SquatLock vs CHESS/BLOCK
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SquatLock
This app requires users to perform squats to unlock their phone's applications. It's designed to encourage physical activity by integrating exercise into daily phone usage.
- App locking functionality
- Squat-based unlocking mechanism
- Encourages physical activity
- Customizable app access
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Lock apps → do squats → unlock them.
CHESS/BLOCK
Block distracting apps and earn back screen time by playing chess puzzles. Personalized lessons and puzzles adapt to your skill level, helping you focus on what matters. Manage your app usage and improve your chess game simultaneously.
- Block distracting apps
- Earn screen time with chess puzzles
- Personalized chess lessons
- Adaptive puzzle difficulty
- Integrates with Apple Screen Time
- No account required
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Block distracting apps. Earn screen time through chess. CHESS/BLOCK turns a scrolling break into puzzles and guided lessons matched to your level. Choose distracting apps to pause, complete chess puzzles or guided lessons, and earn time back for the apps you selected. HOW IT WORKS • Choose the apps you want to pause. • Start from your current chess level. • Solve a puzzle or complete a beginner lesson. • Earn a personalized amount of screen time for each solved puzzle. • Keep practicing to build your streak. CHESS PRACTICE FOR YOUR LEVEL Never played before? Learn how every piece moves through guided lessons before you see a rated puzzle. Already play? Set your approximate rating and training focus for puzzles matched to you. Add your Chess.com username to turn eligible mistakes from recent public games into private practice puzzles. Optional Lichess connection can use your rating to personalize difficulty and sync eligible puzzle results. Manual rating and focus controls are always available. SCREEN TIME ON YOUR TERMS CHESS/BLOCK uses Apple’s Screen Time controls to pause only the apps you select. Your earned time, app choices, and chess progress stay under your control. You can change your schedule, restore purchases, or stop blocking from the app. No ads. No CHESS/BLOCK account required. CHESS/BLOCK requires an active subscription to start new puzzle-powered focus sessions. App selection, purchase restoration, stopping, and emergency recovery remain available without an active subscription. Subscription terms and current eligibility are shown before purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: SquatLock at free with in-app purchases against CHESS/BLOCK's subscription. SquatLock also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. SquatLock sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CHESS/BLOCK sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for SquatLock against 5.0 for CHESS/BLOCK. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
SquatLock ships an update every 4 days, CHESS/BLOCK every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SquatLock | CHESS/BLOCK |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Harry Chung | Ankur Gupta LLC |
In-app purchases
SquatLock
- SquatLock Lifetime$4.99
CHESS/BLOCK
- CHESS/BLOCK Weekly7 Days trial$4.997 Days
- CHESS/BLOCK Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Annual Launch Offer1 Year trial$29.991 Year









