Screen time as weather: a sun that shows how much time is left
SunPause is an iPhone screen time app that turns your daily limit into weather. The apps you choose share one daily limit; as you use them, clouds drift over the sun in a pastel sky, and the sun tells you, kindly, about how much time is left. When the time is up, those apps rest until 6:00 am.
Launch offer: new yearly subscribers get a whole month free instead of 7 days.
How it works
- Choose your apps in Apple's own picker, for example Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and give them one daily limit.
- Clouds drift in as you use them, as far as the time used. The less time is left, the closer they come to the sun.
- The sun says how much is left, rounded down, so it never shows more than you have.
- When the time is up, clouds cover the sun and those apps rest until 6:00 am. Your other apps stay open.
Why weather instead of a timer
A countdown makes every minute feel like a debt. Weather is something you glance at: a clear sky in the morning, a few clouds by the evening. SunPause shows the same limit you would set anywhere else, in a way that feels like checking the sky, not a scoreboard.
At night, and over a week
- Sleep mode is optional: the moon comes out and your apps rest from bedtime (11:00 pm, or the hour you pick) until 6:00 am.
- Focus rests every app except the ones iOS always allows, for 20 to 120 minutes, and you can end it whenever you like.
- Your week at a glance shows the days within your limit and the hours when the time ran out.
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 screen time app where the weather shows how much time is left?
Yes. SunPause shows your daily limit as weather: clouds drift over the sun as you use the apps you chose, and the sun tells you about how much time is left. When the time is up, those apps rest until 6:00 am.
Does the sun get covered when I scroll a lot?
Yes. As the time runs out, clouds close in and can cover the sun. It comes out again the next morning, when the day starts fresh at 6:00 am.
Can I still open an app when the time is up?
Yes. A short pause with the sun (three slow breaths, a quick sum or one of six tiny games) opens your apps for 5, 10 or 30 minutes, as often as you ask.
What does it need?
An iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later and Screen Time access, which iOS asks for during setup.
Updated 2026-10-14. SunPause is made by For Apps Sake, the studio that wrote this page.