An app blocker for iPhone, with real stakes
Most app blockers are one tap from being turned off. Stint is a focus app for iPhone that blocks the apps you pick with Screen Time and puts something on the line: you join a pool, pay an entry fee into a prize pool, and everyone who meets the daily goal splits it. Free on the App Store, for iOS 18 or later.
- Get
iPhone
iOS 18 or later
Blocking built on Screen Time
Stint uses Apple’s Screen Time and Family Controls. You pick the apps to block in Apple’s own picker, and during a session they show a block screen instead of opening.
Only the apps you choose are blocked, and only while a session runs.
Your choices stay on the phone: Apple gives Stint opaque tokens, so Stint never sees the names of the apps you picked.
Your session in a Live Activity
A running session shows on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island: the time left and your pool’s line for today. You can end the session from there without opening the app.
Only real work counts
- Work apps: focus time adds up only while you are in the apps you chose for work.
- Block apps: the distractions you picked stay shielded until the session ends.
- Emergency apps: up to two apps you can open for a few minutes a day, then they are blocked again.
- Your phone reports each minute to Stint’s server while a session runs, so results are checked, not self-reported.
Scan to link a computer
Add the Mac or Windows app or the browser extension and it shows a QR code. On your iPhone, open Stint, go to Settings, then Connected devices, and scan it. Your phone approves every new device, and work on your computer then counts toward the same session. See all downloads.
Why stakes beat willpower
A blocker you can switch off only works while you want it to. In a Stint pool, turning the block off has a cost: unlocking a blocked app anyway ends that day’s session for the pool, and Stint asks you to confirm first.
Everyone in the pool commits to the same daily focus goal. Meet it on the days the rules require and you qualify; everyone who qualifies splits the prize pool. The most you can lose is your entry fee. The FAQ covers qualifying and payouts, and the accountability app page explains the group side.