Comparison

Lock vs Vowlock

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

Head to head
About

Lock

Features
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Take back control of your screen time and focus on what matters most. Lock helps you understand your phone habits, set daily app limits, and block distractions when you need to stay focused. Whether you want to spend less time scrolling, boost your productivity, or build a healthier relationship with your phone, Lock makes it simple. **SET APP LIMITS THAT WORK** Spending too much time on Instagram, YouTube, or other distracting apps? Set your own daily limits and take control of your usage. - Set custom time limits for individual apps. - Automatically block apps when their limits are reached. - Reduce mindless scrolling and build better habits. **STAY FOCUSED WITH FOCUS MODE** Create distraction-free moments whenever you need them. Whether you're studying, working, reading, or taking a break, Lock helps you stay present. - Temporarily block distracting apps. - Enable Focus Mode with a single tap. - Spend more time on what actually matters. **UNDERSTAND YOUR SCREEN TIME** You can't improve what you don't measure. Lock gives you clear insights into your daily phone usage so you can make smarter decisions about your time. - Track how much time you spend on each app. - View simple, easy-to-understand usage reports. - Identify distractions and improve your digital habits. **LESS SCREEN TIME. MORE REAL LIFE.** Breaking the scrolling habit doesn't have to depend on willpower alone. With the right tools, you can create healthier boundaries, protect your attention, and make every minute count. Take control of your screen time with Lock. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Vowlock

Features
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Vowlock is a strict app blocker for people who are done negotiating with themselves. Block apps behind Apple's Screen Time shields, seal the block with a vow, and make breaking it cost something real. Less brain rot, more evenings that are actually yours. Most app blockers are a toggle you flip off the moment an urge hits. No iOS blocker is unbreakable, so Vowlock is built on a harder truth: breaking one should cost something. With Vowlock you do not just block distracting apps. You seal a vow. SEAL A VOW, BLOCK APPS FOR AS LONG AS IT RUNS Choose the apps that eat your evenings: the feeds, the games, the one you open without deciding to, and any website you would rather not open. Choose how long the vow runs, from fifteen minutes to a full day. Then seal it with a short ritual: one line that is true for you, one spoken plea recorded on camera, and a heartbeat pulsing through the phone as you commit. From that second, your chosen apps go dark behind Apple's Screen Time shields. Think of it as a focus mode you cannot swipe away. BREAKING COSTS SOMETHING An app blocker you can switch off in two taps is only a suggestion. Want out early? Vowlock will not shame you, but it will not make it easy. You sit through the break ritual, feel that same heartbeat again, and watch the recording of yourself asking you not to. Most urges do not survive that mirror. Willpower is easier to find when the version of you who made the promise is looking back. STOP DOOM SCROLLING, STAY FOCUSED Use Vowlock as a distraction blocker to stop doomscrolling at night, to stay focused through a work block, or as a social media blocker for the whole weekend. Doom scrolling ends when the feed is simply not there. Need a short-video blocker? Vowlock takes a whole social media or short-video app off the table, the app itself rather than one tab inside it, so its endless feed goes with it. Self control is a muscle. Every kept vow is one more rep, and every rep teaches your thumb that the feed can wait. THE PROMISE WALL Every vow becomes a glass pane on your wall. Kept vows shine. A broken pane does not shame you; it reforges after seven kept days. Over weeks, the wall becomes a quiet record of who you are becoming: discipline you can look at, rather than a streak you dread losing. DOPAMINE DETOX ON YOUR OWN TERMS Run a phone detox for one evening, a dopamine detox for a weekend, or a longer digital detox to reduce screen time for good. Vowlock is a digital detox app for phone addiction that does not pretend a chart of your usage is the answer. Addiction to the feed loosens its grip when the feed is sealed behind a promise. Recurring schedules seal the same vow on the days and hours you choose, a home screen widget keeps your progress in sight, a Lock Screen countdown keeps the running vow in view, and weekly patterns show when your urges cluster so the next vow covers that hour. YOUR VOWS STAY ON YOUR IPHONE Vowlock is a self control app, not a surveillance app. Your pleas, your vow lines and your app list stay on this device. No account, and none of it is ever sent to us. Apple's Screen Time technology means Vowlock cannot even see the names of the apps you block. Anonymous usage statistics help us improve the app, and one switch in Vowlock's Settings turns them off. Requires iOS 17 or later and Screen Time permission. Free to download, and your first vow is always free, with the full ritual and full strictness. More vows after the first, recurring schedules, your full Promise Wall history and weekly urge patterns come with an optional subscription or one-time purchase, with details shown in the app before any purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://vowlock-app.web.app/privacy Support: https://vowlock-app.web.app

Screenshots

Lock3 screens
Vowlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Lock at none against Vowlock's shown. Vowlock's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 7 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Lock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 3 months and Vowlock sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lock ships an update every 7 months, Vowlock every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Lock versus Vowlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLockVowlock
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS16.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size42 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKerem CebiEren Demirkesen

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Lock

Subscriptions2
  • 3 Aylฤฑk14 Days trial$0.993 Months
  • Annual14 Days trial$1.991 Year
3 purchases

Vowlock

Subscriptions2
  • Plus Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Plus Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Plus Lifetime$74.99

Questions

Is Lock free?
Lock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vowlock free?
Vowlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lock or Vowlock have ads?
Vowlock shows ads; Lock does not.
Which is updated more often, Lock or Vowlock?
Lock ships an update every 7 months, and Vowlock every 4 days. Most recently, Lock was updated on November 13, 2026 and Vowlock on November 13, 2026.

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