Comparison

Thumb Scroll vs TaskGate

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

Head to head
About

Thumb Scroll

Features
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Your phone is always right there. One tap and you're back in. Thumb Scroll flips it: do something in real life first, then scroll. Block the apps that steal your time β€” TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, games, any app you pick β€” and unlock minutes only after you've earned them. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps (and sites) to block 2. Do a real action: make your bed, touch grass, drink water, read a book… 3. Snap a photo: AI verifies it and gives you coins 4. Spend coins to unlock minutes on your blocked apps No coins? Apps stay locked. Simple. You don't have to delete your favorite apps. You just have to do something first. WHY IT WORKS (where blocking alone fails) Other apps just say "stop." But your phone is one tap away and you cave. Thumb Scroll gives you a trade instead: a walk for TikTok, a book for Instagram, a glass of water for two minutes of scroll. Your phone comes after life, not instead of it. WHAT'S INSIDE β€’ App & website blocking via Apple's Screen Time API β€’ Coins earned with real actions, validated by photo + AI (no cheating) β€’ 7 daily actions + Object Hunt: find an object with your camera β€’ Store: turn coins into minutes β€’ 3 difficulty levels (Light, Balanced, Intense) that change the coinsβ†’minutes rate β€’ Bedtime & wake schedule + custom time rules (days and time slots) β€’ Daily and weekly reports, a 0–100 score, day streaks β€’ Your thumb mascot: happy when you unplug, worn out when you scroll too much PRIVATE & SECURE Thumb Scroll uses Apple's Screen Time API: all monitoring and blocking run entirely on your device. Your usage data never leaves your phone. EARLY ACCESS Thumb Scroll is in early access: every feature is available for free, no subscription. Jump in and help us make it better. Less scrolling. More living. Terms of Use: https://thumbscroll-7ac7f.web.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://thumbscroll-7ac7f.web.app/privacy

About

TaskGate

Features
Read full description

TaskGate locks your most distracting apps behind a gate. The gate opens when today's tasks are done β€” and not a moment earlier. No timer you can dismiss. No screen you can swipe past. TaskGate uses Apple's own Screen Time controls, so when an app is blocked, it is blocked. HOW IT WORKS 1. Write down what you want to get done today. 2. Choose the apps that steal your time. 3. They stay locked until every task is checked off. At midnight the gate closes again, whether you open TaskGate or not. Tomorrow is a fresh contract. REAL APP BLOCKING Powered by Apple Screen Time. A blocked app shows a TaskGate screen telling you how many tasks are still left today. STRICT MODE For the days you mean it. While the gate is locked, today's tasks can't be deleted or pushed to tomorrow, and blocking can't be switched off. One emergency pass a day opens your apps for 15 minutes after a 10-minute wait β€” enough for something urgent, not enough to skip the day. FOCUS TIMERS Give a task a duration β€” study for an hour, read for thirty minutes. Start the timer and the task checks itself off when the time is up. Closing the app doesn't stop the clock. ROUTINES Tasks that repeat every day, on weekdays, or on the days you pick. They appear on your list each morning, automatically. PLAN AHEAD Schedule tasks for future days. When that day arrives, the gate arms itself. Tap any task to change it, and drag to reorder. STREAKS Every day you finish your list adds to your streak. Days without tasks are rest days and don't break it. Tap the number for a calendar of the days you kept and the days you missed. WIDGETS Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show whether the gate is open, how many tasks remain, and how long your streak is. IPHONE, IPAD AND IPHONE DUO On a big screen, Today and Planned sit side by side. REMINDERS An optional evening nudge, plus a reminder time on any individual task. PRIVACY TaskGate collects nothing. There is no account, no sign-up, no analytics, and no ads. Your tasks stay on your device. The apps you choose to block are handled by iOS itself β€” Apple's Screen Time API hands apps opaque tokens rather than names, so TaskGate never learns which apps you picked or what you do in them. LANGUAGES English, Turkish, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Arabic and Indonesian. TaskGate needs Screen Time permission to block apps. Unless Strict mode is on, you can turn blocking off at any time.

Screenshots

Thumb Scroll4 screens
TaskGate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TaskGate at none against Thumb Scroll's 3. Thumb Scroll's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Thumb Scroll sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. TaskGate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thumb Scroll ships an update every 6 days, TaskGate monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Thumb Scroll versus TaskGate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThumb ScrollTaskGate
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days β€” betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad β€” better
Requires iOS16.4 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size44 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVITO BICABilal Karadeniz

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Thumb Scroll

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Pro$3.997 Days
  • Annual Pro – Offer$24.991 Year
  • Annual Pro3 Days trial$44.991 Year
None

TaskGate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thumb Scroll free?
Thumb Scroll is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TaskGate free?
TaskGate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Thumb Scroll or TaskGate have ads?
Neither Thumb Scroll nor TaskGate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thumb Scroll or TaskGate?
Thumb Scroll ships an update every 6 days, and TaskGate monthly. Most recently, Thumb Scroll was updated on October 16, 2026 and TaskGate on October 18, 2026.

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