A calmer way to
put your phone down.

Lock your most distracting apps behind a tap, a scan, or a long press — and get your attention back.

See how it works
TestFlight beta — coming soon

What it does

Friction, on purpose.

Zen Locker uses Apple’s Screen Time to block the apps and sites you choose, then puts a small, deliberate step between you and unlocking them. Enough to break the reflex — never enough to get in your way.

Tap a tag

Keep an NFC tag where you want a boundary. In the app, choose lock or unlock, then tap the tag to confirm — a deliberate step, on purpose.

Scan a code

Prefer paper? Lock behind a QR code you keep somewhere intentional, like across the room.

Hold to unlock

No tag or code handy? A deliberate long press is enough of a pause to think twice.

Profiles for moods

Set up “Deep Work,” “Evening,” “Sleep” — each with its own apps and its own way to unlock.

A look inside

Set it, hold it, done.

A profile holds the apps you want out of reach and the way you want to get them back. Hold the lotus and the whole screen goes red until you unlock it.

The Zen Locker home screen with a Deep Work profile selected, seven apps blocked, and a large lotus button labelled Hold to Block.
A profile per mood — seven apps here, unlocked by an NFC tag.
Zen Locker in its locked state: the screen floods tomato red, the lotus turns dark, and an elapsed timer reads seven seconds.
Locked. The timer counts how long you’ve stayed out.
An Unlock With sheet offering three mechanisms: NFC Tag, QR Code, and Manual hold to unlock.
Choose the friction: a tag, a code, or a long press.
Instagram opened while locked, showing the Zen Locker shield: a lotus mark above the words Instagram is blocked.
Open a blocked app and the lotus is what you get.

Private by design

Your choices stay yours.

No ads, and no account required. Your app and site selections are handled by Apple’s Screen Time in a way even we can’t read — so what you block never leaves your phone. Read the privacy policy →