Comparison

AppBlock Screen Time Control vs Kept

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

Head to head
About

AppBlock Screen Time Control

Features
Read full description

AppBlock is a simple app blocker for real screen time control. Block apps by schedule, by daily app time limit, by number of opens or by location, and stop scrolling without relying on willpower. Pick the apps that pull you in, like social media, Reels, short videos or games, then choose how to block them. AppBlock uses Apple's Screen Time system, so a blocked app shows a shield screen when you try to open it. WAYS TO BLOCK • Quick Block: start a focus session in one tap. A countdown shows how long is left. • Schedules: block apps during work, study, dinner or bedtime. Pick the days and the times. • Daily limits: set how long you can use an app each day. When the time is up, the app is blocked. • Open limits: allow only a few opens a day. The blocked screen shows how many you have left. • Location blocking: block apps when you are at school, the library or the office, or when you are away from a place you choose. SEE YOUR SCREEN TIME Guess your daily screen time, then see the real number. Insights show your screen time and your most used apps each day for free. Weekly and monthly views come with Premium. MADE FOR REAL LIFE • Stop doomscrolling at night • Study or work without your phone pulling you away, with an app blocker that stays on • Keep dinner and family time phone free • Switch off work apps when you get home PRIVACY The apps you pick stay private. Apple's Screen Time system keeps your list hidden from us, and your schedules and limits are stored on your device. 11 LANGUAGES English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), German, French, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. HOW IT WORKS 1. Allow Screen Time access once 2. Pick the apps that distract you 3. Start Quick Block, or set a schedule, a limit or a place 4. Get your time back FREE AND PREMIUM AppBlock is free to start. The free plan includes 4 hour Quick Block sessions, schedules on one day, a few usage, open and location rules, and daily Insights. Premium adds more rules, longer usage limits, schedules on several days, 24 hour Quick Block sessions, and weekly and monthly Insights. Try Premium free for 7 days, then choose monthly or yearly. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS • Premium is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase • The subscription renews automatically unless you turn it off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period • Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings • Any unused part of a free trial is lost when you buy a subscription Privacy Policy: https://o9tech.com/appblocker/privacypolicy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: support@o9tech.com

About

Kept

This app helps you reduce time spent on distracting applications by setting daily limits and scheduled blocking periods. It offers customizable prompts and a "Protect Now" feature for immediate control, with a focus on privacy and on-device data.

Highlights
  • Set daily limits for individual apps
  • Schedule app blocking for evenings and bedtime
  • Customizable usage prompts
  • Immediate app blocking with 'Protect Now'
  • Streak tracking and 'freeze' rewards
  • Privacy-focused with no account or tracking
Features
Read full description

Kept helps you spend less time on the apps that eat your day. Pick one app, or up to 5, and give each one a daily limit. Kept checks in while you use it, and it can block those apps for the hours you want back, like your evenings or bedtime. Everything stays on your phone, and there are no ads. HOW IT WORKS • Pick your apps in Apple's own picker. Kept doesn't block whole categories, and Phone, Messages, alarms, and any app you don't pick are never blocked. • Set a daily limit of 15, 30, or 45 minutes, 1 hour, or your own number. Under its limit, the app opens as usual. Kept asks "Keep going?" after every 5, 10, or 15 minutes of use (you pick), and it can ask more often after your 3rd Keep going of the day. • When the limit is used up, the app stays blocked until midnight. You can get more time inside Kept. It costs a freeze if you have one. If you don't, it costs your streak and a wait that gets longer each time that day. • Protected time. Set hours when your limited apps are blocked, like Evenings from 5 to 9 PM or Bedtime from 10 PM to 7 AM. An emergency of 5 or 15 minutes is the only way through. You can turn one off for today, and it comes back on at midnight. • Protect now blocks your limited apps from this minute for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or until 9 PM. Start it from Home, Shortcuts, or Siri, or from Control Center on iOS 18 or later. A countdown shows on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. • Your week shows the days and evenings you kept, how often you said I'm done, your hardest hour, and one suggestion. A Lock Screen widget shows whether Kept is on, when protected time ends, and how many apps are done for today. • Every day you stay within your limits adds a day to your streak. Every 7 days you earn a freeze, which gives one app another round of today's limit. KEPT FREE AND KEPT PRO Every new install gets all of Kept Pro free for 14 days. The trial runs inside the app. You don't add a payment method or sign up, and nothing is charged when it ends. After 14 days Kept keeps working as Kept Free, with 3 limited apps, 1 protected time, 1 freeze, and Your week for this week and last. If you set up more than that, you choose what stays, and the rest is saved for later. Kept Pro adds a weekday and a weekend limit for each app and every past week in Your week. It also limits up to 5 apps, sets up to 5 protected times, and holds up to 3 freezes. • Kept Pro Monthly: $2.99 per month • Kept Pro Yearly: $19.99 per year • Kept Pro Lifetime: $49.99, a one-time purchase Protect now, the widget, emergencies (3 a month), and turning Kept off are free on every plan. PRIVACY AND WAYS OUT There's no account, sign-in, analytics, or tracking. Your Screen Time data stays on your iPhone, and Kept never sees your apps' names as text. Kept sends one notification at most, an optional 5-minute warning, and it's off until you turn it on. Turn Kept off in Settings and everything unblocks right away. Kept turns itself back on at 6 AM, unless you choose I turn it back on. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Prices are in US dollars and may vary by country. Monthly and Yearly are auto-renewing subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel any time in iOS Settings → your name → Subscriptions, or in Kept under Settings → Kept Pro → Manage subscription. Lifetime is paid once and never renews. Family Sharing is on for all three. Kept uses Apple's Screen Time and needs iOS 17 or later. It's made by one person. Questions and bug reports go to kept@brucelabs.io. Terms of Use: https://kept.brucelabs.io/terms Privacy Policy: https://kept.brucelabs.io/privacy Support: https://kept.brucelabs.io/support

Screenshots

AppBlock Screen Time Control4 screens
Kept4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Kept at every 4 days against AppBlock Screen Time Control's 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AppBlock Screen Time Control sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Kept sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AppBlock Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 weeks, Kept every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
AppBlock Screen Time Control versus Kept: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAppBlock Screen Time ControlKept
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSaif Ur RehmanWade Bruce

In-app purchases

2 purchases

AppBlock Screen Time Control

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year
3 purchases

Kept

Subscriptions2
  • Kept Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Kept Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Kept Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is AppBlock Screen Time Control free?
AppBlock Screen Time Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kept free?
Kept is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AppBlock Screen Time Control or Kept have ads?
Neither AppBlock Screen Time Control nor Kept shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AppBlock Screen Time Control or Kept?
AppBlock Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 weeks, and Kept every 4 days. Most recently, AppBlock Screen Time Control was updated on November 13, 2026 and Kept on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons