1 grain of sand = 1 minute
Replace doomscrollingwith time you earned.
Your distracting apps stay locked. Focus fills your hourglass with sand, and every grain buys a minute on them.
Good morning
Hours slip through your fingers like sand. What if you had to earn them first, and spent them on things that made you proud?
So what if every minute had to be earned?
This is your hourglass.
- 01Focus pours sand in.
Every verified minute of focus drops grains into the top of your glass.
- 02Unlocking lets it run.
Open a locked app and sand runs through the neck, one grain a minute.
- 03Lock early and it stops.
Whatever is still up top stays yours. Nothing expires.
Focus pours sand in. Every verified minute of focus drops grains into the top of your glass.
The exchange rate
You decide what a minute is worth.
Tighten it any time. Loosening waits 24 hours, so a weak moment can't rewrite the rules. Sessions of 50 minutes or more earn a quarter extra.
Generous. For starting from a lot of screen time.
How it works
Four moments. That is the whole system.
- 01
Start a focus session and your minutes start earning.
Set your phone down in your focus zone and the session starts by itself. Every verified minute pours sand into your glass.
- 02
Pick your phone up and earning pauses, not your progress.
Motion is noticed the moment it happens, and an alarm asks you to put it back. Grains you already earned are never taken away.
- 03
Spend what you earned on the apps you locked.
One grain buys one minute, inside a daily limit you set. Watch the sand run while you scroll. Lock early and the rest stays yours.
- 04
Glass empty? Your apps stay locked until you earn more.
No snooze, no "just five more minutes". The only way in is the time you have already put in.
What is Screenwage?
An app blocker for iPhone that makes you earn your screen time.
Screenwage locks TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or any app you choose, using Apple’s Screen Time. To open them, you earn time: focus sessions fill an hourglass with grains of sand, and one grain buys one minute. You set the exchange rate, from generous (1 focused minute = 3 grains) to strict (4 focused minutes = 1 grain).
The best app blockers for iPhone, comparedScreenwage for studentsHow to block TikTok on iPhone
When you open a locked app
It has a few words for you.
No countdown to wait out, no “ignore for today” button to teach yourself to tap. Just a nudge with some bite, and a red button that gets you focusing.
GO LOCK IN.
Instagram is closed until you earn it. Your glass is empty. Go fill it.
The currency
Sand is how you pay for screen time.
- You set the rate
From 3 grains a focused minute down to 1 grain for 4. Pauses and pick-ups never count.
- Nothing expires
A good Sunday pays for a busy Monday. Your sand carries over.
- Lock early, keep the rest
The stream stops the moment you lock. Unused minutes stay in your glass.
- A daily limit you choose
Even a full glass can only pour your limit in a day.
The receipt
Every grain in. Every grain out.
Each session prints a receipt: what you focused, what you spent, and what came back when you locked early. Nothing is taken back, and the arithmetic always adds up.
- Morning lock-in45 min · Even 1:1+45
- Unlock15 min booked−15
- Locked early6 min unused+6
- Deep work60 min · quarter extra+75
1 GRAIN = 1 MINUTE · NOTHING EXPIRES
Privacy
Your distractions are your business.
Screenwage uses Apple's Screen Time system to lock apps. Apple hands us an anonymous token, never a name, so the list of apps you chose stays on your iPhone.
What syncs is your ledger: grains earned, grains spent, and your settings. That is what brings your sand back if you lose your phone.
Camera and motion are processed on your iPhone and never saved or sent. No ads, no tracking, nothing sold.
Pricing
One subscription. Everything included.
Yearly
3 days free
then billed yearly. The exact price for your country is shown in the App Store before you pay, and again before the trial ends.
Monthly
Billed monthly
No trial. Cancel any time in Settings; your balance and history stay.
- Lock any apps, categories or websites you choose
- Earn grains of screen time at a rate you choose
- Three modes: Earn, Lock hours and Quiz
- Four ways to earn: Background, Stay Put, Focus Dock and Phone Work
- Daily spending budget and strictness settings
- Live Activity, Lock Screen timer and home widget
- Full ledger, weekly report and progress
Questions
Straight answers.
What is Screenwage?
Screenwage is an iPhone app that keeps the apps you choose locked (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or anything else) until you earn time on them. Focus fills an hourglass with grains of sand, and each grain buys one minute in a locked app. See how it works.
How does the blocking actually work?
Screenwage uses Apple’s Screen Time system. You grant access once and pick your apps, and iOS shows the Screenwage lock screen instead of opening them. It keeps working when Screenwage is closed.
Can I get into an app in an emergency?
Yes. Screenwage only locks the apps you chose, so calls, messages, maps and emergency services are never touched. You can also turn blocking off completely from Profile → Safety, with no waiting period.
What is a grain?
Verified focus pours grains of sand into your hourglass, and one grain buys one minute with your locked apps. You pick the rate, from generous (1 focused minute = 3 grains) to strict (4 focused minutes = 1 grain), and Screenwage recommends one from your own goal. Sessions of 50 minutes or more earn a quarter extra. Loosening your rate waits 24 hours; tightening it is instant.
Can I buy grains?
No. Grains cannot be bought, gifted or won, and they have no cash value. The only way to get them is to focus. The subscription unlocks the app, not sand.
What happens if I move my phone during a session?
In Stay Put and Focus Dock, earning pauses, and with Focus Dock an alarm asks you to put it back. It resumes when you settle again. Grains you already earned are never taken back; pausing costs you nothing but the paused time.
Does Screenwage see which apps I block?
No. Apple hands apps over as anonymous tokens, and those stay on your iPhone. We know how many apps you locked, never which ones.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Sessions, grains, unlocks, lock hours and quizzes you already have all work with no connection; your ledger syncs the next time you are online. Making a new quiz needs a connection.
How do I cancel?
In Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions, like any App Store subscription. Cancelling stops the next renewal, and your balance and history stay where they are.
The sand is already running.
Make the next hour one you earned.
Lock the apps. Do the work. Spend what you earned, guilt-free.
iPhone with iOS 17 or later