Comparison

Lockin vs ChessScroll

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

Head to head
About

Lockin

Features
Read full description

LOCKIN — Earn Your Screen Time Tired of doomscrolling? LOCKIN flips the script. Instead of limiting your screen time, you EARN it. Do real exercises, solve math problems, or meditate — and unlock minutes to use your favorite apps. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick an exercise — Push-ups, Squats, Jumping Jacks, Meditation, Math Problems, or Steps 2. Complete reps using your camera, motion sensors, or brain 3. Earn screen time minutes for every rep 4. Use your earned minutes to unlock the apps you choose REAL EXERCISES, REAL RESULTS • Push-ups — AI-powered camera detection counts every rep • Squats — Full range-of-motion tracking with live feedback • Jumping Jacks — Camera-based rep counting to get your heart rate up • Meditation — Timed breathing sessions to earn minutes mindfully • Math Problems — Solve equations to sharpen your mind and earn time • Steps — Walk your way to screen time with pedometer tracking SMART APP BLOCKING Choose which apps to block using Screen Time integration. When your time runs out, apps lock automatically. Want more time? Get moving. FEATURES • Live Activity — See your reps and minutes earned right from your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island during workouts • Home Screen Widget — Track today's earned minutes at a glance • Lock Screen Widget — Always know your balance without opening the app • Daily Goals — Set rep and minute targets to stay consistent • Stats & Streaks — Track your progress day by day with detailed history • Leaderboard — Compete with other LOCKIN users worldwide • Exercise Tutorials — Learn proper form for every exercise • Sign in with Apple — Your progress syncs and stays safe with your Apple account • Dark-free, clean UI — Designed to feel motivating, not overwhelming BUILT FOR DISCIPLINE LOCKIN isn't another screen time limiter that you'll just override and ignore. It's a system that rewards you for doing something good before you consume. Every minute of screen time is backed by real effort. Whether you want to build a workout habit, reduce mindless scrolling, or just add more movement to your day — LOCKIN makes it automatic. SUBSCRIPTION LOCKIN offers a 7-day free period to experience the full app. After that, continue with a weekly or annual subscription to keep earning and unlocking. • Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period • You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your App Store account settings after purchase Privacy Policy: https://www.getlock.in/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.getlock.in/terms Stop scrolling. Start earning. LOCKIN.

About

ChessScroll

This app locks distracting applications behind chess puzzles. Solve a puzzle to earn minutes of screen time for your chosen apps. It aims to reduce screen time by integrating practice into existing habits.

Highlights
  • App locking with chess puzzles
  • Customizable scroll time per puzzle
  • Offline puzzle functionality
  • Personalized puzzle difficulty
  • Privacy-focused, no account needed
  • Reduces screen time through habit integration
Features
Read full description

Your feed costs a move now. ChessScroll seals the apps that eat your evenings — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, whichever you choose — behind a chess puzzle at your level. Solve it and you earn minutes of scroll. Fail it and the position waits. That's the whole app. That's the whole deal. THE DEAL 1 puzzle = minutes of scroll. You set the exchange rate. HOW IT WORKS 1. Seal your apps. Pick the ones that eat you. 2. Reach for one, and a puzzle appears instead. 3. Solve it. The app opens and your clock starts running. 4. Minutes run out mid-scroll? In chess we call that flagging. Solve another. WHY IT WORKS You already reach for your phone dozens of times a day. ChessScroll doesn't fight that urge — it reroutes it. Every reach becomes one tactic at your level: twenty to forty seconds, and a real fight. It's the training every coach prescribes and nobody actually does, attached to a habit you already have. TWO NUMBERS, FACING EACH OTHER — Your puzzle rating, climbing. — Your daily screen time, falling. Everything else is supporting cast. REAL PUZZLES, AT YOUR LEVEL Nearly fourteen thousand positions from real games, each one rated by the players who tried it before you, and served at your rating rather than under it, so the rating you build is earned. Works fully offline. From 400 to 2700, the puzzle fits. THE CLIMB Fourteen chapters, one for each master: Morphy, Anderssen, Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Nezhmetdinov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov. Every six puzzles you solve lays a stone on their road, and the one you solved at midnight to get into Instagram counts the same as the one you chose to play. The road stops at twenty-eight of their own games, and every one you solve goes into your album as a card. You never have to open the tab for it to move. NO NEW ADDICTION Training sessions end by design. No infinite puzzle feed, no guilt notifications, no nagging. Paul Morphy said in 1859 that chess should never engross the mind. We're inclined to agree. PRIVACY Your app choices and screen-time data never leave your device — Apple's Screen Time framework enforces that by design. No account needed. MEMBERSHIP ChessScroll requires a membership: yearly with a 7-day free trial, or monthly. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled in Settings. Terms: https://chessscroll.com/terms — Privacy: https://chessscroll.com/privacy Earn your scroll.

Screenshots

Lockin4 screens
ChessScroll4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ChessScroll at none against Lockin's shown. Lockin's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Lockin sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and ChessScroll sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lockin ships an update every 3 days, ChessScroll fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Lockin versus ChessScroll: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLockinChessScroll
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Subscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShaurya BahlMICHAŁ ROSTKOWSKI

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Lockin

Subscriptions2
  • LockIn Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • LockIn Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Emergency Pass$0.99
  • Emergency Pass 3-Pack$1.99
2 purchases

ChessScroll

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Membership$7.991 Month
  • Annual Membership3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Lockin free?
Lockin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChessScroll free?
ChessScroll is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lockin or ChessScroll have ads?
Lockin shows ads; ChessScroll does not.
Which is updated more often, Lockin or ChessScroll?
Lockin ships an update every 3 days, and ChessScroll fortnightly. Most recently, Lockin was updated on October 2, 2026 and ChessScroll on October 15, 2026.

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