Comparison

Screen Time Control for Focus vs Ransom

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 for Focus

Features
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You finally get a moment to yourself. ScrollDam helps keep it yours, blocking the apps that turn a little scrolling into an evening you never meant to spend on your phone. A few pages. An early night. A little time to feel like yourself again. You've done enough today. Let ScrollDam hold the line. Because you know how it starts. You pick up your phone to check one message. Forty minutes disappear, and you surface without a memory of what you saw. That's not weakness - it's apps built, on purpose, to keep you from letting go. You've tried Screen Time settings, maybe another blocker. Still, here you are - tired, but not giving up. ScrollDam won't talk down to you about willpower or pile on to whatever you're already feeling. You've carried enough of that on your own. What it will do is tell you the truth, gently - your real screen time, not the softer number you'd guess. Then hand you something stronger than willpower: a system that holds the line on the nights you're too tired to fight. FIND OUT WHERE YOU REALLY STAND Before anything else, ScrollDam asks you to guess your daily screen time, then shows you the real number next to it. That gap can be the moment it clicks: you can't change a habit you haven't had a chance to see clearly. TELL US WHAT YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR Better focus. Better sleep. Being present with the people in front of you. A calmer mind. Whatever pulled you here, ScrollDam builds your plan around that one thing. BLOCK YOUR WAY Start a block right now, set it to run on a schedule, or give yourself a daily time budget. Name your sessions whatever means something to you: "Sunday Reset," "Work Hours," "No Phone Before Bed." A gentle reminder before a scheduled block starts gives you a moment to wrap up. Small details, but it's yours. CHOOSE HOW HARD IT SHOULD BE TO QUIT Some days, a five-second breath before you open apps is enough to stop you. Other days it isn't. Set the resistance yourself: a short pause, a phrase you have to type to prove you mean it, or a completely locked session - no early exit, no bargaining with yourself at 1am. A REAL PAUSE, NOT A LOOPHOLE Something urgent comes up mid-block - it happens. When your chosen mode allows it, take a short pause instead of ending the session. Blocking resumes automatically when your pause is over. SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE Day, week, and month views of your screen time, your pickups, and exactly which apps are quietly eating your hours. No shame attached. Just the truth. WHO THIS IS REALLY FOR The person who sits down to work and the phone gets there first. The parent who realizes the walk to school, the bedtime story, almost slipped by unnoticed. The one whose mornings used to mean something quieter - a book, a prayer, silence - before a feed took that time. Anyone who misses sitting with a task or a conversation without a phone demanding attention. You didn't need another app to remind you that you have a problem with your phone. You needed one built to actually hold the dam. PRIVACY, HONESTLY We monitor and block the apps you choose - and that's the extent of it. We don't see what you're doing on your phone. Nothing about your activity ever leaves your device. Feel like yourself again. Your mornings, your evenings, every quiet hour in between - they never stopped being yours. ScrollDam just helps you keep them. Subscription Info: Prices depend on your country and are billed to your Apple ID once you confirm the purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before your current period ends. You can manage or cancel it anytime from your iTunes account settings. EULA: https://scrolldam.store/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://scrolldam.store/privacy-policy/

About

Ransom

Features
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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/

Screenshots

Screen Time Control for Focus4 screens
Ransom4 screens

Verdict

The call

Screen Time Control for Focus and Ransom are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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 for Focus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year and Ransom sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Screen Time Control for Focus versus Ransom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreen Time Control for FocusRansom
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.617.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size128 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFocus Control StudioLucas Coles

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Screen Time Control for Focus

Subscriptions2
  • ScrollDam - Premium Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • ScrollDam - Pro Annual1 Month trial$49.991 Year
2 purchases

Ransom

Subscriptions2
  • Ransom Pro Weekly$3.997 Days
  • Ransom Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Screen Time Control for Focus free?
Screen Time Control for Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ransom free?
Ransom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Screen Time Control for Focus or Ransom have ads?
Neither Screen Time Control for Focus nor Ransom shows ads.

Other comparisons