Lagerland Apps

Movement-based · No account · On-device

Looking for a
ScreenZen alternative?

ScreenZen is a good free tool: a pause before each app that gets longer every time you come back, plus limits, schedules, and optional strict blocks. If that is enough for you, keep it. If you've started waiting the pause out, EarnLock locks the apps you pick until Apple Health shows you've moved. Halfway to your goal they open for an hour, and the full goal opens them until midnight. Locking one app is free for good.

See EarnLock Compare side by side

How does EarnLock compare to ScreenZen?

ScreenZen details come from its public App Store page and website. ScreenZen costs nothing, and EarnLock's free tier covers one app, so the real difference is the mechanism.

Feature EarnLock ScreenZen
How blocked apps unlock A daily activity goal from Apple Health. Halfway opens an hour; the full goal opens them until midnight Wait out a pause that grows each time you reopen the app. Strict blocks (by time range, number of opens, or screen time) lift when their time is up
Block or friction The app stays locked until the goal is met, apart from the daily emergency unlock Friction by default, plus optional strict blocks and locks on its own settings
What a locked app shows EarnLock's screen with what's left, such as "2,026 steps until unlock", and an Earn it button A pause and intention screen
A trial week before blocking Shadow Week: seven days that block nothing and count how often you would have been blocked Not listed
Price Free for one app or category. Premium $1.99/month or $9.99/year, each with a 7-day free trial, or $19.99 once Free (optional tips, $5 to $40)
Activity angle The unlock is movement, so a daily nudge to walk is built in None; a screen-time tool only
Apple Watch app Yes, with Premium: the watch reads its own Health data and has complications. The iPhone does the locking None listed. The US App Store lists iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision
Account No account No account required
Third-party SDKs None. The app makes no network connections of its own See ScreenZen's App Privacy label
Platforms iPhone (iOS 17 or later), plus the Apple Watch app with Premium iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android

Checked 14 June 2026 against ScreenZen's public App Store page and website. The pricing model was rechecked in the German App Store on 27 October 2026, and pricing and blocking features in the US App Store on 29 October 2026. How each app works is taken from its own documentation, so check again before switching.

When should I pick ScreenZen instead?

ScreenZen is a strong choice, and for a lot of people it's the right one:

EarnLock is for the person who has sat through the pause one too many times and wants the unlock to cost a walk. If ScreenZen already does the job for you, keep using it.

About EarnLock

EarnLock Lock distracting apps until you earn them with steps. Lock Instagram, TikTok, or any app until you hit a daily step goal. Halfway opens an hour. Free for one app, no account, data stays on your iPhone. Free · ProiPhone

Questions

FAQ

What is the best alternative to ScreenZen?
If you've learned to wait out ScreenZen's pause, EarnLock replaces the pause with a lock. The apps you pick stay locked until you reach a daily activity goal measured by Apple Health. Halfway opens them for an hour, and the full goal opens them until midnight. Locking one app with a step goal is free for good, and there is no account. If the pause works for you, ScreenZen is free and stays the simpler choice.
How is EarnLock different from ScreenZen?
ScreenZen adds a pause that grows each time you reopen an app, plus limits, schedules, and strict blocks. You can wait out the pause, and a strict block lifts when its time is up. EarnLock keeps the app locked until Apple Health shows you've moved enough that day, with a math-gated emergency unlock once a day. A locked app shows what's left, such as "2,026 steps until unlock", and the first week is a Shadow Week that blocks nothing and counts how often you would have been blocked. ScreenZen also runs on Android; EarnLock is an iPhone app with an Apple Watch app in Premium.
Is ScreenZen really free?
Yes. ScreenZen is free, with optional tips to support the developer ($5 to $40 in the US App Store, checked 29 October 2026). EarnLock is free for one app or category with a step goal. Premium ($1.99/month or $9.99/year, each with a 7-day free trial, or $19.99 once) adds unlimited apps, active minutes and active calories, the Apple Watch app, Smart Schedules, and Week and Month insights. The reason to pay for EarnLock is the movement-based lock.
Does EarnLock enforce a harder block than ScreenZen?
It's a different kind of block. ScreenZen's pause lets you through once you've waited. You can set its strict blocks by time range, number of opens, or screen time limit, and they lift when their time is up. It can also lock its own settings so you can't loosen them on impulse. EarnLock keeps the app locked until your goal is met, apart from one emergency unlock a day behind a two-digit math problem. iOS still lets you turn off EarnLock's Screen Time access, so it is a firm commitment you choose, and you can always undo it in Settings.
Is EarnLock private?
Yes. EarnLock has no account, makes no network connections of its own, and includes no analytics, advertising, or other third-party SDKs. Apple Health is read on your iPhone and never written to or sent anywhere, and Apple's Screen Time picker gives EarnLock opaque tokens instead of the names of your apps. EarnLock is built for limiting your own iPhone and has no parent controls.
Can EarnLock block the same apps ScreenZen can?
For apps, yes. EarnLock locks any app or whole category you can choose in Apple's Screen Time picker: one on the free tier, as many as you like with Premium. The difference is what it takes to open them.

Start here

Try EarnLock.

Your apps open when Apple Health shows you've moved, and halfway earns an hour. Locking one app is free, with no account.

Learn about EarnLock

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