CLUSTER TIME-SCREEN-DISTRACTING · 13 ENTRIES · EARLIEST ENTRY 2024-09-23
Activity-gated screen time lockers
This cluster comprises apps that lock distracting apps until users meet physical activity goals, such as steps or exercise minutes, converting movement into earned screen time. The dated entry history, based on months before the index start, shows sparse single launches from late 2023 through early 2026, with a notable rise to four entrants in June 2026 and two in July 2026. The traction leaders are WhyOpen: Screen Time, Be Serious: Earn Screen Time, and Social Limits: Screen Time App, each with zero stars.
Entry timeline
ENTRY TIMELINE
Each bar is the month a member carries, which is a creation date where the source published one and a crawl date otherwise. Nothing in the index was found before 11 August 2026, and coverage broadened sharply on 14–15 August, so a bar from then on reports how much we found that month, not how much was built; an earlier bar reports how far back a member's own source dated it — not how long we have been watching.
Members by activity
Activity signals, not revenue.
Build origin · 13 unlabelled
Operator · 3 indie · 2 commercial · 8 unlabelled
Two labels per entry, never collapsed into one: how it was built, and who stands behind it. Counted over the 13 listed below. Unlabelled means nothing has decided yet — not that the answer is small.
- 01WhyOpen: Screen Time0★29 daysliveindieScreen-time app that asks why a user is opening a locked app, tracks unlock attempts, and builds streaks to reduce impulsive phone use.
- 02Be Serious: Earn Screen Time0★1 moliveApp that locks distracting apps until users complete health habits like fasting, logging workouts, and hitting calorie targets to earn screen time.
- 03Social Limits: Screen Time App0★1 moliveApp that blocks social media apps until the user reaches a daily step goal, promoting morning movement and reducing screen time.
- 04Strut: Steps Earn Screen Time0★22 daysliveMobile app that locks distracting apps until the user reaches a daily step goal, with adjustable accountability levels and friend challenges.
- 05Upp ~ AI Alarms & Screen Time0★1 molivecommercialMobile app that uses visual AI to verify wake-up actions and locks distracting apps until users complete physical challenges to earn screen time.
- 06MileWalk: Screen Time Reset0★15 daysliveindieSubscription app that locks selected social apps until the user walks a daily distance, then unlocks them for a time budget.
- 07Fitlock: Earn Your Screen Time0★17 daysliveFitness app that blocks distracting apps until the user meets movement or health goals tracked through activity data.
- 08StepPhone: Screentime Control0★1 moliveApp that locks distracting apps until users walk a set number of steps to earn screen time.
- 09WritersLock: Journal & Block0★1 moliveWriting app that locks distracting apps until the user writes a daily entry to build a writing habit.
- 10Activate Fitness - Screen Time0★1 moliveFitness app that locks distracting apps until users hit step or activity goals, converting movement into earned screen time.
- 11Move To Scroll - Screen Time0★1 moliveindieMobile app that locks distracting apps until the user walks or moves, encouraging mindful scrolling and healthier screen time habits.
- 12Focus Fox: Screen Time Control0★5 moliveScreen-time app that locks distracting apps until users achieve daily physical activity goals such as steps or exercise minutes.
- 13Monk: Screen Time Control0★8 mostalelivecommercialApp that locks distracting apps until the user completes an AI-verified daily focus activity to encourage discipline.
Ranked by traction, highest first, and paged 20 at a time — this is a window on the cluster, never the whole of it. Ties are broken by a stable id so a product cannot appear on two pages or fall between them. Browse every cluster.