StepLimit · iOS 18.4+

Walk first.
Scroll later.

Set a step goal. Pick your problem apps. They stay locked until you've earned them — by actually walking. No accounts. Steps and restrictions stay on your phone.

Apple Health native · On-device step data · iPhone only
How it works

Three settings. One honest trade.

You decide the rate. Your phone counts the steps. The apps you blocked unlock when the math says they should.

01 / Set the rate
100 steps =
1.00 min screen time
cheap fair brutal

Set your rate.

100 steps for a minute of Instagram. Or 200. Or 50 if you're easing in. You write the contract.

02 / Walk
+1m

Walk anywhere.

Apple Health counts. Walking the dog, walking to lunch, the long way home — it all banks. No app open required.

03 / Earn
Instagram
670 left
TikTok
670 left
X
670 left

Earn. Unlock. Repeat.

Apps unlock the moment you've earned them. They lock back when your minutes run out. Tomorrow resets.


Why it actually works

A habit app with teeth.

Not gentle nudges. Not streaks-as-guilt. Just a real cost — your steps — for the thing you'd rather stop doing.

Real step counting

Pulls straight from Apple Health. No double-counting, no guessing, no extra battery drain.

App-level blocking

Uses Apple's Screen Time API. Blocks the apps you pick at the OS level — they actually don't open.

On-device step data

No accounts. Step data and app restrictions stay in HealthKit and Screen Time — never sent to a backend. Crash diagnostics go to Sentry only.

Tune the dial

100 steps for one minute, or 200 — set the rate that costs enough to matter.

Streaks that earn it

A streak only counts on days you actually hit your goal. No "freeze" tokens. No participation trophies.

Live unlock

Tap a blocked app, see exactly how many steps to unlock. Walk while it counts down in real time.

Honest history

Eight-week heatmap of what you actually earned vs. what you spent. No vanity metrics, no smoothing.

Yours to tune

Adjust your rate, daily goal, and which apps are blocked at any time. The contract bends to your week.


From early testers

It works on the people who don't want it to.

App Store rating · placeholder
Beta tester

First thing that ever made me close TikTok and not feel like I was punishing myself. I just walked.

M
Maya · 27
Brooklyn, NY
Beta tester

My average drops 40 minutes a day. The math is so simple I can't argue with it. Either I walked, or I didn't.

D
Devon · 34
Austin, TX
Beta tester

I run a startup and I'm on my phone too much. Set the rate brutal. Walk a lot now. Worth more than therapy this month.

A
Alex · 41
San Francisco, CA

Real App Store reviews land here at launch.

Privacy by design

Nothing leaves your phone.

StepLimit was built so it couldn't spy on you even if we wanted to. There's no account to make. No server to phone home to. No backend, period. Your steps, goals, and rate stay between you and your iPhone.

↳ Verified by App Store privacy nutrition label.

No accounts.

Open the app, set your goal, you're done. We don't know who you are. Email-less, password-less, on purpose.

No servers.

Everything runs on-device. Step data stays in HealthKit. App restrictions stay in Screen Time. Both Apple-managed, both never sent anywhere.

Crash + performance reporting only.

No accounts, no behavior tracking, no ad SDKs. Full breakdown in our Privacy Policy.

No ads, no tracking SDKs.

No ad SDKs. No Facebook, Google, Meta, or attribution pixels. Sentry for crash + performance reporting only.

Move your body.
Earn your feed.

Five minutes to set up. Works on iPhone with iOS 18.4 or newer.

Download on the App Store