Pausible: Screen Time & Focus

App blocker for doomscrolling

Only for iPhone

Free · In‑App Purchases

iPhone

A pause before the apps that pull you in, and a 2-minute activity to do instead. It holds at 2 AM: making it easier waits until morning. Blocking is free, forever. Open a blocked app and Pausible puts a pause in front of it: a short wait, a breath, and a 2-minute activity you can do instead. And it holds at 2 AM: making blocking easier waits until morning; making it stricter is instant. Block unlimited apps free, forever — no account, no ads. Pro is one payment: no subscription, no trial. Instead of a wall you get a moment: a countdown, a breath, a one-line question about what you're actually opening it for — say why in one tap, or type it. Finish a 2-minute activity and you skip the wait. You still get in. You just get in on purpose. FREE, FOREVER • Block unlimited apps and categories, and optionally their websites (those get Apple's block page), with one off-limits time per profile • 2 levels — Nudge and Pause — with a wait that grows each open • One profile, one focus session a day • Breathe, Stretch and Reflect activities • Protection Status that tells you the truth when iOS drops the ball • No account, no email, no quiz, no ads. Set up in under two minutes. YOU SET HOW HARD IT IS 5 levels from a nudge to a lock. The wait grows with each open that day, so the fifth open of the afternoon costs more than the first. Everything is per profile, so your social apps and your news apps can have different rules. SOMETHING BETTER, RIGHT THEN Pick a 2-minute activity: Breathe (a 4-7-8 pace), Stretch, Reflect, Puzzle or Read (the last two are Pro). Tell a profile which activity you want first and the pause screen offers it in one tap. And the block screen remembers what you said last time: it quotes your last reason back to you. MAKE IT STICK In Pausible, making it stricter is instant and making it easier waits until the next morning — the cooling-off period — with a free undo, always. "5 more minutes" on the block screen (iOS 26.5 and later) works 3 times a week, not 30. Lock Pausible's settings with your own Screen Time passcode, ideally one someone else holds. Or hand a 6-digit code to someone you trust, and the hardest settings ask for it. With Pro, an NFC tag on the fridge can start or end a focus session, via an automation in Apple's Shortcuts app. "Stop apps being deleted" is opt-in. THE ONE THAT KEEPS WORKING iOS drops Screen Time permissions and expires app tokens more often than anyone admits. Pausible watches for it on every open, tells you plainly when it happens, and gets you back in two taps. A built-in "Test the block" confirms it is really up. Unlocked and done early? Lock it again from the home screen or the Lock Screen. PAUSIBLE PRO — ONE PAYMENT One payment, yours for good, Family Sharing included. No subscription, no weekly plan, no free trial, no "founder" pricing games. Pro adds the stricter levels — Deliberate, Firm and Strict — a daily time limit per profile (once it's used, the apps stay locked until 4 AM; Pausible counts the minutes it unlocked, not what you did with them), more profiles, unlimited off-limits times and focus sessions, the Puzzle and Read activities, full history (7 days are free), Siri, Control Center and the focus-session Live Activity card, automations, and Your week — three calm sentences about your week, written on your phone. Blocking never goes behind the paywall. WORKS ALONGSIDE APPLE'S SCREEN TIME Keep using Apple's Screen Time for limits and schedules across your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Pausible adds the part that happens at the moment you open an app: the pause, the 2-minute activity, and rules that hold until morning. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Pausible uses Apple's Screen Time framework, which never shows us which apps you use. Your history, the reasons you tap, the occasional suggestion Pausible makes from them and Your week are written on the phone from its own log, and none of it leaves the phone. There is no server, no analytics, no tracking. Pausible is for adults managing their own phone. It is not a parental-control app.

Ratings & Reviews

  • 5.0
    out of 5
    1 Ratings

Bug fixes and performance improvements.

Version 1.3.1

The developer, CHRISTOPHER JAMES HINCKLEY, 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

    Information

    Seller
    CHRISTOPHER JAMES HINCKLEY
    Size
    15.6 MB
    Category
    Productivity
    Compatibility
    Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
    • iPhone
      Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
    Languages
    English
    Age Rating
    9+
    In-App Purchases
    Yes
    Copyright
    © 2026 Christopher Hinckley
  • Developer Website
  • Privacy Policy

    • Supports

    • Family Sharing

      Some in-app purchases and subscriptions may be shareable with your family group when Family Sharing is enabled. Learn More

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