SunPause
A sunny little pause between you and the scroll. A gentle app limit and app blocker for iPhone.
SunPause is a screen time app and app blocker for iPhone that never makes you feel guilty. The apps you choose share one daily limit, shown as weather: as you use them, clouds drift over the sun, and the sun is always on your side.
Launch offer: new yearly subscribers get a whole month free instead of 7 days.
Who it's for
People who doomscroll Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Reddit more than they want to, and who have tried strict blockers that felt like punishment. SunPause is for limits that feel kind: soft colours, a little sun character, gentle words, and honest numbers.
How it works
- Choose your apps. Pick them in Apple's own picker and give them one daily limit they share.
- Watch the weather. As you use those apps, clouds drift over the sun. The sun always tells you, kindly, about how much is left.
- Rest until morning. When the time is up, those apps rest until 6:00 am. Your other apps stay open.
- Pause when you need to. A short pause with the sun (three slow breaths, a quick sum or one of six tiny games) opens them for 5, 10 or 30 minutes, as often as you ask.
What's inside
- Focus: 20 to 120 minutes in which every app rests except the ones iOS always allows. End it whenever you like.
- Sleep mode: an optional mode that rests your apps from bedtime (11 pm, or the hour you pick) until 6:00 am.
- Your day in numbers: screen time, pickups and minutes per app from Screen Time itself, the apps outside your limit that took the most time, and your week at a glance.
- A streak for the days that count: within your limit, a finished focus, or an app closed without a pause. And a sun that reacts when you tap it.
- Nine languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Indonesian, Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian.
How SunPause is different
- Kind, never guilty. No red alarms, no shaming copy. The sun teases itself and the apps, never you.
- One daily limit, not a spreadsheet. All your chosen apps share one daily limit, so there is one simple thing to keep an eye on.
- No pressure. No guilt trips and no shaming when you go over. When you need an app, a moment of breathing or a tiny game opens it, as often as you ask.
- No account. Nothing to sign up for. Open the app, pick your apps, set a limit, and that’s it.
- Private by design. Your Screen Time data stays on your iPhone. No accounts, no ads, no tracking, and SunPause cannot even see which apps you picked.
Price
Free to download, with a subscription: yearly or monthly. In the United States that is $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month; prices are lower in many countries. During the launch, new yearly subscribers get a free month instead of the usual 7-day trial. Cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings.
Questions
Is there a gentle screen time app for iPhone that doesn't make me feel guilty?
Yes: SunPause is built for that. Instead of red warnings, streak shame or locked screens with stern messages, your screen time is weather. Clouds drift in as you use the apps you chose, and a friendly sun is always on your side. When the time is used up, those apps rest until 6:00 am, and you can still open them with a short pause whenever you really need to.
How does SunPause limit Instagram, TikTok or YouTube?
You pick the apps in Apple's own picker and set one daily limit they share, for example an hour and a half. SunPause uses Apple's Screen Time framework, so when the time is up iOS shows SunPause's shield over those apps until 6:00 am.
Can I still open an app after my limit?
Yes. Take a short pause with the sun first: three slow breaths, a quick sum, or one of six tiny games. Then choose 5, 10 or 30 minutes. There is no limit on how often you pause; the point is a moment to notice, not a punishment.
Can SunPause help me focus?
Yes. Start focus for 20, 45, 60 or 120 minutes, and every app rests except the ones iOS always allows (Phone, Settings, SunPause and your Always Allowed apps). End it whenever you like.
Is SunPause a parental control app?
No. SunPause is for adults and teens who want to manage their own screen time on their own iPhone. It uses Apple's individual Screen Time authorization, not Family Sharing controls.
Does SunPause see which apps I use or send my data anywhere?
No. iOS gives SunPause anonymous tokens for the apps you choose, so it cannot even see their names, and your Screen Time data never leaves your iPhone. There are no accounts, no ads and no analytics. The privacy policy lists everything.
How much does SunPause cost?
SunPause is free to download and needs a subscription: yearly with a 7-day free trial, or monthly. In the United States that is $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month; prices are lower in many countries. During the launch, new yearly subscribers get a free month instead of 7 days.
What do I need?
An iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later, and permission for Screen Time access, which iOS asks for during setup.
Is SunPause the app that used to be called Sunscroll?
Yes. Sunscroll was renamed SunPause in October 2026. It is the same app, with the same settings and the same subscription.