Think First vs Orby
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Think First
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You reach for your phone – and 40 minutes later you no longer know why. Think First puts a short, deliberate moment right before that. No lecturing, no permanent lockout. The app stays closed until you have taken a moment – then the decision is yours. SETUP IN THREE STEPS • Pick your app from the list – around 70 well-known apps are built in • Link it in the system dialog so iOS knows which app you mean • Allow notifications – they take you from the blocked app to your countdown HOW YOUR MOMENT WORKS • You tap the app – it is blocked and shows its name • "Start my moment" sends you a notification • You tap it, the countdown runs, then you decide • Finally you set how long you need: 5, 15 or 30 minutes • The app then opens by itself – and locks again once your time is used HOW LONG DO YOU NEED? After the countdown you set yourself a time budget. Real usage counts, not the clock: if the phone sits on the table in between, your budget doesn't run down. Once it's used up the app locks itself again. YOUR APPS, BY NAME AND ICON Every protected app appears the way you know it: in statistics, in notifications and on the lock screen. So you see which app calls you how often – not just an anonymous total. WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU NEED IT FOR • Before the app opens you type, in one sentence, what you actually intend to do • Apple Intelligence reads along directly on your iPhone and checks that you really answered – not whether your reason is good enough • Later you see which sentence you tell yourself most often • Your text never leaves your device. Requires iPhone 15 Pro or newer with iOS 26 STAYING WITH IT, MADE REWARDING • Levels, XP and streaks for every impulse you win, 12 badges • Streak protection: once a week a day may drop out • Add friends and compare the week – free, up to 50 • Share your wins as an image: your numbers, your streak, your badges AT A GLANCE A home screen widget with your numbers per app – and one for the lock screen, right where you reach for the phone. EMERGENCY? SOS Press and hold the app icon, confirm three times: everything is open for 5 minutes. Then everything locks itself again – even if you never open Think First. PRIVACY • Your statistics stay on your iPhone. No account, no tracking, no ads • Think First never learns which apps you pick – Apple does not reveal that • The friends feature is optional and data-minimal FREE AND PREMIUM Free, no account, no ads: • Three protected apps with the deliberate moment • State your intention (iPhone 15 Pro or newer) • Instant “Focus now” sessions • Your numbers for today • Levels, XP, streaks and badges • Friends and leaderboard, up to 50 With Premium: • Hard Mode – the lock can't be clicked away while it runs • Daily limits: “30 minutes of social”, then it's done • Focus schedules: “Study 8–15, Mon–Fri” • As many apps as you like • Growing wait: every further reach costs more time today • Impulse quota: “Instagram three times a day, no more” • Time profiles, your own wait and question per app • Advanced statistics including CSV export • 11 themes, 10 app icons, widgets Both subscriptions start with 7 days free: €49.99 a year or €6.99 a month. Or €89.99 once, with no subscription at all. Already subscribed to Premium? Your current price stays. Think First Premium is available as a yearly (€49.99) or monthly (€6.99) subscription – both with the first 7 days free – or as a one-time purchase (€89.99, no subscription). Payment is charged to your Apple Account on confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://hbj-solutions.com/thinkfirst/privacy
Orby
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Orby turns your screen time into a single glowing light. Every morning your Orby starts full. As you spend time in the apps you chose to watch, it fades. Reach 2 hours 30 minutes and it goes dark. At midnight it fills back up and the day starts again. That's the whole idea. One number, one light, no dashboards to study. SEE IT WITHOUT OPENING THE APP Put your Orby on your Home Screen or Lock Screen and it's just there, quietly dimming through the day. Most people check it in passing and decide to put the phone down. That glance is the point. BRING FRIENDS INTO IT Habits are easier to keep when someone can see them. With Orby Friends you can connect with the people you actually want to be accountable to, and you'll each see the other's light. You see their light, and how many apps they chose to track — never which ones. That's it. There is no feed, no posts, no messages, no comments, no likes, no streaks to defend. Which apps you use, and how long you spent in each, never leave your phone: Apple seals them away, and Orby cannot read them either. The count is there so nobody can quietly stop tracking the app they scroll most and still look untouched. Adding someone takes a code or a QR scan — hold yours up, or point the camera at theirs. Holding a code only lets you ask; they see nothing until they accept. You can also choose to be told when a friend's light drops to a percentage you care about, or when they start tracking fewer apps, so you can check in when it actually matters. PRIVATE WHEN YOU NEED IT Some days you don't want to explain yourself. Turn on Private Mode and friends simply see "Private" instead of a number, until you turn it back off. BUILT SO IT CAN'T SPY ON YOU Orby measures time through Apple's Screen Time framework, which is designed so apps like this can't see inside it. Orby never learns which apps you selected, never sees your usage history, and never reads what you did in them. It only finds out when your daily total crosses each minute — and that is all it has to share. There are no accounts. No email, no password, no sign-up. You get a random friend code, and it only works for people you hand it to. Holding your code lets someone ask to connect; they see nothing at all unless you accept. No advertising. No tracking. No analytics about how you use the app. Orby collects crash reports so it can be fixed when it breaks, and those carry no personal data. FREE, AND WHAT ISN'T Your own Orby is free, forever. So are your widgets, your notifications, your colours and your app icon. Orby Friends is a subscription that unlocks connecting with people: adding friends, sharing your code, seeing their lights, friend notifications and the Friends widget. - Monthly - Yearly, which includes a 7-day free trial One flat price. It doesn't change with how many friends you add. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Terms: https://orbyfriends.com/terms Privacy: https://orbyfriends.com/privacy REQUIRES SCREEN TIME Orby needs Screen Time access to measure anything. You'll be asked during setup, and you choose which apps count. Without it, your Orby stays full and nothing happens.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orby at none against Think First's 2. Think First's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, 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. Think First sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Orby asks for nothing beyond the download.
Think First ships an update every 4 days, Orby fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Think First | Orby |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HBJ Solutions | Jacobi Colombani |
In-app purchases
Think First
- Think First Premium$2.991 Month
- Think First Premium$3.99
Orby
No in-app purchases





