shells screen time controls vs Screen Time Blocker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
shells screen time controls
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Take some of your hours back. Shells shows you where your phone time really goes, then helps you use it a little less. It gives you the whole range, from a gentle nudge to a short pause to a firm block, so you can start gentle and only go firmer for the apps that keep pulling you in. LIGHT: GENTLE NUDGES, NOTHING BLOCKED ⢠Soft Nudges: a Volume Warning at 90% of your daily goal, Usage Milestones as your day adds up, a Daily Check-in Reminder for your streak, and Reach Alerts when you keep reaching for a paused or blocked app. MEDIUM: A SHORT PAUSE BEFORE AN APP OPENS ⢠Mindful Pauses (iOS 26 or later): a Shortcuts automation brings up a calm 15 second breath when you open a chosen app, then you pick how long you'd like it for. Its notifications still come through. ⢠Mindful Pauses + No Notifications: the Screen Time version. The app stays behind a shield between pauses, which can also keep its notifications out of the way. ⢠Exercise Unlock: a few squats or a plank first, counted on your iPhone by the camera. ⢠Steps Unlock: a short walk first. ⢠Quick Session: an optional 20 second pass for a quick reply. STRICT: APPS STAY CLOSED WHEN YOU NEED THEM TO ⢠Morning Block: keep your phone down first thing, apart from the essentials you pick. ⢠App Limits: a daily allowance. Once it's used up, the app stays blocked until tomorrow, with 5 minutes of Emergency access if you really need it. ⢠Scheduled Blocks: close apps at set times, like 9 to 5 on weekdays. ⢠Location Blocks: block apps at the places you choose, or allow them only there. ⢠NFC Locks: apps stay locked until you tap your own NFC sticker. AND A FEW EXTRAS ⢠Holiday Mode: pause or relax any control while you're away. Everything switches back on by itself after the last day you pick. ⢠Focus Sessions: block apps for a set time, with a Lock Screen countdown. ⢠Calm browsing: open Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, Facebook and Reddit inside Shells with the parts you choose hidden, like the feed, Reels or Shorts. ⢠Widgets: time left today, trends, the apps you choose, and one-tap Focus Sessions. SEE YOUR DAY CLEARLY ⢠Three rings for productivity, screen time and a daily health score. ⢠An hour by hour chart, pickups, a 30-day heatmap and a closer look at any app. ⢠If you like, a timeline of the places where you use your phone most. YOUR DATA Your screen time, places and location history stay on your iPhone. What goes online: your optional Sign in with Apple account, referrals and feedback (Supabase), Pro status (RevenueCat), and product analytics with a device ID and your account ID (Statsig), never your screen time or location. Turn on iCloud backup and your settings, check-in notes, places and recent location history go to your own iCloud. We never sell your data. SHELLS AND PRO Each app you pause, each limit or block, each NFC Lock group and each Calm browsing site uses a Shell. Everyone starts with 1, and inviting friends earns up to 2 more. A free account adds basic Insights. Shells Pro gives you unlimited Shells, so every control runs at once, plus every Insights card. Widgets and Holiday Mode are free, and every control works on the free plan using your Shells. Pro comes as Monthly, Annual or Lifetime (one-time purchase). Annual and Lifetime have launch pricing, and new Monthly and Annual subscribers get a 1-month free trial (eligibility applies), until 31 December 2026 unless changed or extended. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends; manage them in your App Store account settings. WHAT YOU NEED iOS 18 or later, Screen Time access and notifications (the Screen Time pause opens from a notification). Mindful Pauses via Shortcuts need iOS 26 or later. Location, Motion, Camera and NFC are optional. Privacy Policy: https://consciousscreentime.netlify.app/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screen Time Blocker
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Your phone is not the problem. The four hours it takes without asking, that is the problem. Copal blocks the apps that pull you in and gives you back the hours you did not know you were losing. Set one rule. Copal holds the line, even on the days you would rather it did not. BLOCK WHAT ACTUALLY DISTRACTS YOU Pick your distracting apps and websites once. Copal guards them with Apple Screen Time, so a block actually holds instead of sitting one tap away. FOUR WAYS TO SET A RULE ⢠Session: shut everything down for 30 minutes, an hour, or until you say stop ⢠Schedule: recurring windows, like 9 to 5 on weekdays or every night after 10 ⢠Time Limit: 45 minutes a day on the apps you choose, then they close ⢠Open Limit: 10 opens a day, because most of them were never on purpose HARD MODE, FOR THE DAYS YOU NEED IT A normal block asks you to stop and think. Hard Mode makes walking away from your own rule cost something. Turn on Disable Resets and you cannot talk your way out of it. A CHECK-IN, NOT JUST A WALL Open a blocked app and Copal reminds you what you promised yourself, then asks if you still want in. Most of the time the answer is no. AUTOFOCUS KEEPS YOU HONEST Set a daily goal. Copal nudges you 15 minutes before you reach it, again when you pass it, and once more an hour later. Quiet, well timed, never nagging. SEE THE TIME YOU TOOK BACK Your week, day by day and app by app. Protected hours, current streak, longest run, and cards that turn the numbers into something you can feel. "You protected 9 hours this week. That is three novels you could have finished." A COMPANION THAT GROWS WITH YOU Every focused hour hardens into copal, a piece of amber stone. Your koala holds on to it and glows a little brighter as your streak grows. Rest a day and it rests with you. Keep going and you unlock new milestones for your collection. WIDGETS ON YOUR HOME SCREEN Your streak and your active rules, sitting right where you unlock. A reminder before you even open anything. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Copal runs on Apple Screen Time. Apple never tells us which apps you picked, only how many. Your usage data stays on your phone. Available in 13 languages. Two hours a day is 30 days a year. Start with one rule. PREMIUM The free plan covers one app per rule. Premium unlocks unlimited rules, unlimited app blocking, and every feature always on. Start with a free trial and cancel any time. Privacy policy: https://app.notion.com/p/Privacy-Policy-for-Copal-3aed885fc93080e6b119d6301d714009?source Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Contact us: info@appricott.ai
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Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Screen Time Blocker at 16.4 against shells screen time controls's 18.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. shells screen time controls sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Screen Time Blocker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | shells screen time controls | Screen Time Blocker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | ā |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad ā better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.4 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 99 MB | 93 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andi Yao | APPRICOTT DIJITAL TEKNOLOJI VE YAZILIM ANONIM SIRKETI |
In-app purchases
shells screen time controls
- Pro Monthly1 Month trial$4.991 Month
- Pro Annual1 Month trial$29.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$49.99
Screen Time Blocker
- Premium Weekly$4.997 Days
- Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
- Premium Yearly Offer$39.991 Year
Questions
Is shells screen time controls free?
Is Screen Time Blocker free?
Do shells screen time controls or Screen Time Blocker have ads?
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