LOXN vs Sanctum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LOXN
Read full descriptionHide full description
Stop killing time before time kills you. Our generation is cooked. We spend hours every day quietly handing our lives over to algorithms designed to keep us infinitely scrolling. You've already tried to cut back, and you've failed. That's why we built LOXN. LOXN is the strict app blocker that genuinely doesn't let you cheat. No 30-second delay timers, no easy bypass popups, no passcode workarounds. Set the rule once, and LOXN enforces it, even when willpower doesn't. WHY LOXN WORKS WHERE OTHERS FAIL: • Actually Strict System-Level Blocks: Real OS-level blocking, not a VPN overlay. The app genuinely cannot be opened. Blocked is blocked, full stop. • The Auto-Relock Enforcer: Unlocked an app to quickly post or reply? Set a custom relock timer (1 to 10 minutes) and LOXN catches you before you fall into the scroll, relocking automatically when time's up. • Unlock Cooldowns: Set a cooldown window between unlocks (5 to 15 minutes), so by the time you can get back in, you've already started doing something else. • Your Unlock, Your Way: Unlock with an NFC card or tag, with Face ID, or with a press-and-hold button. Make it exactly as strict as you need. • Focus Mode: Start a timed deep-work session and your distractions stay locked until it ends. No early exits, no "just five minutes." • Morning Lock: Keep your feeds locked when you wake up, so you get up and get going before you get online. • Scroll Myself to Sleep: A controlled wind-down window before bed, then everything locks again automatically. Once per night, so it stays a wind-down and not a loophole. • Creator Mode: Need to actually post, not scroll? A temporary, partial unlock for the apps you create in: publish, reply, and get out. • Streaks: Set a daily budget for time in your blocked apps. Stay under it and your streak grows. A month-at-a-glance calendar shows every day you held the line, and monthly freezes cover the days life gets in the way. • True Emergency Friction: Exactly 3 emergency unlocks per month, 2 hours each. Real emergencies only. • Total Data Privacy: Everything stays on your device. No account, no server, no email required. All logic runs locally, and LOXN never learns which apps you block. LOXN requires a subscription: unlimited apps, website and category blocking, and every mode above. Available weekly, monthly, or annually, each with a 3-day free trial. Stop wasting years of your life. Reclaim your focus, protect your mental well-being, and stay locked in. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://lockin.cz/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://lockin.cz/privacy-policy
Sanctum
This app helps you regain focus by locking your phone during designated sessions with no easy bypass. It offers scheduled blocking and daily limits to manage app usage and includes a reflective practice for early exits.
- Unbreakable session lock
- Scheduled blocking
- Daily app limits
- Reflective early exit practice
- Immersive themes
- Zero configuration
Read full descriptionHide full description
Two months. That's what four hours of screen time a day costs you every year. Sanctum sets you free. Press start and your phone locks. No pause. No snooze. No "five more minutes." There is no button that lets you back in. Most app blockers leave an easy back door. A skip. An "extra time" unlock. So the scroll always wins, because it always can, in one tap. Sanctum has no quick exit. Leaving early takes a short mindful practice first. Weakness is never one tap away. WHY THE COMMITMENT MATTERS Willpower fails when you need it most. Cutting screen time is a decision your phone makes you re-take every minute. Sanctum moves the choice to before you start, then holds the line. HOW IT WORKS Choose a duration. Press start. Sanctum will block apps system-wide until the timer runs out. Leaving early means completing a short reflection first, and by then the urge has usually passed. No categories, no decisions once you begin. Need one app for a few minutes? Unblock it: it opens, the timer runs, and the app blocker comes back on its own. It is the simplest way to block apps you will ever use. BLOCK APPS ON AUTOPILOT Beyond one-off locks, Sanctum can block apps and cut screen time on its own: - Schedules. Block apps automatically on the days and hours you choose. Work mornings, study blocks, sleep. - Daily App Limits. Set app limits that cap screen time on the apps you pick. Shared budget or one each. When the time runs out, they close until midnight. SOCIAL MEDIA SCREEN TIME, HANDLED Social media is engineered to beat your willpower. Block social media for an hour, put social media behind daily app limits, and your screen time falls without a fight. BUILD BETTER PHONE HABITS Every lock you finish and every urge you resist scores five traits: Stillness, Discipline, Restraint, Grounding and Breath. Watch them rise as your screen time falls. WHEN AN URGE HITS Reach for a blocked app and Sanctum meets you with a moment, not a wall: a short practice. Sit in stillness, breathe it out, walk it off, or write the urge down and watch it burn. By the time it is done the pull is usually gone, and the stress with it. YOU'RE NEVER TRAPPED Calls, the camera and the essential system apps iOS protects keep working, so you can reach someone anytime. Sanctum adds friction to a habit, never a lock on your life. BEAUTIFUL LIVING THEMES Sanctum is built to be experienced. New immersive scenes arrive regularly, each one transporting you into a living natural world, with a large ambient clock that helps calm the mind. Lock your screen time and your phone becomes a beautiful desk clock with calming sleep sounds, not a thing to escape. WHO IT'S FOR - Anyone whose focus is stolen by social media and doomscrolling - ADHD and executive-function struggles, where "just put it down" never works - Anyone whose screen time keeps climbing no matter which app blocker they try PRIVATE BY DESIGN Offline-first and ad-free. No account, no cloud. Sanctum is built on Apple's own Screen Time framework, and your screen time data never leaves your device. FEATURES - Uncompromising system-wide screen time blocker. No pause, no snooze, no one-tap exit - Block apps right now, on a schedule, or behind daily app limits - Hard Mode: the strictest app blocker setting, no unblocks until the timer ends - Timed unblocks: one app opens for a few minutes, then the block returns by itself - Block social media on the days and hours you set - Cap screen time per app with shared or individual app limits - Streaks, medals and five traits that track your progress - Live Activity: your countdown and your unblock, right on your Lock Screen Sanctum is the screen time app for people done negotiating. Block apps, set daily app limits, tame social media, and watch your screen time finally drop. Not just an app blocker. Your sanctuary from your screen. Learn more at https://sanctum.clovinyx.io Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
LOXN and Sanctum are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. LOXN sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Sanctum sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
LOXN ships an update every 8 days, Sanctum every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LOXN | Sanctum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matej Maly | Clovinyx |
In-app purchases
LOXN
- Lock In Premium3 Days trial$1.997 Days
- Lock In Premium3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Annual3 Days trial$34.991 Year
Sanctum
- Sanctum Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
- Sanctum Pro Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Sanctum Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Sanctum Pro Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Sanctum Pro Yearly$59.991 Year
- Sanctum Pro Lifetime$179.99









