Blink vs Refrain

Blink is a calm 20-20-20 eye-care timer that protects your eyes while you focus. Every 20 minutes it nudges you to look away for 20 seconds — the eye-care habit eye doctors recommend — so you rest your eyes at the right moment, not when it's most disruptive. Prefer a classic Pomodoro cadence? That's built in too. EVERYTHING IS FREE All themes, all app icons, all sounds, light and dark mode — unlocked from the very first launch. Blink is free to use. Premium simply unlocks unlimited focus sessions. That's the only thing it does — no locked features, no paywalled themes. HOW IT WORKS By default, Blink follows the 20-20-20 rhythm: 20 minutes of focus, then a 20-second eye break — look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away. Want longer work blocks? Switch to the Pomodoro rhythm (25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute rest, and a longer break every fourth block) with the eye break folded in. TWO MODES • Strict: the eye break pauses your focus timer. A 20-minute focus block means 20 real focused minutes. • Flow: the eye break is a soft, dismissible overlay. The timer keeps running — for when you're in the zone and just want a gentle nudge. NEVER A SURPRISE Blink never lurches into a break. A gentle heads-up appears before each one, so you can snooze or keep going and finish your thought first. ALWAYS ONE GLANCE AWAY Keep an eye on your focus block without opening the app. Blink's Live Activity puts your countdown on the Lock Screen, and the Dynamic Island keeps it a glance away on iPhone — start, pause, resume, or skip a break without leaving what you're doing. GENTLE BY DESIGN No noisy alerts. Soft chimes and light haptics, both optional. Blink stays quiet and calm so it never gets in the way of your work. PRIVACY FIRST No Blink account. No ads. Your session data stays on your device, and purchases are handled by Apple. SHORTCUTS & SIRI Start a session, pause, skip a break, or check your stats — from the Shortcuts app or with a Siri command. Works with Automations too, always free. Blink Premium unlocks unlimited focus sessions. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Auto-renewing options renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period; manage or cancel anytime in Settings. A one-time Lifetime option is also available. TERMS OF USE https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Refrain is a private focus timer for people who want to start with intent and end with an honest reflection. Before each session, write what you are choosing to focus on. Run the timer. When you finish, rate the session and add a short note. Refrain turns those sessions into a quiet history of rescued time, recent intents, reflection notes, and weekly progress. WHY REFRAIN - Intent prompt before every focus session. - Flexible focus durations from quick resets to deep-work blocks. - Local focus rules for the distractions you want to avoid. - End-of-session reflection with rating and optional notes. - History and stats to review rescued time, sessions, and trends. - Private by design: no account, no ads, no location tracking, no analytics. FREE AND PRO The free version includes the core timer, intent journal, daily focus cap, and starter history. Refrain Pro is an auto-renewable subscription available monthly or yearly. Pro unlocks unlimited focus time, more focus rules, full history, richer reports, and advanced focus-session options. Refrain does not use system-level app blocking, ScreenTime permissions, HealthKit, or location tracking. It is built as a reliable private focus timer that keeps your data on device. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/