Updated 3 November 2026 by Spencer Lay, who makes FocusFlow.
Apple Screen Time
Built into iOS. Downtime blocks apps on a schedule, and App Limits block them after a set amount of use. It is free and reliable. Its weakness on your own phone is that you can extend or ignore a limit yourself, so it holds only as long as you want it to.
FocusFlow
You pick the apps that get locked. You add the tasks you need to do. When you finish a task, you take a photo of it, an AI model checks the photo against the task, and you earn 15 minutes by default. The minutes count down only while you are in the locked apps, and when they run out the apps lock again, even if FocusFlow is closed. Once every task for the day is done, the apps stay open for the rest of the day.
There is no ignore button. For a real emergency there is an override with a wait before it opens and a record in your history.
Use both
They work together. FocusFlow uses the same Apple system, and your own Screen Time settings keep working alongside it.
| Apple Screen Time | FocusFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlocks when | A schedule or limit ends | You finish a task |
| Getting around it | Ignore Limit, unless someone else holds the passcode | An override with a wait, recorded in your history |
| Tasks and proof | No | Yes, with an AI photo check |
| Cost | Built in | Free to download; family plan $9.99 a month |