Comparison

Minua vs Takeback

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

Head to head
About

Minua

This app helps you manage screen time by locking distracting apps until you earn time in them through productive activities. You can set earning and fun apps, ratios, and daily limits for yourself or your child.

Highlights
  • Earn screen time through productive apps
  • Lock distracting apps until time is earned
  • Customizable earning ratios
  • Set daily earning caps and allowed hours
  • Parental controls with PIN protection
  • Works offline and privately
Features
Read full description

Screen time you earn, for your child or for yourself. Time in the apps you want more of unlocks time in the apps you want less of. Set it up on your child's iPhone or iPad behind a parent PIN, or on your own phone to break the scroll habit. You pick the apps, the ratio and the hours. Everything stays on the device. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose who Minua is for: My child or Myself. 2. Choose the earning apps (learning apps, on a child's device): reading, math, languages, workouts, meditation, whatever you want more of. 3. Choose the fun apps: social media, videos, games. They stay locked until there's time in the balance. 4. Set the ratio, anywhere from 1:1 to 12:1. At 6:1, six minutes of earning unlocks one minute of fun. 5. Set the allowed hours and a daily earning cap. The balance shows minutes earned, minutes used and what's left. When it runs out, the fun apps lock again. It resets every day, so each morning starts fresh. ON A CHILD'S DEVICE • Settings and purchases sit behind a 4-digit parent PIN, with a timed lockout after repeated wrong attempts • On a child's device in Family Sharing, you approve Minua with your Apple Account, so your child can't switch the permission off or delete Minua without you • Setup tips to prevent app deletion and idle earning FOR YOURSELF • Put the apps you scroll behind the apps you want to spend more time in • Wording written for adults, and a PIN only if you want one • It's your phone and your rules: you can change them in Settings whenever you decide to. Minua just makes the scroll wait until you've earned it IN BOTH MODES • Ratio from 1:1 to 12:1, allowed hours and a daily earning cap • Bonus time: +5, +15 or +30 minutes for today • A heads-up about two minutes before fun time runs out • A weekly chart of time earned and time played • Change your PIN in Settings • Works on iPhone and iPad BUILT ON APPLE'S SCREEN TIME Minua uses Apple's Screen Time permission to lock and unlock the apps you pick. On devices outside Family Sharing, Minua shows on its home screen if the permission is ever switched off, and the in-app guide walks you through the settings that make the rules harder to get around. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts and no sign-up. No servers, no tracking, no analytics. Your settings and your balance stay on the device, and Minua works offline. TRY IT FIRST Every feature is free for 7 days. After that, a single one-time purchase unlocks Minua for good. No subscription.

About

Takeback

This app uses an AI coach to help you quit doomscrolling and regain control of your phone usage. It offers various modes to restrict access to social apps, requiring valid reasons for entry and learning your scrolling habits to adjust your plan.

Highlights
  • AI-powered screen time coaching
  • Customizable app access modes
  • Reason-based app entry
  • Adaptive daily limits
  • Earn extra time through activities
  • Focus blocks and proof of activity
Features
Read full description

Takeback is Sarge, an AI coach who lets you into your social apps when you have a real reason and cuts off the doomscrolling. Not another app blocker. Other blockers lock everything, so you delete them by Friday. Or they're easy to skip. Sarge is tougher, but fair. A REAL REASON GETS YOU IN DMing a friend? Work? You get in. Doomscrolling? He cuts you off. He knows how long you've already scrolled today. 5 MODES. FIND YOURS. Some days your apps stay open, and the second you start doomscrolling, they lock. Some days every open costs a short wait while he tries to talk you out of it. On Blackout days, only a strong reason or a real emergency gets you in. Sarge picks your first modes, then you choose the one that works. HARDCORE WHEN YOU NEED IT On Hardcore days you say it out loud. Hold to talk, tell him why you need your apps, and he talks back. HE LEARNS YOU How you scroll. When you slip up. Then he adjusts your plan, and your daily limit steps down to your goal. YOUR ANTI-ALGORITHM Thousands of engineers. Billions of dollars. One job: keep you scrolling. Willpower can't beat that. It was never your fault. Sarge is an AI on your side against a billion-dollar feed. WANT MORE TIME? EARN IT. Go for a walk, work out, touch real grass, or hold a focus block. He checks the proof: your steps, a fresh photo, or 45 minutes with no unlocks. Pictures of pictures don't work on him. WHAT CHANGES Evenings that end in sleep, not a 2am feed. An attention span you can feel coming back. Hours that used to vanish with nothing to show for them. A phone you finally trust yourself with. WHO'S BEHIND IT Takeback is run by Stan Tatarnykov. He built games played by 80M+ people, so he knows how apps keep you hooked. Now he's on your side. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://trytakeback.com/privacy

Screenshots

Minua4 screens
Takeback4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Minua at none against Takeback's shown. Takeback's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 50%). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Minua sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Takeback sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Minua ships an update weekly, Takeback every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Minua versus Takeback: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinuaTakeback
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlue Flame GamesGatarn Games Ltd.

Customer experience

Minua

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Takeback

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Minua

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$9.99
11 purchases

Takeback

Subscriptions11
  • Takeback Weekly Plan$4.997 Days
  • Takeback Monthly Plan$8.991 Month
  • Takeback Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
Show 8 more
  • Takeback Pro Weekly$9.997 Days
  • Takeback Yearly Plan$19.991 Year
  • Takeback Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Takeback Annual3 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Takeback Yearly$39.991 Year
  • Takeback Annual$44.991 Year
  • Takeback Annual3 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Takeback Pro Annual$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Minua free?
Minua is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Takeback free?
Takeback is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Minua or Takeback have ads?
Takeback shows ads; Minua does not.
Which is updated more often, Minua or Takeback?
Minua ships an update weekly, and Takeback every 9 days. Most recently, Minua was updated on October 17, 2026 and Takeback on October 31, 2026.

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