Serein vs Ransom

Serein locks the apps that pull you away, for as long as you decide. Calm and quiet, with no guilt trips. Tell Serein why you're here. If you're studying, you get Study mode, built around focus sessions. If you want to scroll less, sleep better or get work done, you get Control mode, built around rules that run on their own. You can switch any time. STUDY MODE • Focus sessions and Pomodoro rounds, with your distracting apps locked until you're done. • Scenes and sounds to study to: lo-fi, piano, rain, café, waves and more. • Exam countdown: pick your exam and see the days left on Home and in a widget. Sit full mock tests with everything locked. (In the US and India: SAT, ACT, AP, PSAT 10, JEE Main, NEET UG, CBSE boards and CUET UG.) • Study with friends: a weekly leaderboard, and study rooms where you focus together. Get a notification when a friend starts one. • A streak, milestones and a weekly report. CONTROL MODE • Schedules: lock apps at set times, like bedtime or work hours. They run even when Serein is closed. • Time limits: a daily budget for a group of apps. • Open limits: a few opens a day, then they're locked until tomorrow. • Wind down: one tap sets up a calmer evening, a strict bedtime and an optional calm morning. ONE BREATH BEFORE YOU UNLOCK When you really need an app, Serein asks for one slow breath first, then what it's for. Only that app unlocks, for the minutes you choose, and it locks again on its own. A Live Activity shows the time left. AS STRICT AS YOU LIKE • Flexible: unlock any time, after a breath. • Firm: two unlocks a day. • Strict: no unlocks, no ending early, and apps can't be deleted while it runs. • Rainy day: one hour with everything unlocked, once a week. Your streak stays safe. SEE HOW YOU'RE DOING A daily focus score, a timeline of your day, how your sessions felt and why you reached for your phone. Widgets, Siri, Control Centre and Focus filters keep Serein one tap away. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Serein never learns which apps you lock. Apple's Screen Time keeps your choices on your phone. You only need an account to study with friends. SUBSCRIPTION Serein is a monthly or yearly subscription. The yearly plan starts with a free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. It renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://getserein.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getserein.app/privacy

Get your evenings back. Keep your apps. Ransom locks Instagram, TikTok and whatever else eats your day, and asks for push-ups, squats or steps before it opens them. Most of the time you'll decide it isn't worth ten push-ups. That is the whole trick. WHAT CHANGES You stop opening apps by reflex. A set standing between you and the feed makes you notice your hand reaching for the phone, and noticing is most of the battle. The hour before bed comes back. Set a wind-down rule and scrolling takes twice the reps right when you'd normally lose the evening to it. You get a bit stronger without meaning to. Ten push-ups a few times a day adds up faster than you'd think. You watch the number drop. The Progress tab shows today against this time yesterday, and your whole week. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that eat your day. 2. Rex, a buff T-rex with tiny arms, locks them. 3. Do a set. The front camera counts push-ups and squats. The pedometer counts steps. 4. A set earns coins, and coins are minutes, one for one. 15 coins opens your apps for 15 minutes. Spend them on whatever you like. When they run out, your apps lock again until your next set. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR PHONE No account, no sign-up. Your screen time never leaves your phone. The camera looks at your form on the device and never records, saves or uploads a frame. Your screen time is your business. EVERY DAY IS A FRESH START Coins clear at midnight, so unspent minutes never pile up. Had a bad day and scrolled through all of it? Tomorrow starts at zero, and Rex is not going to bring it up. REX COUNTS PROPERLY Half a push-up is not a push-up. The camera looks for real depth, so a bounce doesn't earn a minute. It also means the minutes you do earn actually feel earned. RULES FOR THE HOURS THAT MATTER Name an hour. Dinner, gym time, wind down. During it, opening your apps takes twice the reps. You still can, it just takes more work. PICK YOUR LEVEL Chill, Standard or Beast. Start easy. Move up when ten push-ups stops being a reason to put the phone down. WHAT IT DOESN'T DO It doesn't delete your apps. It doesn't shame you. It doesn't nag. Full access is a subscription that renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends. Manage it in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms: https://lucascoles.github.io/ransom/terms/ Privacy: https://lucascoles.github.io/ransom/privacy/