ScrollTax locks your most addictive apps. Earn them back by reading, focusing, doing chores, walking, or going outside.
No willpower required. The system enforces it.
Screen time reports guilt-trip you. App limits get overridden in 3 taps. Neither works because there's no real consequence. ScrollTax adds one: every minute of TikTok costs reading, focus, or sunlight. Brainrot gets expensive fast.
Pick the apps draining your life — TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit. ScrollTax locks them via Screen Time. No override.
Read, focus, do chores, walk, or go outside. Every real-world activity earns points worth ~5 minutes of screen time.
1 point = ~5 min of screen time. When you're out of points, you're locked out. Want more? Go earn it.
Your real life is the currency. Every activity earns tax points worth ~5 minutes of screen time each.
Start the in-app timer. Read anything — books, articles, manga.
Deep work sessions tracked by the app. Study, create, build.
Log household tasks. Cleaning, cooking, organizing your space.
Auto-syncs with Apple Health. Just walk — points come to you.
Tracked via Apple Watch timeInDaylight. Real sun, real points.
| Activity | Points | Screen time |
|---|---|---|
| 10 min reading | 1 pt | ~5 min |
| 15 min focus | 1 pt | ~5 min |
| 15 min chores | 1 pt | ~5 min |
| 2,000 steps | 1 pt | ~5 min |
| 15 min outside | 1 pt | ~5 min |
| Daily grace | 6 pts | ~30 min free |
| Max from reading | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max from focus | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max from chores | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max from steps | 8 pts | ~40 min |
| Max from sunlight | 5 pts | ~25 min |
Each tax point is worth approximately 5 minutes — timing is controlled by Apple's DeviceActivity API and may vary slightly.
Every ~5 minutes of taxed app usage costs 1 tax point
Points are deducted automatically in the background
When your balance hits 0, your taxed apps lock instantly
Earn more points to unlock again — no cooldown, no waiting
About debt
If you use more than you've earned, the overage carries to the next day. Tomorrow's balance = earned + grace - debt.
Screen time trackers show you how long you doom scroll. You feel bad. You scroll more.
App limiters let you set a cap. You tap "Ignore" in 3 seconds. Zero consequences.
ScrollTax turns screen time into a currency you produce. Want 20 minutes of TikTok? That costs 40 minutes of reading. The price is real. The habit change is automatic.
I read 3 books last month because I had to if I wanted Instagram.
App Store review
Finally an app that doesn't just show me stats and make me feel bad.
App Store review
My kids actually go outside now.
App Store review