Screen Time Control vs Unhook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Screen Time Control
This app transforms your to-do list into screen time. Complete tasks to earn logs, which you can then use to extend your allowed usage of distracting apps. When your screen time runs out, those apps are blocked until you earn more time by being productive.
- Task and habit creation with custom rewards
- Screen time management with app blocking
- Interactive flame companion with mood states
- Home and lock screen widgets
- Customizable screen time limits and app selection
- Private by design, no cloud sync or tracking
Read full descriptionHide full description
Stop doomscrolling. Earn your screen time instead. Burn turns your to-do list into screen time. Get things done, earn logs, and feed them to Burn, a little flame who lives on your phone. Scroll too much and Burn's fuel runs out, and so do your distracting apps. No willpower required. Just a flame worth keeping lit. HOW IT WORKS • Start each day with a screen time budget you choose • Scrolling the apps you pick burns through it, minute by minute • Hit zero and those apps lock • Finish tasks to earn logs • Feed logs to Burn: every log buys 10 more minutes GET STUFF DONE • Give every task its own log reward, so big jobs pay more • Daily, weekday, or custom repeating tasks for your habits • Plan Today, Tomorrow, and the days ahead • Sort tasks into color-coded categories • Shake to undo if you tap too soon A FLAME WORTH KEEPING LIT • Burn reacts to your day: happy when you're on track, worried when time runs low, out cold when it's gone • Tap, pet, and drag logs in to feed him • Dozes off at night with a sleepy face • Keep Burn lit at midnight to build your streak YOU'RE IN CONTROL • Choose exactly which apps and categories burn fuel • Everything else stays open • Set your own daily budget • No account, no sign-in, no ads. BURN+ (ONE-TIME PURCHASE) • 13 flame colors, each with a matching app icon • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, including a task list you can check off without opening the app • Live Activity: watch your fuel count down in the Dynamic Island • Low fuel warnings before your apps lock • Screen Time Insights: see which apps ate your time, by day, week, and month Burn uses Apple's Screen Time to track and limit only the apps you choose. What you do in them never leaves your device.
Unhook
This app blocks distracting applications until you complete real-world habits. Earn in-app currency by engaging in activities like walking or using a focus timer, then spend it to unlock your phone's apps. It aims to create a healthier relationship with your device through a reward-based system.
- Cells economy for screen time
- Real app blocking
- Photo verification for habits
- Step counting integration
- Focus timer
- Streak milestones
- Stats and history tracking
Read full descriptionHide full description
Unhook blocks your apps until you earn access back. Brainrot is real. The endless scroll, the dopamine loop, the hour you lost without noticing, your brain didn't break itself. The apps did that. Every timer you've set, every app you've deleted, every "I'll stop tomorrow" - none of it stuck. Because restriction without reward never does. Unhook fixes the trade. THE DEAL Complete real habits. Earn Cells. Spend Cells to unlock your apps. 1 Cell = 1 minute of screen time. You earned it. No guilt. FEATURES - Cells economy - earn, save, spend your screen time - App blocking - real blocking - Photo verification - on-device AI, never uploaded - Step counting - walks that count - Focus timer - every minute of effort earns its keep - Streak milestones - consistency pays more - Stats and history - see yourself actually improving WHY IT ACTUALLY WORKS Most apps bet on your guilt. Set a limit, feel bad when you break it, repeat forever. That's not a system. That's a cycle. Unhook flips it. You're not fighting your phone - you're making a trade. Do something real first, then scroll without shame. The phone stays locked until you've held up your end. Turns out, that's the only thing that sticks. PRIVACY No accounts. No cloud. No ads. Photos never leave your device. Steps read from Apple Health, never stored. Less scrolling. More living. Terms of Use: https://theunhook.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://theunhook.app/privacy *Full access to Unhook requires an active subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Screen Time Control at free with in-app purchases against Unhook's subscription. Screen Time Control also leads on ratings volume (7 vs 1). Unhook's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Screen Time Control sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Unhook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Unhook holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Screen Time Control has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 weeks, Unhook every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Screen Time Control | Unhook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 96 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vincent Nguyen | Avinash Sharma |
In-app purchases
Screen Time Control
- Burn+$9.99
Unhook
- Unhook Weekly$8.997 Days
- Unhook Annual Offer$24.991 Year
- Unhook Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year









