A focus app for students who keep opening their phone

Updated September 13, 2026 · By the Stint team

Short answer

Students need a focus app that survives the library, the group chat and the 11pm panic. That means three things: apps shielded during study sessions rather than muted, a daily goal that is the same every day so it becomes a habit, and a reason to start on the days you would rather not. Stint does this as a challenge you run with friends: everyone pays a small entry fee into a pool, commits to the same daily study goal, and the ones who keep it up split the prize pool. Your study apps count, your distracting apps are shielded, and the group knows.

Download on theApp Store

Private pools let a study group put a small entry fee on showing up every day of exam season.

Why students bypass every blocker

The phone is also the calendar, the reader, the group chat and the two-factor code. Blocking the whole thing lasts an afternoon. What works is blocking a short list, the three or four apps that eat evenings, and letting everything else through. Stint asks you to pick exactly that list.

Set up a study pool with friends

One person creates a private pool and shares the invite link or code.
Agree the goal together: one or two hours of focused study a day, every day until the exam. Keep it honest; the goal is the same for everyone.
Agree a small entry fee. It only needs to be enough that nobody wants to be the one who missed a day.
Everyone picks their work apps (notes, PDFs, flashcards, the browser if you must) and their block list.
Start a session each study block. Opening a blocked app ends the session, so the group chat waits.

What happens at the end

When the challenge ends, everyone who met the goal every day qualifies and splits the pool. Anyone who missed forfeits their share and is charged nothing further. In a group of friends the money is almost beside the point; what changes behaviour is that everyone can see who kept the streak.

Tips from exam season

Match the daily goal to your worst day, not your best. A goal you can keep on a bad day is the one that becomes a habit.
Use the emergency-app allowance for the one app you genuinely need in a pinch, like maps or banking.
Run sessions at the same time each day. The Live Activity on the lock screen becomes the cue.
When the pool settles, start the next one straight away. The gap is where habits die.

Questions people ask

Do I need to be 18 to use Stint?

Yes. Joining a challenge with an entry fee requires confirming you are at least 18.

Can I use Stint without paying an entry fee?

Yes. Personal focus sessions with shields are free and need no pool. Pools are where the entry fee and prize pool come in.

Focus with money on the line.