Best bedtime app blockers for iPhone, compared
By Bedline · Published
The best bedtime app blocker for iPhone depends on two things: whether you want a night-only blocker or an all-day focus blocker, and what exit you want at 01:00. Bedline, Sleep Lock, SleepLock, Dozzi, time2sleep and TapScreen are built around bedtime; Opal and Freedom are general focus blockers that can run on a schedule. Apple's built-in Screen Time is free and is enough if whole categories off at night suits you. This blog belongs to Bedline, and everything about the other apps comes from their App Store listings, read on 13 October 2026, not from using them.
Key takeaways
- Six of the eight apps are built for bedtime: Bedline, Sleep Lock, SleepLock, Dozzi, time2sleep and TapScreen. Opal and Freedom are all-day focus blockers with scheduling.
- The six bedtime listings each say they use Apple's Screen Time, so what differs is which apps you can choose, how you get out at night, and what else is bundled.
- Minimum iOS ranges from 16.1 (Freedom) to 26 (Sleep Lock), so check yours first.
- Apple's built-in Screen Time is free and enough when quieting whole categories at night is fine; an app earns its place when you want to name specific apps.
- Bedline for iPhone pauses the apps, categories and websites you choose from your Bedline until your wake-up; pausing apps needs a Premium plan.
Which apps are bedtime blockers, and which are focus blockers?
The table lists what each App Store listing says. Where a listing is silent, the cell says so, and nothing here is a test result.
| App | Built for | You choose | Way out at night, per its listing | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedline | Your Bedline to wake-up | Apps, categories, websites | Hold to confirm an emergency unlock; apps rest again on their own | iOS 18.0 or later |
| Sleep Lock: Bedtime Blocker | A sleep window | Apps, categories, websites | Emergency unlock, with a streak reset | iOS 26 or later |
| SleepLock: Sleep App Blocker | Bedtime to wake-up | Apps and app categories | Unlock just for tonight; the lock returns tomorrow | iOS 17.6 or later |
| Dozzi: Nightly App Block | A sleep schedule | Up to 5 apps | Not stated | iOS 18.5 or later |
| time2sleep: bedtime appblocker | Bedtime | Selected apps | An unlock challenge; one snooze of up to 15 minutes a day | iOS 17.0 or later |
| TapScreen, listed as Focuscapes: Deep Sleep & Focus | Sleep modes, including all night | Saved app lists; Phone and Messages can stay available | No unlock tasks; you can change or stop sessions at any time | iOS 17.0 or later |
| Opal: Screen Time Control | Focus all day; sleep and routines in a calendar | Apps and websites | Adjustable difficulty; Deep Focus "you can't bypass or cancel" | iOS 18.0 or later |
| Freedom: Screen Time Control | Focus sessions, on schedule | Apps and websites | A Locked Mode | iOS 16.1 or later |
A note on TapScreen: the listing at that address is now named Focuscapes: Deep Sleep & Focus, its privacy policy and terms sit on tapscreentime.com, and search results show the same listing as "Tap Screen Time for Sleep", which is why I take it to be the app people mean by TapScreen.
How do the bedtime apps differ from each other?
They differ less in the block than in the extras around it, and in how they let you out.
- Bedline app sets when your Bedline starts and when you wake up, with different weekend hours, and you can change or switch off tonight only. It has no account and no ads, and Apple never tells it which apps you chose. Its extras are Progress (a star for each night you keep), a Home Screen widget and an optional save to Apple Health after you confirm you were in bed.
- Sleep Lock lists custom wake-up alarms, optional Apple Health sleep insights, streaks and a five-minute warning. Its listing says all features need a Sleep Lock Pro subscription, with weekly, monthly and yearly plans and a three-day trial.
- SleepLock: Sleep App Blocker lists separate schedules for work nights and rest days, streaks and badges, and a morning check-in. It requires SleepLock Pro, a monthly plan with a seven-day trial or a lifetime purchase.
- Dozzi lists a custom schedule with pre-sleep and post-wake offsets and Home and Lock Screen widgets, built on Apple's Screen Time APIs. Its listing shows its most recent update in September 2025, which may matter to you.
- time2sleep lists sleep soundscapes and sleep history besides the block, and describes its unlock challenge as a "cognitive barrier" that makes you think twice before unlocking at night.
