Make your screen time worth something.
Pay to unlock. Free to walk away.
Set limits on the apps that pull you in. When you hit one, decide whether 15 more minutes is really worth $0.49 to you, or keep your money and your evening.
Free plan, free forever. No account needed to start.
ScreenWorth doesn’t automatically charge you for exceeding your limits. You choose whether to purchase an optional temporary unlock.
15 more minutes — $0.49
You already know. Knowing isn’t the problem.
You’ve set limits before. Then 11 PM comes, the limit pops up, and it’s one tap from gone. The plan you made in a calm moment loses to the urge in the moment.
of social media use comes from self-control problems, by one economist team’s estimate: use people themselves would rather cut.
Allcott, Gentzkow & Song, “Digital Addiction,” American Economic Review, 2022
Free to ignore
“Ignore Limit” is one tap. A limit that costs nothing to break is worth nothing.
Easy to tap through
A breathing screen helps, but skipping it is free, and the urge knows exactly where the button is.
Too strict to keep
All or nothing. The first time you genuinely need the app, the blocker is what goes.
A limit worth keeping
Breaking your rule costs a little real money, so it means something. Walking away is free, and you’re never locked out.
How we use science and research.
ScreenWorth doesn’t ask for more willpower. It changes the moment you decide whether the next scroll is worth it, using findings from behavioral economics and psychology.
Decide when you’re calm
People who can set limits on their own future use cut back substantially. Commitments made ahead of time hold better than decisions made in the moment.
Precommitment · Allcott, Gentzkow & Song, AER 2022; Ariely & Wertenbroch, Psychological Science 2002
Feel the cost when it counts
Paying hurts most when the payment sits right next to the thing you’re buying. That small sting is a natural brake.
Pain of paying · Prelec & Loewenstein, Marketing Science 1998
Interrupt the autopilot
A peer-reviewed field study found that a short pause before opening an app led people to close it instead, and to open it less over time.
Friction at the trigger · Grüning, Riedel & Lorenz-Spreen, PNAS 2023
See all six principlesShow fewer
Small losses feel big
People weigh a loss more heavily than a gain of the same size. You don’t need a big price to make the choice feel real.
Loss aversion · Kahneman & Tversky, Econometrica 1979
Put real money on the line
In a randomized trial, smokers offered a voluntary commitment with their own money at stake were more likely to quit, months later, than those who weren’t.
Commitment contracts · Giné, Karlan & Zinman, AEJ: Applied 2010
Kindness beats shame
People who treat a slip with self-compassion are more motivated to improve than those who beat themselves up.
Self-compassion · Breines & Chen, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2012
What we don’t claim: these studies tested the principles, not ScreenWorth. We measure one number above all, how often you walk away when tempted, and we design around it.
You set the rules. You decide when breaking them is worth it.
Pick your apps and a daily allowance
Start from a plan like Reset (60 min a day) or Sleep (9 PM–7 AM), or build your own.
15 more minutes — $0.49
Hit your limit, see the price
The app locks. You see exactly what 15 more minutes would cost before anything happens.
Walk away, or choose to unlock
Walking away is free. Unlocking is a Face ID purchase you confirm, and the next one today costs more.
Get a receipt, ask “worth it?”
Every unlock ends in a receipt. Mark it “Not really” and it shows up on your weekly receipt, so you learn which ones weren’t.
Celebrate the times you didn’t.
Every week you get a receipt. It counts what you walked away from first, and what you chose to spend second. No shame, no streak-guilt: just a clear picture of what was worth it, and another chance tomorrow.
Start your first weekExample week. Your receipt fills in from your own numbers.
Worth your trust.
Never an automatic charge
Going over your limit costs nothing. Every unlock needs your Face ID, Touch ID or App Store confirmation.
Your app choices stay on your iPhone
The apps you limit and your detailed activity stay on your phone with Apple’s Screen Time. We keep only what your receipts need, like daily totals, and never sell it. Privacy policy
Calls and alarms stay on
Phone, emergency contacts and your alarm are never locked. Maps and Messages stay open by default.
Straight with you if you bypass it
You can always turn off Screen Time in Settings. If you do, ScreenWorth says protection is paused. It never pretends otherwise.
Free to start.
Unlocks cost the same on both plans. Plus adds tools, never free passes.
Free
START HEREEverything you need to start.
- One plan: Reset, Doomscroll, Focus, Sleep or Custom
- Limits, schedules and the unlock screen
- Unlock receipts and your weekly receipt
- Your top “Not really” pattern each week
- Join a 7-day challenge with friends
Plus
For when one plan isn’t enough: Reset by day, Sleep by night.
- Run plans together: any of the five, side by side
- Finer rules: per-app caps, weekday vs weekend
- Full history: week over week, vs your baseline
- Every “Not really” pattern: which apps and hours cost you
- Your own challenges: invite a group, set the length
Unlock prices: you choose the friction
Each unlock is 15 minutes. Each one in a day costs a little more than the last, and the ladder resets at midnight.
| Friction level | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | $0.49 | $0.99 | $1.49 | $1.49 | $1.49 |
| StandardDefault | $0.49 | $0.99 | $1.49 | $1.99 | $2.99 |
| Strong | $0.99 | $1.99 | $2.99 | $2.99 | $2.99 |
Two days. 14 hours on my phone.
Four of those hours went to social feeds and chess. Nobody asked me first. If someone had asked “is the next 15 minutes worth $0.49?”, I think I’d have walked away most of the time.
So I built the app that asks. You set your own limits. When you hit one, you can walk away for free, or choose to pay for 15 more minutes.
From Ram’s iPhone Screen Time, Oct 18–19.
Questions
Will ScreenWorth ever charge me without asking?
No. Hitting your limit costs nothing. An unlock only happens when you confirm the purchase yourself.
Why does tapping Unlock open the ScreenWorth app?
Apple’s lock screen can’t take payments, so the purchase finishes in ScreenWorth. The extra step is a moment to reconsider.
Can I get around it?
Yes. You’re an adult, and Screen Time can be turned off in Settings. ScreenWorth will tell you protection is paused and help you turn it back on.
Is this for parents?
No. It’s for adults managing their own phone habits.
Is it on Android?
iPhone first. Android is coming soon.
Why is it called ScreenWorth?
Because your time is worth something. ScreenWorth asks one question at the moment it matters: is the next 15 minutes worth $0.49 to you? Most of the time, the answer is no.
I control my phone.
Try it free. Spend your screen time only on what’s worth it, and walking away is always free.
Download on theApp Store