Comparison

FreeInFive Screen Time Control vs hey!

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

Head to head
About

FreeInFive Screen Time Control

This app helps you regain control of your time by setting firm yet gentle limits on distracting applications. Earn extra minutes by engaging in quick, mindful activities when you need a little more time.

Highlights
  • Set daily app limits
  • Schedule protected time
  • Quick Block for focus
  • Earn extra time via activities
  • On-device privacy
  • Usage comparison to goals
Read full description

Stop doomscrolling and get your time back with app limits that are calm, firm, and surprisingly fun. FreeInFive adds a little healthy friction between you and the apps that quietly steal your day. Choose the distracting apps, set your limits, and let FreeInFive step in when scrolling stops feeling intentional. GENTLE WHEN YOU NEED A NUDGE Get a calm reminder before reaching your daily limit. It’s a small pause that helps you notice the habit before another five minutes disappears. FIRM WHEN YOU’VE HAD ENOUGH Once your daily limit is reached, the app is blocked. No guilt, no dramatic warnings. just the boundary you chose for yourself. EARN 5 MORE MINUTES Truly need a little extra time? Earn it through a quick reset: • Take a guided breathing break • Write down your thoughts • Complete push-ups or arm raises • Try a playful movement challenge The point isn’t fitness or punishment. It’s making the moment of choice visible. BLOCK ON YOUR TERMS • Set daily limits for distracting apps • Schedule protected time for sleep, work or family • Start a Quick Block whenever you need to focus • See how your daily usage compares with your goal • Earn additional time through healthier activities PRIVATE BY DESIGN Screen-time monitoring happens on your device. FreeInFive cannot see your messages, photos, searches or what you do inside other apps. Your phone should be a tool, not a part-time job. Get your evenings, attention and quiet moments back with FreeInFive. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.freeinfive.app/privacy

About

hey!

This app helps you manage phone usage with a virtual companion who encourages breaks and rewards them with in-app currency. Earn coins by taking breaks to buy items for your companion or decorate their room. Track your progress and mood without pressure to maintain streaks.

Highlights
  • Virtual companion for focus
  • Earn coins for breaks
  • Decorate companion's room
  • Track mood and sessions
  • Focus Filter integration
  • No streaks or pressure
Read full description

You opened your phone to check one thing. Somehow, you're still here. hey! is a little taro pal called Taro. He lives in a room on your phone and watches only the apps you choose. When time in them runs long, he asks: "Hey, you still with me?" Take a break and he adds 5 coins. Keep using and he steps out of the way. Nothing is ever locked. MEET TARO Taro's mood goes okay, good, glowing. Breaks lift it, snacks lift it, and it drifts back to okay on its own — it never drops lower. There's nothing you can do to make it worse, and nothing to lose by coming back after a week away. Check in with your own mood any time; Rhythm remembers it. COINS FOR EVERY BREAK Every break you take earns 5 coins, and the check-in says so before you choose. Coins do one thing: they buy things for Taro. WORK TOGETHER Sit down with Taro for a light session: 25 minutes on, 5 off, for one, two or four rounds. Pick what you're working on. Finish and earn 30 coins, plus 10 more for finishing every round you planned. End early and you keep what you finished. Pause whenever you need to. During a round Taro checks in the moment you open one of your apps, instead of waiting out the usual delay. Keep using still works. SNACKS AND KEEPSAKES Spend coins in the Shop. Treats — a strawberry, a rice ball, a cookie — lift Taro's mood a little, and water is free once a day. Keepsakes like a mug, a plant, a lamp or a cushion go into his room and stay there for good. GIFTS YOU CAN'T BUY Sometimes Taro finds you something: a pebble by the door, a pressed leaf, a seedling he grew while you worked. Gifts are never for sale. They sit on the From Taro shelf with the day they arrived. YOUR WEEK, NOT YOUR SCORE Rhythm shows the breaks you took, how you've been feeling, the sessions you ran and every gift on the shelf. No streak to break. No day that counts against you. Nothing resets. ON FOR FOCUS Add hey! as a Focus Filter in iPhone Settings. Taro wakes when that Focus turns on and rests when it turns off. The app walks you through setup. Manual sessions are there when you'd rather start one yourself. YOUR APP CONTENT STAYS PRIVATE Apple's Screen Time tools count use in the apps and websites you select. hey! doesn't read your messages, your photos or the videos you watch. No account. No advertising. Optional usage sharing helps us improve setup and check-ins; it never includes what you do in other apps. TRY IT FREE FOR 14 DAYS Eligible new subscribers get 14 days free when they choose a monthly or yearly plan and confirm with Apple. Every plan includes all features. After the trial, your selected subscription renews automatically at the price shown before you confirm unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Manage or cancel in App Store settings. Lifetime access is a separate one-time purchase with no subscription trial or renewal. Local prices appear in the app. Restore purchases with the Apple Account used to buy. HELP SHAPE HEY Suggest a feature and vote on ideas at tryhey.app/feedback. Need a hand? Reach us at hello@tryhey.app. Requires iPhone with iOS 18 or later and Screen Time permission. Check-ins depend on Apple's usage signals and can arrive a little late. Time adds up across the apps and websites you select while a Focus or session is active. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

FreeInFive Screen Time Control4 screens
hey!4 screens

Verdict

The call

FreeInFive Screen Time Control and hey! are too close to call on the numbers: across 9 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. FreeInFive Screen Time Control sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and hey! sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. 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 FreeInFive Screen Time Control against 5.0 for hey!. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FreeInFive Screen Time Control ships an update fortnightly, hey! every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
FreeInFive Screen Time Control versus hey!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreeInFive Screen Time Controlhey!
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBloomeasyX1 Consulting LLC

Customer experience

FreeInFive Screen Time Control

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

hey!

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

FreeInFive Screen Time Control

Subscriptions2
  • FreeInFive Premium14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • FreeInFive Premium14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • FreeInFive Premium$74.99
3 purchases

hey!

Subscriptions2
  • hey Monthly14 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • hey Yearly14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • hey Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is FreeInFive Screen Time Control free?
FreeInFive Screen Time Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is hey! free?
hey! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FreeInFive Screen Time Control or hey!?
FreeInFive Screen Time Control and hey! are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do FreeInFive Screen Time Control or hey! have ads?
Neither FreeInFive Screen Time Control nor hey! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FreeInFive Screen Time Control or hey!?
FreeInFive Screen Time Control ships an update fortnightly, and hey! every 9 days. Most recently, FreeInFive Screen Time Control was updated on October 1, 2026 and hey! on October 22, 2026.

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