Block apps by time and place on iPhone
Kept is an app blocker for iPhone. It turns off the apps and websites you choose during the hours you choose, and, if you want, only at a place you choose. Social apps off at the office from nine to twelve. Games off at home after 22:30. It runs on its own, with the app closed.
How to set it up
In Kept, a rule is called a moment. A moment takes four short steps.
- Say what goes quiet.Pick apps from Apple's own picker, or whole categories such as Social or Games. Add the websites you keep opening in Safari. One switch blocks every adult site.
- Set the hours, then the place.Choose the days and a time window, or the whole day. Then tie the moment to a place if you want: only here, or everywhere but here, with a radius of 100, 200 or 500 metres.
- Choose what a pause costs.A pause opens the apps again for a short time. It can cost nothing, a 10-second wait, a typed passage, three sums, your own code, a partner's code, and more. You also choose how many pauses a day, from zero to five.
- Choose how strict.Gentle lets you change your mind. Firm locks the rule while it runs. Committed locks it until a date you choose, with no pauses, and Kept cannot be deleted from the phone until then.
Kept uses Apple's Screen Time API. When you save a moment, iOS starts and ends the block at the right time, even when Kept is closed.
Time and place, together
A place rule makes a moment run only where it matters. Some examples:
- Focus time. Weekdays from 09:00 to 12:00, only at the office. Social apps and news stay quiet while you work, and open again at lunch.
- Off duty. Mail and Slack go quiet every evening, everywhere but the office.
- Family time. Every evening from 18:00, wherever you are. Games and video wait until the children are asleep.
- Bedtime. From 22:30 to 07:00, only at home, and Committed. No pauses, and no way to soften it until the date you set.
Kept follows where you are with the region monitoring in iOS. Arriving and leaving can take a few minutes to register. Kept asks for location access "Always", because a place rule must work while the app is closed. The comparison happens on the phone, and Kept keeps no history of where you have been.
Why not Screen Time or Focus?
iPhone already has two tools for this. They do different jobs.
| Kept | Screen Time | Focus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts on its own | At the hours you set, and at a place if you want | At the Downtime hours, or after a daily limit | At a time, at a place, or when you open an app |
| Stops the app from opening | Yes | Yes, until you tap "Ignore Limit", unless a passcode is set | No. It hides Home Screen pages and silences notifications |
| Different rules for different places | Yes | No | Yes, but the apps still open |
| What a way back in costs | You choose, from nothing to a partner's code | A tap, or the passcode | Nothing |
Questions
Does Kept work when the app is closed?
Yes. iOS starts and ends each block at its hours. Place rules use region monitoring, which also works in the background.
How exact is the place?
You choose a radius of 100, 200 or 500 metres. Arriving and leaving can take a few minutes to register, because iOS decides when to report them.
Can I block websites too?
Yes. Add the sites you keep opening in Safari, or block every adult site with one switch.
Can I stop myself from turning it off?
Choose Committed. Until the date you set, the moment cannot be softened, the pauses drop to zero, and Kept cannot be deleted from the phone. One emergency pass a month remains, for real emergencies.
Does Kept see which apps I use?
No. Apple's Screen Time API gives Kept a sealed token for each app you pick, not its name or your usage. Apple draws the names and the minutes inside its own components. Kept has no account and no server.
Is Kept on Android, iPad or Mac?
No. Kept is for iPhone, with iOS 17 or later.
How much does Kept cost?
Free for seven days, then $9.99 a year. Monthly is $4.99. These are US prices; the App Store shows the price in your country.
Keep your best moments.
Kept is on the App Store for iPhone. Make your first moment in a minute.
Free for seven days, then $9.99 a year. Monthly is $4.99. US prices; the App Store shows yours.