FAQ
Questions about Screenwage
Screenwage is an iPhone app that locks the apps you choose until you earn time on them by focusing; one grain of sand buys one minute. Below are straight answers about how blocking works, earning, the three modes, privacy and the subscription. Anything else: support.
Updated
The basics
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.
Which devices does Screenwage work on?
Screenwage is an iPhone app and needs iOS 17 or later. There is no Android version.
Can Screenwage block websites too?
Yes. Apple’s app picker lets you choose apps, whole categories (like Social or Games) and websites, and Screenwage locks all of them the same way.
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.
Can I just delete Screenwage to get around it?
Yes, as with every app built on Apple’s Screen Time system, deleting it removes its locks. Screenwage is a deal you make with yourself, so it is designed to feel fair enough to keep: you can always earn your way in, and nothing you earned is ever taken back.
Earning and spending grains
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.
How does Screenwage know I was really focusing?
It depends on how you choose to earn. Background counts time with your phone locked away; Stay Put pauses if the phone moves; Focus Dock uses the camera to place a zone on your desk and rings if you lift the phone early; Phone Work keeps only your work apps open. Elapsed time is measured with the phone’s monotonic clock, so changing the time in Settings cannot add minutes.
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.
Can I take a break during a focus session?
Yes. You get a 5-minute break at the start and one more for every 15 minutes you focus. Your apps stay locked during the break and earning pauses, then the session carries on by itself.
Modes: Earn, Lock hours and Quiz
What are Screenwage’s modes?
There are three, and one is on at a time. Earn: focus to earn grains, spend grains to open apps. [Lock hours](/lock-hours/): apps sleep during the hours you choose and are free outside them. [Quiz](/quiz-mode/): answer a few questions from your own notes to open an app. You switch in Profile → Mode.
How does Quiz mode work?
You add what you are studying (typed notes, photos of pages or a PDF) and Screenwage writes multiple-choice questions from it. When you open a locked app, the lock screen offers a quiz: get most answers right (2 of 3 by default) and your apps open for 10, 20 or 30 minutes. Missed questions come back later until you know them. More about Quiz mode.
How do Lock hours work?
You pick days and hours, such as school days 8 to 3, or press Lock now for one to four hours. Inside those hours your chosen apps are locked; outside them they are free. You earn a 5-minute break for every 30 minutes locked, and three emergency unlocks a day sit behind a 5-second hold. More about Lock hours.
Privacy
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.
What happens to my notes in Quiz mode?
Your notes, photos and PDFs are read into text on your iPhone and stay there. Only the text is sent, once, to write your questions; Screenwage does not keep it on its servers. Details are in the privacy policy.
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.
The subscription
Is Screenwage free?
Screenwage is free to download, and a subscription unlocks it: monthly, or yearly with a 3-day free trial. The exact price for your country is shown in the App Store before you pay.
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.