Normal vs Pause

Normal actually makes you use your phone less by keeping selected apps blocked by default. To unblock you have to physically scan an NFC Tag, QR Code or use a Location. This can be any NFC Tag, QR Code, Barcode, Location you set in the app. This 'opt-in' approach is backed by research and actual use. Normal is made to be the most powerful screen time app available. Saving your hours of your day. It's fully open-source and no features are behind paywalls. It can also be made to be impossible to bypass. Highlights of Normal: - Block Apps via NFC Tags, QR Codes and Barcodes - Use ANY NFC Tag, QR Code or Barcode - Unblock/Block specific Apps - Timed Unblocks - Emergency Unblocks - Scheduling - Complete Granular Control - Can make it as easy or as hard to bypass Normal was made because of issues with some other screen time apps. - Other screen time apps are easy to bypass. Normal can be made to be impossible to bypass, or easy to bypass. You have complete control. - Most other screen time apps work on opt-out strategy, where you have access to all apps, then lose access through usage. - Normal works on opt-in strategy. The apps you have blocked are always blocked, to use them you have to physically get up and scan your NFC tag or QR Code. - Most screen time apps are paid, either one-time or more commonly, subscriptions. There are no paid features. Everything is free and open-source. - Normal is privacy-focused. We don't log any data, everything stays on device. Since we're open source, you can check our code and confirm. - Normal allows timed unlocks. Other NFC/QR Code blockers don't have this. If you want to use an app for 15min, you can unlock it for 15min only. You don't have to remember to reblock. Normal was made by actual users, research on smartphone addiction and developments in dumbphones in-mind. If you want to turn your iPhone into a dumbphone, you can. Block all smart apps, block the app store, prevent disabling normal (via preventing delete and the shortcuts trick). Now you have a dumbphone, which you can't make smart without your NFC Tag (which you can make as difficult as you need). If you want a semi-dumbphone, you can. Do the above but have some apps like maps, music, messaging, etc. If you're a professional who needs access to apps distracting sometimes, Normal is for you! Block all distractions with Normal. Set schedules for you work apps or used timed unblocks. Need 15min to post content or check email? You can do that! You just have to physically get up and scan your NFC Tag, QR Code, or Barcode. The apps will automatically reblock after your timer is over. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Most blockers let you turn them off the second you want to. Pause doesn't have to. Pick the apps. Pick how hard they are to reach. Get on with your life. DESIGNED FOR REAL LIFE Studying — A Time Limit on social apps, so a five-minute check can't turn into fifty. Deep work — Start a Session before you sit down and the apps that break your focus are gone until you end it. Evenings — A Schedule that blocks the doomscroll apps every night after dinner, automatically. The one app you reach for without thinking — A Friction Lock. Never blocked outright, just never one tap away again. When you know you'll cave — Strict Mode. Once it's running, it can't be switched off, edited, or quietly emptied out until it ends. FIVE WAYS TO BLOCK Session — Block now, for 30 minutes or until you say stop. Schedule — Block on a repeating timetable. Nine to five on weekdays, or every evening after eight. Time Limit — Give an app a daily budget. Forty-five minutes, then it's gone for the day. Open Limit — Cap how many times you can open it. Five opens a day, not fifty. Friction Lock — Solve a challenge first, every single time. Mix them. A Time Limit on Instagram, a Schedule across your work hours, a Friction Lock on the one you reach for without thinking. APP LISTS Build a list once — individual apps, whole categories, and websites — then point any rule at it. Change the list and every rule using it updates. WEBSITES TOO Add domains by hand. Safari and other browsers get the same shield your apps do. UNLOCKS, IF YOU WANT THEM Allow yourself a set number of unlocks per day, each lasting as long as you choose. Or allow none at all. YOUR OWN WORDS ON THE BLOCK SCREEN The shield shows a line you picked. Choose from the built-in set or write your own. INSIGHTS See where the hours actually went, and how often you stayed out. RULE HEALTH One screen listing every rule and whether it is genuinely armed. No silent failures. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account. No email. No sign-up. Your app lists, rules and history stay on your device. Pause uses Apple's Screen Time framework, so your app selections are handled by iOS and never sent to us. REQUIRES iOS 17 or later, and Screen Time permission — Pause cannot block anything without it.