FocusFlow vs Do Instead

Your apps stay locked until you finish what you actually need to do. FocusFlow is a different kind of screen time app. Most blockers let you tap "ignore limit" and carry on scrolling. FocusFlow makes you earn it. Add a task, do it, take a photo as proof, and AI checks the photo really shows the work. Verified work earns scroll time. Nothing else unlocks your apps. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that eat your day. Instagram, TikTok, X, games, anything. 2. Add today's tasks. Homework, gym, laundry, whatever you keep putting off. 3. Finish one and snap a photo. The AI checks it against the task. 4. Earn minutes. Your apps unlock, and the time counts down while you use them. 5. Hit zero and they lock again, even with FocusFlow closed. WHY IT WORKS A limit you can dismiss is a suggestion. Apple's own Screen Time puts "Ignore Limit" one tap away, and everyone taps it. FocusFlow replaces that tap with doing the thing you were avoiding. The friction is the point. FEATURES Photo verification, so finishing means finishing. Reward time that counts down only while you are in the apps you picked. Blockout schedules for class, work, practice or bedtime, when nothing unlocks. Daily limits per app or per group, on top of earned time. An emergency override with a wait and a log, for when you genuinely need in. Canvas assignments and exams become tasks automatically, and Reminders and your calendar can be imported too. A morning notification with the day's tasks, an evening nudge to plan tomorrow, and a warning before your minutes run out. Your own history: tasks finished, time earned, time spent. Family accounts: parents set tasks for their kids and approve them from their own device. PRICING FocusFlow is free to download, and everything outside the family plan is free for now. FocusFlow Family, for parents who set tasks for their kids, is an auto-renewing subscription: $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID when the trial ends. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://getfocusflow.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getfocusflow.app/privacy PRIVACY FocusFlow does not sell your data, does not run ads and has no analytics. Your proof photos are used to check the task and nothing else. Apple's Screen Time keeps your app usage private, even from us. We can block an app without ever learning which one it is. Built by a student who lost five hours a day to his phone. Requires iPhone or iPad and Screen Time permission.

Block distracting apps. Make room for what you'd rather do. You open a social app to check one thing. Half an hour later, you're still scrolling. Do Instead helps you set a boundary and bring your real tasks back into view. CHOOSE YOUR BOUNDARIES In Custom mode, give Social and Work their own apps, websites and allowed times. Add optional reminders before your windows open or close. Turning off protection or widening allowed times takes ten minutes; tightening protection applies immediately. Or start a digital detox: 14 days with a daily 30-minute window, or 21 days without regular windows. Choose your apps and review the editable website list. New programs pause Custom protection while keeping your saved setup. Track program days, streaks and milestones, then continue with your own rhythm when the program ends. TEMPORARY ACCESS WITH A PURPOSE In Custom mode, link a protected app to its English name, then say something like "Unblock Instagram for five minutes." Voice access pauses protection for that one app for 1-30 minutes, without a ten-minute wait. Switch to the app yourself; protection returns when time is up. Each session needs a fresh spoken request. Voice access is unavailable during digital detox or a protected focus session and requires microphone permission and on-device English speech recognition. You can also choose one app or website, a purpose, and 5 or 10 minutes of access. This option has a ten-minute daily budget and a ten-minute pause between sessions. Digital detox uses its own temporary-access rules. DO SOMETHING INSTEAD Bring tasks from Apple Reminders into view, or connect Todoist with Pro. Keep your next task nearby with Home and Lock Screen widgets. Start a 25-minute focus session around a task, take a guided breathing break, or try a short desk workout with a 3D coach. Complete tasks and watch your oak grow from an acorn into a tree. Quiet days don't erase its growth. With Pro and Screen Time permission, focus sessions can keep selected apps and sites blocked even during allowed windows. Completing a task does not unlock blocked apps. FREE AND PRO Free: Apple Reminders, widgets, focus timers, oak growth, breathing, desk workouts and the gentler Shortcuts route. Shortcuts needs an automation that opens Do Instead when you open a chosen app. Pro: Screen Time blocking, separate Social and Work schedules, digital detox programs, temporary access, protection during focus sessions and Todoist integration. Subscription prices and eligible trials are shown before purchase. HOW PROTECTION WORKS Blocking requires Screen Time permission. Website coverage varies by browser and iOS version. You can add domains or import a browser history export; imported domains stay on your device. Added websites may show Apple's restriction page instead of the task shield. With Pro, the Safari extension defers to Screen Time; without Pro, it uses its own website list. On iOS 26.5 and later, open your task manager from the shield through Do Instead. Earlier versions offer a notification shortcut when enabled. Screen Time permission can be revoked, and uninstalling removes protection. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No Do Instead account, ads, analytics or tracking. Task integrations connect to the services you choose. Voice recognition runs on your iPhone; audio and transcripts are not saved. Program progress and access reasons stay on your device. Privacy Policy: https://groei.dev/do-instead/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/