iPhone apps that lock your apps until you finish tasks
Marcel Cruz · Updated 27 October 2026
Taskwall, Merite, Beffore and others keep Instagram or TikTok locked until your tasks are done: how each one unlocks and what it costs in the US.
Yes. A small group of iPhone apps keeps the apps you pick locked until you finish your tasks for the day. Taskwall and Merite open everything at once when the work is done; Beffore, our app, can open a slice of time with each finished task instead. In the US, as of October 2026, their paid plans run from $6.99 to $39.99.
Which iPhone apps lock your apps until you finish your tasks?
Beffore is our app, so it is disclosed here and not ranked first. The order below is by how well each app fits someone who wants tasks to come before the scroll. Prices were read from each app's US App Store listing on 14 October 2026.
- Taskwall (App Store). Tasks come before apps, and everything unlocks at once when they are done. Pick Taskwall if you want the lowest entry price and a simple all-or-nothing rule. Its listing shows Pro $6.99 and Pro $34.99 and names no billing period for either.
- Merite (App Store). You bank minutes from tasks and habits, then your apps unlock all at once. Pick Merite if habits matter to you as much as tasks, or if you would rather pay once: Merite lists Annual Premium at $39.99 a year and Merite Pro Lifetime at $79.99.
- Beffore. Beffore is a to-do list that unlocks your screen time. Each limit holds a daily amount of time for the apps you choose, and it opens a slice per finished task (Progression) or all of it when the list is done (Completion). Every lock has two doors, and there is no account to create. Pick Beffore if an all-or-nothing rule feels too heavy and you want time to open as you go. Get Beffore on the App Store; Beffore needs a subscription after setup, and the yearly plan starts with a 3-day free trial.
- Unrot (App Store). Its subtitle is "Earn your Screen Time", built around a battery you charge, behind a hard paywall. Pick Unrot if the battery idea appeals to you and you are ready to pay before you start. Its US listing had 57K ratings at 4.7 on 14 October 2026.
- TaskLock (App Store). The listing is titled "TaskLock: To Do & Block Apps", and its site, tasklockapp.com, leads with "Finish tasks, unlock apps." Both pages loaded on 22 October 2026. I have not verified its prices or features, so neither is stated here.
Two more names come up when people ask AI assistants for this kind of app. AppBlock leads its site with "Control Your Screen Time", and habitdoom with "Stop Doomscrolling. Start Earning It." (both read 22 October 2026). I have no verified price or feature for either.
Do they unlock all at once or a bit per task?
This is the question that splits the group. An all-at-once app treats the day as a gate: nothing opens until the last task is checked. A per-task app lets a little time through as you go.
| App | What earns the time | How the time opens |
|---|---|---|
| Taskwall | Tasks | All at once when they are done |
| Merite | Tasks and habits, banked as minutes | All at once |
| Beffore | Today's tasks | A slice per task (Progression) or all at once (Completion), your choice per limit |
| Unrot | Earning, shown as a battery | Behind a hard paywall; not verified beyond that |
| Clearspace | Exercise, not tasks | Exercise to scroll |
Clearspace is in the table as the contrast. It earns time through movement rather than a list, so it belongs to the wider idea of earning screen time but not to this one. Opal is a different kind again: it blocks on a schedule and by daily limits, with no tasks involved.
ScreenZen works another way again: it adds a wait before a distracting app opens, and whether ScreenZen is safe and really free covers how that pause works.
What does each one cost?
| App | US price, as of October 2026 | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Taskwall | Pro $6.99 and Pro $34.99, no period named | 14 October 2026 |
| Merite | $39.99 a year, or $79.99 once for lifetime | 14 October 2026 |
| Unrot | Several Full Access tiers from $9.99 to $69.99; all premium features at $29.99 | 14 October 2026 |
| Clearspace | $44.99 a year or $6.99 a month | 14 October 2026 |
| TaskLock | Not verified |
Beffore is free to download and needs a subscription after setup: $29.99 a year in the US with a 3-day free trial for new subscribers, or $9.99 a week with no trial, as of October 2026.
Unrot and Taskwall list more than one entry, and the offer you see inside the app decides what you pay. Check the price on the paywall before you start a plan.
Can you still get in when you really need an app?
In Beffore, yes, on purpose. When a limit runs out, the block screen offers "Unlock for 5 min" for the app you tapped. The limit itself can be opened from its own screen with "Open until midnight". Both doors close on their own clock, and most days you won't need them.
I have not verified how Taskwall, Merite, Unrot or TaskLock handle an urgent message or a map you need right now. If that matters to you, look for a break or emergency option in the app before you pay.
How do you set one up for Instagram and TikTok?
Here is a worked example in Beffore. It shows how the settings behave; it is not a measurement.
You make one limit that holds Instagram and TikTok, plus instagram.com, which locks in Safari along with the app. You give the limit a daily amount of 1 hour. Today you add three tasks.
- In Completion, the full hour opens when you check off the third task. Until then, both apps show the block screen.
- In Progression, a slice of the hour opens with each finished task, and the whole hour is open once all three are done.
- With nothing planned today, the limit is open from the start. Only today's tasks count, so yesterday's list does not carry over.
How Beffore works walks through the same setup screen by screen.
Which apps do AI assistants suggest for this?
In week 43 of 2026 (October), we sampled ChatGPT and Gemini 288 times across a set of screen time prompts. Three of them asked for this kind of app.
| Prompt | Samples citing a site | Sites cited |
|---|---|---|
| "Is there an app that keeps my apps locked until I finish my to-do list?" | 4 of 12 | appblock.app, habitdoom.com |
| "List iPhone apps that unlock your apps when you complete tasks." | 4 of 12 | habitdoom.com, appblock.app |
| "Recommend an iPhone app that locks Instagram and TikTok until I finish my tasks, where each finished task unlocks a bit of time rather than all at once." | 2 of 12 | other apps, not Beffore |
None of the answers listed the task-based group side by side. That gap is why this list exists.
FAQ
Is there a way to lock my apps until a certain time?
Yes. Apple's Screen Time includes Downtime, which blocks apps on a schedule you set (Apple's Screen Time guide). It follows the clock, not your tasks.
Do I need an account?
Not for Beffore: you add tasks and choose apps without signing up. I have not verified the account rules of the other apps.
What if I finish a task and nothing unlocks?
In Progression the time opens a slice at a time, and in Completion it waits for the last task. If the limit still stays shut after that, the Beffore support page covers the usual causes.
Can I use one of these apps and still pick when to scroll?
Yes, in Beffore. "Unlock for 5 min" and "Open until midnight" are there for the moments you need an app before your tasks are done. Locks are defaults, never walls.
