Updated 3 November 2026 by Spencer Lay, who makes FocusFlow.
ScreenZen
When you open a chosen app, ScreenZen shows a delay screen and asks why you're opening it. You can set the wait, add limits and schedules, and make the wait longer the more you open the app. It doesn't stop you going in: it makes the choice deliberate.
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.
Which to pick
- You open apps without thinking and a pause is enough to stop you: ScreenZen.
- You wait out the pause and go in anyway: FocusFlow.
- You want your tasks and homework to be what unlocks your apps: FocusFlow.
| ScreenZen | FocusFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting into a blocked app | Wait through a delay | Finish a task |
| Proof of work | No | A photo, checked by AI |
| Best for | Breaking reflex opens | Homework and deadlines |