- TapScreen lists four modes (Sleep All Night, Nap, Wind Down and Quiet Rest), saved app lists, soft sounds and a Progress tab. Its listing says no puzzles or unlock tasks are required and that you can change or stop sessions whenever you want.
- Opal and Freedom are for the day as much as the night. Opal lists a calendar for working hours, sleep and routines, leaderboards and focus reports. Freedom lists blocking apps and websites across phones, tablets and computers, with scheduled and recurring sessions.
Other listings share the SleepLock name. By their own descriptions, "SleepLock: Bedtime Enforcer" is a bedtime log with streaks and "SleepLock: Must-Sleep Alarm" is an alarm that asks you to put the phone face down; neither describes blocking apps.
Which one should you pick?
Pick by the job and by the exit. The cells below follow each listing's wording and my reading of it.
| You want | Look at |
|---|---|
| Whole categories quiet at night, at no cost | Apple's built-in Screen Time |
| A night-only blocker where you name the apps | Bedline, Sleep Lock, SleepLock, Dozzi, time2sleep or TapScreen |
| An alarm in the same app | Sleep Lock, whose listing lists wake-up alarms |
| Soft sounds with the block | time2sleep or TapScreen, whose listings list sleep sounds |
| A speed bump before you can unlock | time2sleep's unlock challenge, or the hold-to-confirm in Bedline |
| One tool for the day and the night, and your computer | Opal or Freedom |
I have not used the other apps. Try the free part of one and check the exit at 01:00 before you rely on it.
When is Apple's built-in Screen Time enough?
It is enough more often than the app listings suggest. If you are on iOS 27, a Screen Time Schedule window that leaves out the categories you scroll is free and set once, and on iOS 26 or earlier Downtime with Block at Downtime does the same job (Apple's iOS 27 guide and iOS 26 guide have the steps). Asking someone else to set the Screen Time passcode makes it harder to undo.
What the built-in settings do not do is pause two or three named apps and leave the rest of the category alone, or let you out of a block in a way that closes again by itself. That is the gap these apps fill. For the built-in steps, see how to block apps at night on iPhone and what replaced Downtime in iOS 27.
What can a listing not tell you?
A listing says what the maker promises, not how well it works on your phone. It cannot tell you whether the block holds, how annoying the exit is at 01:00, or what the subscription costs after the trial, so read that part of the listing. Several listings here say that pausing or all features need a paid plan, Bedline's included: Bedline needs a Premium plan to pause apps, and Apple's Screen Time does not.
No phone-down tool on your own phone is impossible to get around. Opal's listing says Deep Focus cannot be bypassed or cancelled; that is its claim, and anyone who controls the phone controls the tool. What a schedule changes is when you decide: once in the evening, not in bed.
FAQ
What is the best bedtime app blocker for iPhone?
There is no single best one; it depends on the job. Pick a bedtime-only blocker if you want to name apps and leave the rest alone, a general focus blocker if you want one tool for the day too, and Apple's free Screen Time if whole categories at night are fine.
Do bedtime app blockers use Apple's Screen Time?
The six bedtime listings say so. Bedline says it pauses apps with Apple's Screen Time, Sleep Lock names Apple's Screen Time APIs, SleepLock says it locks apps with Apple's Screen Time, Dozzi says it is built on Apple Screen Time APIs, and time2sleep and TapScreen say they use Apple's Screen Time API.
Are there free bedtime app blockers?
Apple's Screen Time is free and built in. Each app in this post lists a free download, but the listings of Bedline, Sleep Lock and SleepLock say pausing apps or all features need a paid plan, so check the listing for current plans.
Can a bedtime app blocker be bypassed?
Yes, in the sense that the person who set it up can switch it off or change the schedule. The apps differ in how much friction they put in the way: a passcode, an unlock challenge, a hold to confirm. Handing the Screen Time passcode to someone else makes the exit harder on any phone.
Is Sleep Focus enough to stop scrolling at night?
Apple describes Sleep Focus as reducing distractions, for example by filtering notifications and calls, and it does not describe it as blocking apps. If notifications pull you back in, it helps; for the apps themselves you still need Screen Time or an app.