Comparison

Screen Time Control vs ReadUnlock

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

Head to head
About

Screen Time Control

Read full description

Guardian Reader turns screen time into something your child earns by reading real books out loud. You choose which apps get locked. To unlock them, your child photographs a page of any printed book, reads it aloud, and the app checks that they really read it, word by word, right on the iPhone. No account. No servers. Nothing tracked. HOW IT WORKS 1. Scan the pages. One photo per page, with a framing guide so only what you point at counts. 2. Read them out loud, straight through. The app listens and matches what it hears against the pages, live, so your child watches the percentage climb as they read. 3. Screen time unlocks. Pass the reading and the apps open for the minutes they earned. When the time runs out, they lock again by themselves. IT CATCHES THE SHORTCUTS KIDS ACTUALLY TAKE This is the part other reward apps skip. Guardian Reader does not take your child's word for it, and it does not ask a quiz that can be guessed. โ€ข Reading honestly lands far above the pass mark. Improvising, mumbling or playing a video lands near zero. โ€ข Stumbles, repeats and small mistakes still pass. It checks that they read, not that they were perfect. โ€ข A page already scanned in the same session cannot be scanned again. โ€ข You move the pass mark yourself, so a five-year-old and a teenager are both treated fairly. BUILT FOR A HABIT, NOT A PUNISHMENT โ€ข Streaks and medals, from the first day to a full year โ€ข Progress by day, month and year โ€ข Every session saved with what was actually read โ€ข A four-week reading plan built from your child's age and daily screen time FOR PARENTS โ€ข Lock any app or an entire category using Apple's Screen Time โ€ข Set the pages per session and the minutes earned โ€ข Settings sit behind a parent PIN, deliberately separate from Face ID: the face enrolled on that iPhone belongs to your child โ€ข Export a PDF reading report to hand to a teacher (Premium) PRIVATE BY DESIGN Reading is verified on the device. Your child's voice is never recorded, uploaded or shared, and photos of book pages never leave the iPhone. There is no account to create, no server of ours, and nothing is tracked, sold or shared. FREE AND PREMIUM Free: verified reading aloud, screen time rewards, streaks, medals and the last 30 days of progress history, with one blocked app. Premium: unlimited blocked apps and categories, your full progress history, plus PDF reading reports. Available as a monthly subscription, as a yearly subscription with a 3-day free trial, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Requires an iPhone with iOS 18 or later. Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Subscriptions Guardian Reader Premium is available as a monthly or a yearly auto-renewable subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. The yearly plan includes a 3-day free trial; the monthly plan does not. Prices are shown inside the app before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple Account on confirmation. A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it at any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://dezeo.lat/guardianreader/privacypolicy/

About

ReadUnlock

Features
Read full description

ReadUnlock turns reading aloud into screen time. Choose the apps to lock with Apple's Screen Time. Your child opens a picture book and reads it out loud: the words light up as they're said, the page turns by itself, and reading earns minutes towards the apps you chose (beginner books pay when the whole story is finished). When the minutes are used, the apps lock again โ€” even if ReadUnlock is closed. โ€ข Real picture books โ€” 500 illustrated books in English, Arabic, French and Spanish, from Book Dash, StoryWeaver (Pratham Books), African Storybook and Global Storybooks, from first words to longer stories, each fully credited. In a French, Spanish or Arabic book, tapping a word shows its English meaning. โ€ข A reading friend โ€” Bob, Shif, Dan or Jaff sits beside every page, nods along, and helps with a tricky word when your child is stuck. โ€ข Fair by design โ€” a page counts when 85% of it is read aloud; re-reading is good practice but earns less; unused minutes always go back. โ€ข Built for grown-ups too โ€” a PIN for every setting, a daily limit, a daily reading goal, tricky words to practise together, and protection against the app being deleted. โ€ข Private โ€” speech is recognised on the device. Nothing is recorded, nothing about your child leaves the device, and there's no account to make. ReadUnlock Plus adds every book in the library, up to four readers on one device, the Wardrobe and your friend growing as your child reads, questions after each story, a weekly report and schedules (weekend limits and bedtime). The lock, the minutes and the free books always work without it. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ โ€” Privacy policy: https://readunlock.netlify.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Screen Time Control4 screens
ReadUnlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ReadUnlock at every 2 days against Screen Time Control's every 3 weeks. Screen Time Control's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.4). On price, ads, 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. Screen Time Control sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and ReadUnlock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 weeks, ReadUnlock every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Screen Time Control versus ReadUnlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreen Time ControlReadUnlock
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS18.0 โ€” better26.4
Further details โ€” not scored
Size55 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNicolas GulaArbaz Patel

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Screen Time Control

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$69.99
2 purchases

ReadUnlock

Subscriptions2
  • ReadUnlock Plus Monthly$5.991 Month
  • ReadUnlock Plus Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Screen Time Control free?
Screen Time Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ReadUnlock free?
ReadUnlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Screen Time Control or ReadUnlock have ads?
Neither Screen Time Control nor ReadUnlock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Screen Time Control or ReadUnlock?
Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 weeks, and ReadUnlock every 2 days. Most recently, Screen Time Control was updated on October 17, 2026 and ReadUnlock on October 13, 2026.

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