Sunscroll is a screen time app and app blocker for iPhone that never makes you feel guilty. The apps you choose share one daily time, shown as weather: as you use them, clouds drift in, and a friendly sun is always on your side.

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. Sunscroll is for limits that feel kind: soft colours, a little sun character, gentle words, and honest numbers.

How it works

1. Choose your apps. Pick them in Apple's own picker and set one daily time they share.
2. Watch the weather. Clouds drift in from the edges of the sky as you use those apps. The Sky always says, kindly, how much time is left.
3. Rest until morning. When the time is used up, the sky is full and those apps rest until 6:00 am.
4. 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

• Breezes: focus sessions you start on purpose, 20 to 120 minutes, in which every app rests except the ones iOS always allows. Finish one and a flower grows on your hills.
• Night: an optional mode that rests your apps from bedtime until morning.
• Your day in numbers: screen time, pickups and minutes per app from Screen Time itself, plus a week of skies.
• A flame for the days you keep your sky, and a sun that reacts when you tap it.

How Sunscroll is different

• Kind, never guilty. No red alarms, no shaming copy. The sun teases itself and the apps, never you.
• One sky, not a spreadsheet. All your chosen apps share one daily time, 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, and the sky starts.
• Private by design. Your Screen Time data stays on your iPhone. No accounts, no ads, no tracking, and Sunscroll cannot even see which apps you picked.

Price

Free to download, with 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. 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: Sunscroll 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 Sunscroll limit Instagram, TikTok or YouTube?

You pick the apps in Apple's own picker and set one daily time they share, for example an hour and a half. Sunscroll uses Apple's Screen Time framework, so when that time is used up iOS shows Sunscroll'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.

What is a breeze?

A breeze is a focus session you start on purpose, for 20, 45, 60 or 120 minutes. During it every app rests except the ones iOS always allows (Phone, Settings, Sunscroll and your Always Allowed apps). Finish one and a flower grows on your hills.

Is Sunscroll a parental control app?

No. Sunscroll 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 Sunscroll see which apps I use or send my data anywhere?

No. iOS gives Sunscroll 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 Sunscroll cost?

Sunscroll 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.