Sentence: Screen Time Control

Daksh Kaushik

Most screen time apps are easy to dismiss. A tap. A passcode you set yourself. An exception you grant in three seconds. You already know this. You've tried them all. Sentence works differently. To unlock a blocked app, you write a sentence by hand — on paper — and scan it with your camera. Every time. No bypass. No exceptions. No "ignore for today." That moment of friction is the whole point. Most of the time, it's enough to make you put the phone down. HOW IT WORKS 1. Block any app or category — social media, streaming, games, news, anything. 2. Set your schedule — always on, a specific time window or a particular limit. 3. When you try to open a blocked app, you see a screen. Tap "Write Sentence." Sentence opens. 4. Write the sentence on paper. Hold it up. Scan it. The block lifts — for that session. 5. Tomorrow, you write it again. THE RITUAL Choose what you write each time you unlock: Enquiry — why are you reaching for your phone right now? Answer honestly. Affirmations — reinforce the person you're trying to become. Literature — Seneca. Thoreau. Orwell. One line that reframes the moment. Roasting — brutal honesty about what you're about to do with the next hour. Custom — write your own sentence. Your commitment, your words. BLOCK ON YOUR TERMS Block specific apps or entire categories Time-based schedules — morning, night, all day, specific windows Multiple block groups with different schedules and sentence types Zen Mode — prevents deleting apps from your phone. Requires handwriting to disable. WHO SENTENCE IS FOR You've set screen time limits. You turned them off. You've tried grayscale mode. You adapted in a week. You've deleted the apps. You reinstalled them. You've tried willpower. It wasn't enough. Sentence isn't about willpower. It's about friction — a deliberate pause inserted between the impulse and the action. One sentence, written by hand, changes the calculus entirely. This is for people who are done with tricks that don't work. Access to Sentence features requires a paid subscription. Options include Monthly and Annual (with free trial). Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/