocking: Set specific time intervals during which Screen Free will automatically block the apps you've chosen. Establish daily routines or create dedicated windows for work, study, or personal time. Instant Blocking: Tackle entire categories of apps with a single tap. Block all social media or gaming apps with ease, ensuring that you stay on track without wasting valuable time. Usage Insights: Gain valuable insights into your app usage patterns and screen time habits. Stay informed about how much time you spend on different apps, helping you make informed decisions and prioritize your digital well-being. Motivational Reminders: Receive gentle reminders and notifications to encourage you to take breaks, step away from your screen, and engage in other fulfilling activities. Get inspired to explore new hobbies, read a book, or connect with loved ones. Take the first step towards a more balanced and fulfilling life with Screen Time Control App. It's time to reclaim your time, boost productivity, and create space for the things that truly matter. * Screen Time Control App offers Pro Plan which could be annual, weekly, monthly or lifetime service. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase and auto-renews at the same price unless disabled in iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your subscription can be managed in your iTunes Account Settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Links Terms of Service: https://focus.lilucat.com/legal/terms Privacy: https://focus.lilucat.com/legal/privacy
Holdback
This app helps you regain control of your screen time by locking chosen apps until you meet a daily step goal, adhere to a schedule, or stay within a set time limit. It offers a 'never allowed' option for apps you wish to permanently block. Focus sessions can lock your entire phone for dedicated work periods.
- Unlock apps with step goals from Apple Health
- Schedule app availability
- Set daily time limits for apps
- Permanently block apps
- Focus sessions to lock entire phone
- Hard mode to prevent changing settings
- Track walking history and milestones
Read full descriptionHide full description
Holdback locks the apps that eat your day until you've walked your step goal — or on a schedule, or on a daily limit. Steps come from Apple Health FOUR WAYS TO LOCK • Step goal — your apps stay locked until you've walked your goal for the day. • Schedule — pick the hours your apps stay shut. Nights, work blocks, early mornings. • Daily limit — give an app twenty minutes. When they're gone, they're gone. • Never Allowed — apps you are done with, blocked around the clock, with no unlock at all. All four apply only to the apps, websites and categories you choose. Nothing else on your phone is touched. When you want the whole phone shut for an hour, that's a focus session. WALK TO UNLOCK Set a step goal. Until you reach it, the apps you picked won't open. Steps are read from Apple Health, so there is nothing to fake — no taps to farm, no coins to earn, no minutes to buy back. Open Hours keep your morning usable. Pick the window where your apps stay open even if the goal isn't done — or switch it off and the lock runs around the clock. Reach the goal, and everything opens for the rest of the day. YOUR STEPS, IN ONE PLACE Week, month and year of walking, drawn out day by day. Days on goal, longest streak, best day, averages. The record starts the day you install Holdback and keeps going. Six milestones sit on top of it, from 20 000 steps in a day up to 100 000. FOCUS SESSIONS The four rules above run on their own, all day. A focus session is the one you start by hand — and while it runs, every app on your phone is locked, not just the ones you picked. Set a timer, or run an open-ended stopwatch and stop when the work is done. Rain, waves, thunder, fire or birdsong in the background. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose the apps you want under control. 2. Pick how they unlock — a schedule, a limit, steps, or not at all. 3. Get on with your day. HARD MODE Switch it on and your settings lock along with your apps. You can raise a goal at any time, but lowering it, changing the days, or swapping the apps waits until that day's steps are done. It closes the loophole most blockers leave open — editing your way out instead of walking. You can remove every restriction at any time by deleting Holdback. Calls, messages and emergency services are never affected. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Holdback cannot see which apps you block. Apple's Screen Time framework hands the app anonymous tokens, not app names. Your step data is read from Apple Health and never leaves your device. No account, no sign-up, no ads, no data sold. Terms of Use: https://holdbackapp.github.io/legal/terms-of-service.html Privacy Policy: https://holdbackapp.github.io/legal/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Screen Time Control App at daily against Holdback's every 2 weeks. Holdback's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Screen Time Control App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Holdback sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Screen Time Control App against 5.0 for Holdback. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
Screen Time Control App ships an update daily, Holdback every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Screen Time Control App | Holdback |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 262 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lilucat | Raman Pazdniakou |
Customer experience
Screen Time Control App
Holdback
In-app purchases
Screen Time Control App
- ScreenTimeControl Pro3 Days trial$6.997 Days
- ScreenTimeControl Pro$9.991 Year
- ScreenTimeControl Pro$19.99
Holdback
- Holdback Pro Weekly$7.997 Days
- Holdback Pro Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Screen Time Control App free?
Is Holdback free?
Which has better reviews, Screen Time Control App or Holdback?
Do Screen Time Control App or Holdback have ads?
Which is updated more often, Screen Time Control App or Holdback?
Other comparisons















