Ascent: Screen Time & Offtime is designed to help you build healthy, long-term phone habits by breaking free from distractions and impulsive checking. Instead of using harsh restrictions, Ascent focuses on awareness, intentionality, and giving you real control over how you use your device. It begins with the Pause Exercise, which encourages you to stop for a moment before opening a distracting app. Just a few seconds of reflection can interrupt automatic checking behavior. When you need deep focus, Focus Session temporarily blocks selected apps to create a distraction-free environment that supports productive, sustained work.
For long-term habit change, App Limits let you set daily caps on app and website usage, automatically blocking them once the limit is reached. Meanwhile, Reminders trigger the Pause Screen at moments when you tend to slip into time-wasting apps, gently guiding you back to mindful use. Ascent is also smart enough to block only Reels or Shorts while keeping the main app functional, helping you avoid endless scrolling without disrupting essential usage. Additional support comes from Website Blocking, which restricts access to distracting sites directly from your mobile browser.
To help you make conscious choices, Ascent uses Intentions, requiring you to state your purpose before opening an addictive app, turning impulsive taps into mindful decisions. Complementing this are Shortcuts, giving you fast access to essential apps and links while reducing unnecessary taps and preventing accidental distractions. With Bookmarks, you can save valuable content to revisit later — a healthier alternative to algorithm-driven endless feeds.
Ascent also includes Custom Schedules, allowing you to block apps at specific times or for fixed durations based on your lifestyle or goals. Each schedule comes with helpful notifications and progress tracking to strengthen your consistency over time. Importantly, Ascent uses the Accessibility Service API solely to detect and block selected apps; all data is stored locally on your device to ensure complete privacy.
Key features:
- Pause before opening distracting apps.
- Focus Session to temporarily block apps and stay focused.
- Daily app and website usage limits.
- Reminders to reduce time spent on distracting apps.
- Reels & Shorts blocking for Instagram and YouTube.
- Website blocking via specific URLs.
- Intentions — state your purpose before opening addictive apps.
- Shortcuts for quick access to essential apps without distractions.
- Bookmarks to save meaningful content instead of browsing feeds.
- Custom blocking schedules by time and duration.
- Uses Accessibility Service API to block apps (no data collected).
