Comparison

Screen Time Control App vs Holdback

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • App Blocking
  • Scheduled Blocking
  • Instant Category Blocking
  • Usage Insights
  • Motivational Reminders
Features
Read 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

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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

Screen Time Control App4 screens
Holdback4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Screen Time Control App versus Holdback: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreen Time Control AppHoldback
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB262 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLilucatRaman Pazdniakou

Customer experience

Screen Time Control App

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Holdback

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Screen Time Control App

Subscriptions2
  • ScreenTimeControl Pro3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • ScreenTimeControl Pro$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • ScreenTimeControl Pro$19.99
2 purchases

Holdback

Subscriptions2
  • Holdback Pro Weekly$7.997 Days
  • Holdback Pro Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Screen Time Control App free?
Screen Time Control App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Holdback free?
Holdback is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Screen Time Control App or Holdback?
Screen Time Control App and Holdback are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Screen Time Control App or Holdback have ads?
Neither Screen Time Control App nor Holdback shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Screen Time Control App or Holdback?
Screen Time Control App ships an update daily, and Holdback every 2 weeks. Most recently, Screen Time Control App was updated on October 24, 2026 and Holdback on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons