Comparison

Core Time vs Screen Time Control

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

Head to head
About

Core Time

This app provides a strict approach to blocking distracting applications and websites, helping users regain focus and manage screen time. It offers customizable lock durations and schedules, ensuring boundaries are enforced without negotiation.

Highlights
  • Strict app blocking
  • Customizable lock durations
  • Automatic scheduling
  • Cold turkey focus mode
  • Dopamine detox support
  • ADHD-friendly focus aid
  • One-tap recovery
Features
Read full description

Core Time is a strict app blocker and screen time app lock for people who need more than a gentle reminder. Block apps cold turkey, protect your focus, and stop losing hours to social media, dopamine loops, and phone addiction. If Screen Time limits are too easy to ignore, Core Time gives you a harder reset. Choose the apps and websites that pull you away from what matters, set your lock duration or schedule, and let Core Time enforce the boundary until time is up. ▶ STRICT APP BLOCKER Select distracting apps, set a timer, and tap Lock Now. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Reddit, games, and other dopamine traps stay blocked while your lock is active. ▶ SCREEN TIME APP LOCK Use Core Time as a stronger screen time blocker when default limits are not enough. Create hard app limits for study, deep work, bedtime, weekends, or any moment when one more scroll can ruin your day. ▶ COLD TURKEY FOCUS No snooze. No soft warning. No willpower negotiation. Core Time is built for people who want a cold turkey app blocker that removes temptation instead of asking you to resist it. ▶ STUDY, EXAMS, AND DEEP WORK Start a lock before homework, exam prep, reading, writing, coding, or meetings. Keep your phone nearby without letting social media or games steal your focus. ▶ DOPAMINE DETOX AND DIGITAL DETOX Trying to break a scrolling habit? Use Core Time to block the apps that trigger quick dopamine hits and build a calmer digital routine. It is useful for a daily digital detox, a weekend reset, or a longer phone addiction recovery plan. ▶ AUTOMATIC SCHEDULES Set recurring locks for school hours, work blocks, family time, or sleep. Core Time can activate on your schedule so you do not need to decide again every day. ▶ ADHD-FRIENDLY FOCUS SUPPORT When impulse control is hard, a reminder is not enough. Core Time helps by removing the option to open the apps you already decided to avoid. ▶ NO WAY OUT DURING A LOCK During an active lock, selected apps and websites show a shield screen. Core Time uses Apple's Screen Time API and Family Controls framework so blocking runs on your device and stays private. ▶ ONE-TAP RECOVERY If something goes wrong, use Fix Now in Settings to reset Core Time to a clean state quickly. ▶ RECOMMENDED FOR • Students preparing for exams or homework • Professionals protecting deep work blocks • People with ADHD who need stronger focus boundaries • Anyone reducing phone addiction, doomscrolling, or social media overuse • Night owls who want to stop scrolling before bed • Parents who want a clear app blocking routine on their own device Core Time is not another reminder app. It is a strict app blocker, screen time blocker, app lock, focus timer, and digital detox tool for people who want their time back. Take back control of your phone. Download Core Time and start your next focus block today. ▶ USE CASES THAT MATCH REAL LIFE Use Core Time before a study session, during exam prep, while writing, when coding, during meetings, at the gym, or before sleep. If you keep opening the same apps without thinking, create a lock before the habit starts. ▶ WHY IT HELPS Core Time turns a vague intention into a real boundary. Instead of checking your phone, feeling guilty, and trying again tomorrow, you make one decision up front and let the app enforce it. ▶ BUILT FOR REPEAT ROUTINES The best results come from repeated locks: weekday work blocks, daily study sessions, lunch breaks without scrolling, and bedtime screen time limits. Start small, then make your focus routine automatic. ▶ SCREEN TIME CONTROL AND APP DETOX Use Core Time as screen time control when you need cold turkey blocking, app detox, a dopamine detox app, or a phone detox app. It works as a blocker for apps that interrupt study, deep work, sleep, and real life. Terms of Use (EULA): https://core-ground.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://core-ground.com/privacy

About

Screen Time Control

Features
Read full description

You picked up your phone to check one thing. That was forty minutes ago. Focus Control shows you where your day actually goes and gives you the tools to take it back. SEE THE REAL NUMBER Your screen time, at a glance. See which apps took the most time and how today compares to yesterday. No guessing, no judgment, just the truth about where your hours went. BLOCK WHAT PULLS YOU IN Choose the apps that break your focus and shut them out. Instagram, TikTok, whatever yours are. When you try to open one, it simply won’t be there. FOCUS SESSIONS THAT ACTUALLY HOLD Start a session and the distractions disappear until you’re done. Work, study, dinner, sleep, pick your window and stay in it. SET A LIMIT, GET A NUDGE Give yourself a daily allowance. Focus Control warns you as you approach it, so you can stop by choice instead of noticing at midnight. DOWNTIME ON A SCHEDULE Set the hours that belong to you, mornings, evenings, weekends, and let them stay that way automatically. BUILT TO BE PRIVATE Focus Control only ever sees how long you spend in an app, never what you do inside it. Your data stays on your device. Take back one hour a day, and you get fifteen days back a year. Privacy Policy: https://screentimer-privacypolicy.blogspot.com/p/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/terms-of-use-00/home

Screenshots

Core Time4 screens
Screen Time Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Core Time at none against Screen Time Control's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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. Core Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Screen Time Control sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Core Time ships an update weekly, Screen Time Control every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Core Time versus Screen Time Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCore TimeScreen Time Control
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 11 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopercoregroundVenish Rakholia

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Core Time

Subscriptions3
  • Core Time Pro (Monthly)$6.991 Month
  • Core Time Pro (Annual)$24.991 Year
  • Core Time Pro (Annual)$49.991 Year
3 purchases

Screen Time Control

Subscriptions3
  • Focus Control Pro Weekly$0.997 Days
  • Focus Control Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Focus Control Pro Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Core Time free?
Core Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Screen Time Control free?
Screen Time Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Core Time or Screen Time Control have ads?
Screen Time Control shows ads; Core Time does not.
Which is updated more often, Core Time or Screen Time Control?
Core Time ships an update weekly, and Screen Time Control every 11 days. Most recently, Core Time was updated on October 24, 2026 and Screen Time Control on October 8, 2026.

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