BePresent: Lower Screen Time 4+

I was having a few issues with the app and had a complete melt down. The developer not only reached out with a fix but also took the information and used it to fix the glitch!
This app really helped me with my doom scrolling problem and made me realize dropping into a black hole of miserable online news stories doesn’t have to be how my morning begins.
My two bits of advice are to just start with a few apps to freeze in the beginning and build on that instead of jumping into the deep end of the detox all at once and review carefully the steps to restore disabled apps in case you suddenly need to use one for work or something so you aren’t panicking in the moment.
I do believe this app can really help folks and I got more productivity out of my day overall by blocking specific apps routinely.

We're so glad the app has helped! Thank you for your feedback and we're always here to help :)

I’ll probably continue looking for an app that works better. 1) Having to unblock whole categories of apps is not helpful. For instance, I need to listen to things while working. Sometimes music, sometimes podcasts that are only available on certain streaming platforms. But I don’t want to unblock all entertainment because then I’ll have access to things like Instagram and Reddit, which I really do want to block. I don’t want my streaming to count against my screentime because I’m not even looking at my phone. Allegedly this is an Apple issue, but the app still made it seem like if I paid for it, I would have control over what I block. 2) There aren’t actual rewards. There are advertisements. The only “reward,” besides enhanced productivity and reduced reliance on my phone, is the accrual of points, which is skewed due to item 1 above. 3) The schedules don’t work well. Sometimes they block apps, sometimes they don’t. I do all of my blocking manually. 4) There aren’t extra points for going over your blocking session. This actually ENCOURAGES me to interact with my phone more because if I want to maximize points, I have to start a new blocking session as soon as one finishes. Why not check a few apps while things are unblocked, right?!
The app has promise, but definite room for improvement here.

Hi Ghanisbuli - thank you for your feedback! It's very helpful. To respond to your points 1) you can unblock specific apps! To do so, you need to go to your phones Settings > Screen Time > Always allowed and add any apps you want unblocked there. However, if you're referring to apps counting towards screen time (not blocking) then you're right. 2) Valid. To some people these rewards are still motivating, but we are working on creating better partnerships. 3) This should be fixed in the newest release! If you haven't updated please do. 4) Interesting!! That makes sense and is something we'll probably change to alter user behavior! Again thanks for the feedback. If you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to reach out to us at contact@bepresentapp.com

My screen time often doesn’t update at all, even after refreshing. As this is the reason for this apps existence, it’s hard to recommend it. Beyond that, the “rewards” all seem to be just promotions that the companies are already offering to get you to sign up. Whoop already offers a free month and a free hand to new users, Headspace offers a free month to new users, and so forth. I really want to like this app, as the idea behind it is great, but it - itself - is not great. Update: beyond all the above issues, it turns out that even the timer doesn’t work correctly. Yesterday I definitely went over my limit for screen time, but this morning the app congratulated me for staying under my goal. As to why it has so many good reviews — I got an email from them saying I’d be entered in a contest in exchange for a five star review. Avoid this garbage app.

And the response from the developer didn’t address any of the other issues with this app. Namely that they’re bribing people for 5 star reviews and all the “awards” you can get are actually promotions that are already offered by the companies. The idea for the app is good, but the execution is a lie and should be called out as such.

Hi Jef - we're sorry you're experiencing this! Unfortunately, screen time not updating even after refreshing was a bug on Apple's end related to day light savings time. We have released an updated version of the app fixing this bug. Please update your app and the issue will be resolved!