Focus apps act after you've opened the app. Undertow acts on the reach: one button, ten seconds, back to work. No subscription.
The problem isn't willpower in general. It's one specific moment: you're mid-task,
your phone buzzes, and your attention gets pulled to the surface. Everything else —
the apps, the blockers, the streaks — is downstream of that one moment.
Undertow is built around it. Start a dive (a focus session), and if the pull hits,
tap Pulled. You get a 10-second ride-out — haptics, breathing pace, a moment to just
be somewhere else — instead of automatically reaching for the thing that buzzed. Most
urges pass in under 10 seconds if you give them somewhere to go. Free, no strings
attached.
For $3.99 (one-time, not a subscription), Undertow can also shield distracting apps
using Apple's Screen Time framework during a dive, so the buzz doesn't even get a
chance to reach you for the ones you choose to block. (Apple exempts a handful of
system apps — Messages, FaceTime, Phone, Maps, Clock, Settings, Find My — from
third-party shielding on every app that uses this framework; this is a platform-wide
safety floor, not something Undertow — or any app — can override.)
No feeds, no gamified guilt trips, no social pressure, no subscription. Just a timer,
a streak that tracks honestly (surfacing early doesn't fake a win), and one button
for the moment that actually matters.
Ratings & Reviews
5.0
out of 5
1 Ratings
Undertow now runs on iPad. The dive screen uses the bigger display: a larger gauge in portrait, and the gauge beside its controls in landscape. Your streak, history, and unlock work the same way they do on iPhone.
Fixed: if you unlock Shield during a dive, you can now choose the apps to block right away, and they're blocked for the rest of that dive.
Version 1.1.1
The developer, Bradford Lumley, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
