appLimit
Take back your time. Pick the apps that distract you, set limits that actually hold, and see where your hours go. Free to download — then pay once. No subscription, no ads, no account, and no data capture without your permission.
Take back your time.
AppLimit is the screen-time app for the person who has tried to cut back and watched the limit melt the moment willpower ran out. Pick the apps and sites that distract you, choose how much of them you get, and AppLimit holds the line — even when you'd rather it didn't. One screen shows your blocking state and today's usage at a glance.
Blocking that actually persists.
Most screen-time limits fail quietly: a rule you set in the morning is gone by lunch. AppLimit's block rules persist without you opening the app every day, per-app selection means your camera and maps keep working while the feeds don't, and schedules switch your rules automatically through the day. When a limit hits, iOS itself enforces it — not a pop-up you can negotiate with.
Free to download. Pay once when it matters.
AppLimit is a free App Store download with a 7-day, full-featured trial — blocking, schedules, focus sessions, goals, all of it works for those seven days. When the trial ends, your history and existing schedules stay available: you can still stop blocking and export or clear your history. The one thing that asks for payment is creating or changing things new after the trial — new blocking rules, goals, focus settings, or sessions: a single one-time purchase of $3.99 unlocks those forever. No subscription, no ads, no account.
Built for the complaints real limiter apps get.
The #1 complaint in screen-time apps is subscription paywalls — 192 of the reviews in our research corpus hit subscription or paywall pressure, and 48 more described billing-and-cancel pain specifically. Then: blocking that stops working (58), missing basics like per-app selection (41). AppLimit is built the opposite way on every one of those axes: free to try so you're not gambling, a simple one-time purchase instead of a subscription, blocking that persists instead of quietly failing, and per-app selection from day one.
Private by design — your usage never leaves your phone.
AppLimit uses Apple's own Screen Time frameworks, and your app-usage data never leaves your iPhone. AppLimit has no account, no analytics, no advertising SDK, and no server. Nothing you do — what you block, when, how much you use — is ever uploaded anywhere, because there is nowhere for it to go. The only network the app ever touches is the App Store itself, when you buy the unlock.
What AppLimit is not.
AppLimit is not parental-control software — it is built for your own focus, on your own device, not for managing someone else's. It won't block calls or texts you need, it won't watch what you type, and it will never be a subscription. One screen, one job: less scrolling, more of your day back.
AppLimit is published by TLC Designs. Available on the App Store.
What makes AppLimit special?
Per-app blocking that holds
Pick exactly which apps and sites get limited — the feeds stop, your camera, maps, and music keep working. Rules persist without opening the app every day, and when a limit hits, iOS enforces it. No negotiating with a pop-up.
Schedules that switch themselves
Different apps blocked at different times: social feeds off during work hours, everything quiet at bedtime, weekends your own. Set it once in the schedule editor — AppLimit switches rules automatically, no daily ritual.
Focus sessions with real breaks
Start a timed focus session when it's time to work. When the timer ends, take a real break — AppLimit handles the transition instead of leaving you staring at a finished timer with the distracting app already open.
Goals, streaks, and honest numbers
Set a daily goal for the time you want back and watch the streak build. Today's usage is always one glance away on the home screen, and history keeps every day you've tracked — your numbers, no judgment, no cloud.
History export (CSV)
Take your data anywhere: export your usage history as a CSV file through the normal iPhone share sheet. Your history is yours — analyze it, archive it, or just keep it.
Threshold notifications
Get told before the limit hits, not after. A notification warns you as you approach a threshold, so the block never arrives as a surprise mid-scroll.
A widget for the truth at a glance
Today's status on your Home Screen: blocking state and usage without opening the app. The fastest possible check-in — glance, nod, put the phone down.
Apple's Screen Time, honestly used
AppLimit blocks through Apple's own Screen Time frameworks — the same system enforcement iOS itself uses. You grant permission once through Apple's picker, and your usage data never leaves your iPhone. No account, no server, nothing to leak.
Seven days, everything on
The trial is the whole app: blocking, schedules, sessions, goals, history — all of it, for seven days. When it ends, a single one-time $3.99 purchase unlocks creating and changing things, forever. Your history stays available either way.
No subscription. Ever.
One payment, no repeat charge. No ads, no account, no analytics SDK. AppLimit costs less than one month of the subscription limiters — and then it never asks again.
Try free, then pay once
AppLimit is a free download with a 7-day, full-featured trial. After the trial, your history and existing schedules stay available — stopping a block and exporting or clearing history always work. Creating or changing things (new blocking rules, schedules, goals, focus settings, new sessions) needs this one one-time unlock. No subscription, no recurring charge.
- Free to download — 7-day full-featured trial
- One $3.99 unlock, once — no subscription
- After the trial: history stays visible, exportable, and clearable
- New rules, schedules, goals, and sessions need the unlock — stopping a block never does
- No account, no ads, no analytics — usage never leaves your device
Frequently asked questions
The most common questions about AppLimit — answered.