Brainlock vs Screen Time & Focus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Brainlock
This app locks distracting applications until you pass a brain-training test. Choose your difficulty to earn screen time and improve your memory, focus, and problem-solving skills. Track your progress and aim for higher ranks without relying on willpower.
- App locking with brain tests
- Multiple difficulty levels
- 18 brain games
- Brainpower Score tracking
- Progress stats
- Daily streaks
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Brainlock helps you quit scrolling using science: COMPARE WITH PEOPLE YOU KNOW Invite friends to a private leaderboard and see whose has the lowest screentime SOMETHING BETTER TO DO Brain games, exercise, languages, flashcards and business lessons, so the reflex to reach for your phone has somewhere to go. BUILT ON PUBLISHED RESEARCH Four mechanisms shown in peer-reviewed studies to reduce screen use: making apps harder to open, interrupting the reflex, offering a real alternative, and making someone else aware. Sources are cited in the app. Brainlock Premium Brainlock Premium is available through auto-renewable weekly and yearly subscriptions. Premium unlocks personalised goals, all productive scroll categories, app blocking, and advanced progress tracking. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account when your purchase is confirmed. Your subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. You can manage or cancel your subscription through your Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://plbtk.com/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screen Time & Focus
This app locks your distracting applications until you complete focused work. Earn back screen time by dedicating periods to tasks, effectively rewiring your habits. It uses system-level blocking for robust enforcement.
- System-level app blocking
- Earned screen time rewards
- Customizable focus sessions
- Privacy-focused design
- Lock Screen and Dynamic Island integration
- Siri Shortcuts support
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Your apps stay locked until you earn them. Do thirty minutes of real focus, get ten minutes back. Over weeks, the loop rewires and the apps stop being the default. Lavendr turns the usual focus app inside out. Instead of begging you to use your phone less, it makes the work you have been avoiding the only key to the apps you cannot put down. Block first. Focus. Earn the time. Spend it without the guilt. How it works Pick the apps that pull you in. Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, whatever yours are. Write a task in your own words. Learn Spanish. Study for the certification. Write the chapter. Start a focus session, anywhere from fifteen to sixty minutes. Lavendr caps sessions at sixty minutes on purpose. The deep work pretending to last three hours rarely does. During the session your chosen apps are blocked at the system level. A background extension re-applies the block automatically, so closing or force-quitting Lavendr will not get you past it. Within iOS, this is as firm as a block can be. Finish, and the time is yours: every thirty minutes of focus earns ten minutes on the apps you blocked. Use it now or save it. Every Sunday at midnight the unused minutes reset, so Monday starts fresh. Why it works when willpower apps do not Most focus tools treat phone addiction as a willpower problem and ask you to try harder. Lavendr treats it as a behavior loop and rewires it. The apps you cannot stop checking get blocked. The work you cannot make yourself start becomes the way back in. Over time the brain learns a new order: focus first, scroll second, and only on what you actually meant to open. Pure blockers restrict your apps and give you nothing in return, which is why most people quit them inside a week. Plain timers structure your work but ignore the pull of the phone. Lavendr is built around the exchange itself. Your screen time becomes the earned reward for the focus you finished, and that trade is what changes the habit. Built for iPhone Lavendr uses Apple’s Screen Time controls to enforce real, system-level blocks on the apps you choose. Closing or force-quitting Lavendr does not simply end the block. When your earned time runs out, the shield comes back automatically. The focus timer can also appear on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island during active sessions. Widgets show your current session, earned minutes, and weekly streak. Siri Shortcuts let you start a session, check earned time, or add a task without opening the app. Privacy by architecture Lavendr's privacy is structural, not a promise. Your tasks, your blocked-apps list, and your earned minutes stay on your device. The analytics you see are rendered inside an Apple-enforced sandbox that cannot send data off the phone. There is no account, no login, no analytics SDK, and no advertising tracking. The only outside service is the subscription receipt check used to validate your membership. Lavendr membership Lavendr is a subscription app. Your free trial unlocks the full experience: app blocking, unlimited focus sessions and tasks, earned screen time, the custom shield, Live Activities, widgets, Siri Shortcuts, weekly insights, and streaks. Subscription options are shown before purchase and may vary by country or region. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lavendr.so/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Brainlock at freemium against Screen Time & Focus's subscription. Screen Time & Focus's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. Brainlock sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days and Screen Time & Focus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Screen Time & Focus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 5 respectively.
Brainlock ships an update every 2 weeks, Screen Time & Focus fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Brainlock | Screen Time & Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PLBTK Limited | Domino Effect Labs LLC |
Customer experience
Brainlock
Screen Time & Focus
In-app purchases
Brainlock
- Brainlock Pro Weekly$9.997 Days
- Brainlock Pro Yearly$24.991 Year
- BrainLock Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
Screen Time & Focus
- Lavendr Weekly$4.997 Days
- Lavendr Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year









