Comparison

Stop Doomscrolling vs Vowlock

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

Head to head
About

Stop Doomscrolling

Features
Read full description

Don't block apps. Request them. Your social apps โ€” Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube โ€” are locked by default. To open one, you have to ask. And you only get 15 minutes. No willpower required. No streaks to maintain. No dopamine reset rituals. Just intention. Your social media apps stay locked by default. When you actually need them โ€” to check a DM, post something, or browse with purpose โ€” open a 15-minute window. When time's up, they lock again automatically. No willpower required. No complicated schedules. Just a simple daily quota of intentional sessions. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps you want to block 2. They stay locked around the clock 3. Tap "Open Window" for 15 minutes of access 4. Apps lock again automatically when time's up FREE โ€ข 2 windows per day โ€ข All core blocking features โ€ข Stats and streak tracking PRO โ€ข 10 windows per day โ€ข $4.99/month or $39.99/year DMOnly uses Apple's Screen Time technology to enforce blocks at the system level โ€” it works even if you close the app or restart your phone. Your data stays on your device. No account required. No data collected. https://dmonly.app/privacy.html https://dmonly.app/terms.html

About

Vowlock

Features
Read full description

Vowlock is a strict app blocker for people who are done negotiating with themselves. Block apps behind Apple's Screen Time shields, seal the block with a vow, and make breaking it cost something real. Less brain rot, more evenings that are actually yours. Most app blockers are a toggle you flip off the moment an urge hits. No iOS blocker is unbreakable, so Vowlock is built on a harder truth: breaking one should cost something. With Vowlock you do not just block distracting apps. You seal a vow. SEAL A VOW, BLOCK APPS FOR AS LONG AS IT RUNS Choose the apps that eat your evenings: the feeds, the games, the one you open without deciding to, and any website you would rather not open. Choose how long the vow runs, from fifteen minutes to a full day. Then seal it with a short ritual: one line that is true for you, one spoken plea recorded on camera, and a heartbeat pulsing through the phone as you commit. From that second, your chosen apps go dark behind Apple's Screen Time shields. Think of it as a focus mode you cannot swipe away. AN APP LIMIT THAT ACTUALLY HOLDS Vowlock is an app limiter without a daily allowance to renegotiate. The app time limit holds for the whole window you chose, not until you tap Ignore. That is the difference between a screen time app that asks you to stop scrolling and a screen time blocker that keeps its word. BREAKING COSTS SOMETHING An app blocker you can switch off in two taps is only a suggestion. Want out early? Vowlock will not shame you, but it will not make it easy. You sit through the break ritual, feel that same heartbeat again, and watch the recording of yourself asking you not to. Most urges do not survive that mirror. Willpower is easier to find when the version of you who made the promise is looking back. STOP DOOM SCROLLING, STAY FOCUSED Use Vowlock as a distraction blocker to stop doomscrolling at night, to stay focused through a work block, or as a social media blocker for the whole weekend. Doom scrolling ends when the feed is simply not there. Need a reels blocker? Vowlock takes Instagram, TikTok or YouTube off the table whole, the app itself rather than one tab inside it, so the reels and shorts go with it. Self control is a muscle. Every kept vow is one more rep, and every rep teaches your thumb that the feed can wait. THE PROMISE WALL Every vow becomes a glass pane on your wall. Kept vows shine. A broken pane does not shame you; it reforges after seven kept days. Over weeks, the wall becomes a quiet record of who you are becoming: discipline you can look at, rather than a streak you dread losing. DOPAMINE DETOX ON YOUR OWN TERMS Run a phone detox for one evening, a dopamine detox for a weekend, or a longer digital detox to reduce screen time for good. Vowlock is a digital detox app for phone addiction that does not pretend the cure is a chart of your usage. Addiction to the feed loosens its grip when the feed is sealed behind a promise. Recurring schedules seal the same vow on the days and hours you choose, a home screen widget keeps your progress in sight, a Lock Screen countdown keeps the running vow in view, and weekly patterns show when your urges cluster so the next vow covers that hour. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR IPHONE Vowlock is a self control app, not a surveillance app. Your pleas and your app list stay on this device. No account. No upload. Apple's Screen Time technology means Vowlock cannot even see the names of the apps you block. Vowlock is the app blocker for people who are done negotiating with themselves. Seal the vow. Keep it. Watch the wall fill. Requires iOS 17 or later and Screen Time permission. Free to download; some features are available through an optional subscription, with details shown in the app before any purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://vowlock-app.web.app/privacy Support: https://vowlock-app.web.app

Screenshots

Stop Doomscrolling4 screens
Vowlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Stop Doomscrolling at none against Vowlock's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Stop Doomscrolling sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Vowlock sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stop Doomscrolling ships an update weekly, Vowlock every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Stop Doomscrolling versus Vowlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStop DoomscrollingVowlock
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS1717.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size6 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerๆ‰ฟๅฎ‡ ไธ‡Eren Demirkesen

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Stop Doomscrolling

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
3 purchases

Vowlock

Subscriptions2
  • Plus Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Plus Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Plus Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Stop Doomscrolling free?
Stop Doomscrolling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vowlock free?
Vowlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Stop Doomscrolling or Vowlock have ads?
Vowlock shows ads; Stop Doomscrolling does not.
Which is updated more often, Stop Doomscrolling or Vowlock?
Stop Doomscrolling ships an update weekly, and Vowlock every 4 days. Most recently, Stop Doomscrolling was updated on October 19, 2026 and Vowlock on October 19, 2026.

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