Forge vs Screen Time Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Forge
This app helps you manage screen time by requiring physical exercise to unlock app usage. Earn minutes by doing push-ups or squats, with your phone's camera counting reps. Once your earned time expires, apps are blocked again.
- Exercise-based screen time
- Camera rep counting
- App blocking
- Gamified progress and leaderboards
- Customizable time allowances
- Privacy-focused on-device processing
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Forge is an app blocker that makes you earn your screen time with exercise. Do push-ups or squats, the camera counts every rep on your iPhone, and your apps unlock for the time you earned. Pick the apps that eat your day: social media, video, games. When your daily free allowance runs out, Forge blocks them. Want more time? Do the reps. Effort first, screen after. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that steal your time. 2. Choose how many minutes you want. 3. Do your reps. The camera counts every one on device. 4. Your apps unlock. When time runs out, the shield comes back. WHY FORGE - Exercise-based: your body is the key, not a pause screen you can tap through - Free to start, no subscription - One-time Pro purchase, family sharing included - No account required EARN IT LIKE A GAME Forge Ranks: climb from Spark to Titan of the Forge as your lifetime score grows. Daily streaks keep you honest. A worldwide leaderboard by country. A FORGED stamp every time you finish a set. YOU SET THE RULES Free minutes per day if you want them: strict, balanced, or generous. Everything beyond that is earned. A three stage friction gate stops rage quitting. PRO, ONCE, FOREVER Squats are free forever. Forge Lifetime adds push-up mode, walking mode (100 steps = 1 minute), full statistics, encrypted backup, and removes every ad. PRIVATE BY DESIGN The camera never records: pose detection runs entirely on your iPhone. No video is stored or uploaded. Forge yourself stronger.
Screen Time Tracker
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Bound helps you understand WHERE your phone time actually goes. Most screen time apps show you a total. Bound shows you the PATTERN. There's a crucial difference between the 2 hours you intentionally spent on email and navigation, and the 2.5 hours you spent unconsciously scrolling social media with no memory of deciding to pick up your phone. Bound separates these. Once you see the split, you can't unsee it. LOG EVERY PICKUP IN SECONDS Every time you reach for your phone, log it: intentional (a specific task) or unconscious (habit, boredom, reflex). Add the app, the duration, the trigger. After 7 days, a pattern emerges that you can't argue with. Most people discover that 60-70% of their daily pickups were unconscious - pure habit with no intent behind them. SET YOUR DAILY INTENTION Each morning, set your intention before you pick up your phone. Which apps are on your list? What are your boundaries for today? No Instagram before noon. Phone-free dinner. No bedtime scroll. The intention is a filter - every pickup runs through it. "Am I here because I chose to be?" PICKUP PATTERN ANALYSIS (Pro) See exactly when your worst habits hit, broken down by hour of day. Most people have a 7-10 PM peak - idle hands during TV time. Your data shows YOUR peak. The pattern is the insight. The insight is the leverage. Knowing that 23% of your unconscious pickups happen in the evening is the first step to owning the evening. APP-BY-APP BREAKDOWN (Pro) Which apps are stealing the most time? You probably think you check Instagram for 2 minutes per session. The data says: 7.4 minutes. 7 sessions per day. 52 minutes daily. The perception gap between how long you THINK you spend versus how long you ACTUALLY spend is the core of the screen time problem. Bound closes that gap with numbers you can't rationalize away. PHONE-FREE BLOCKS Set a 30, 60, or 90-minute phone-free block. Put the phone down. Walk, read, cook, talk, or just exist without it. When the timer ends, check in: how did the block go? What did you do instead? Over time, the block log becomes evidence that life is better without the screen. The first 5 minutes are the hardest. After that, you forget the phone exists. AI SCREEN COACH (Pro) Ask anything about your phone habits. Describe a pattern you can't break. Get personalized, evidence-based strategies grounded in YOUR specific data - not generic willpower advice. Powered by Grok AI. The AI understands habit loops, variable reward schedules, and behavioral psychology. It won't tell you screens are bad. It'll show you what YOUR data is costing you. WEEKLY REFLECTIONS (Pro) At the end of each week, see your trend. Is unconscious usage going down? Are phone-free blocks getting longer? Which day was your worst? The weekly reflection turns raw data into a clear picture of progress - or a clear signal to change the strategy. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS All data stored locally with optional iCloud sync. No ads. No data selling. No account required to start. FREE vs. PRO Free: daily intention setter, full pickup log, phone-free block timer, intentional vs. unconscious daily breakdown, block history, phone addiction psychology library Pro: hourly pickup pattern analysis, app-by-app time breakdown, weekly trend charts, weekly reflection prompts, AI Screen Coach --- "I tracked my unconscious phone use for one week: 21.7 hours. That's 47 days per year on my phone without choosing to be there. Bound showed me exactly when and why - and I reclaimed my evenings." Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Screen Time Tracker at none against Forge's shown. Forge's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Forge sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Screen Time Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Forge ships an update every 5 days, Screen Time Tracker every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Forge | Screen Time Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Taoufik Jabbari | Karol Jaworski |
In-app purchases
Forge
- Forge Lifetime$39.99
Screen Time Tracker
- Bound Pro$4.991 Month
- Bound Pro1 Year trial$39.991 Year
- Bound Pro$39.991 Year
Questions
Is Forge free?
Is Screen Time Tracker free?
Do Forge or Screen Time Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Forge or Screen Time Tracker?
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