Plan the day as blocks.
Lock the apps that eat it.
Habits, tasks and events on one to-scale timeline. During the blocks you chose, the apps you chose stop opening. Planning and blocking in the same app, so the plan has something holding it up.
- NOW
- The red line, drawn at the real time. Cold shower 07:00 is a check; Gym 08:00 shows 52m done.
- 09:00
- Reply to emails — 30 min · Work · flagged. Then Lunch with Anna, an event, at 12:00.
- 13:00
- Deep work — Active · 2:38:58, pause and stop on the row itself.
- Shield
- What Instagram opens to inside a block: Instagram is blocked by ARCO.
One timeline,
drawn to scale.
Habits, tasks and events share one day, in the order they happen; the red NOW line tracks the clock and whatever is running counts in place. A habit is a row with a mode: a check, a stopwatch, or a timer. The second tab, TASKS, holds the same work grouped by project.
Anything without a time waits in Plan your day. Tap a row, step the time with − and +, and place it. Just this once moves a habit for today only; its usual time stays put.
- Habits with no time
- 3 waiting. Gym, 45 min is open on the stepper at 09:00.
- Just this once
- “Today only · the habit keeps its own time.” Off here, so 09:00 becomes Gym's time.
- Place at 09:00
- One button. The row leaves this list and lands on the timeline. Sunscreen and Make bed are next.
- Events · just time
- Wake up · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner as one-tap chips. An event is only a time.
What blocking looks like.
Control Center is where a session lives once it has started. Pick the apps and the length; it counts down whether ARCO is open or not, on the lock screen too. Take a break spends from a break bank. End session ends it, unless you chose strict mode before starting.
Open a blocked app inside a session and iOS hands it to ARCO instead. No countdown, no “remind me in 15 minutes”; the only button goes back to what you were doing. Enforced through Apple's own Screen Time frameworks, so it holds with ARCO closed.
- Blocking now
- Focus · 30 min session · Started 02:11 · 17:51 of 30m remaining.
- Blocked apps
- Instagram, TikTok. Edit changes the list mid-session. Take a break and End session are the only controls.
- The shield
- “What does this add to your day?” then “You have chosen to use this time to work on yourself.” One button: Lock back in.
Blocked Hours Pro
Recurring windows, lower on the same Control Center, where the chosen apps stop opening on their own. This one has two: 5:00–6:00 and 9:00–11:00. Set once, they run every day.
Both columns,
side by side.
Day, week or month, split in two. Good habits totals the time you put in: focus hours, minutes per habit, streaks. Bad habits reads your Screen Time and splits it into distracting, entertainment and everyday, then ranks the apps inside each. Measured by Apple's on-device framework, never sent anywhere.
- 15–21 Sep
- 14h 25m of focus, 2h 3m a day.
- Best day
- 2h 58m, Friday. ↓ 2% vs last week.
- Gym
- 5h 33m · ↑ 2% · 47m a day.
- Deep work
- 11h · ↓ 10%. Best streak 20 d.
- Total
- 57h 5m on the phone, ↓ 33%.
- 60%
- Distracting · Entertainment 14% · Everyday 26%.
- 34h 27m
- TikTok 24h 56m is most of it on its own.
- Then
- Instagram 8h 5m · Snapchat 42m · X 17m.
Tasks and projects
The TASKS tab groups work by project, each with its own colour. A row carries a priority flag, a duration, and either a time or Anytime until you decide.
Habits, on the timeline
A habit is a row on the day, not a list of its own: a check (Cold shower), a stopwatch (Gym, 52m done) or a timer (Read before bed, 30 min).
Strict mode
The session cannot be ended early, from the app or the lock screen. You choose the mode before you start, never during.
Wake up on plan
Put Wake up on the timeline and a real alarm rings at that time, even on silent. Move it and the alarm moves with the plan. Requires iOS 26.
Runs from the lock screen
A live session shows on the lock screen with its timer. Take a break or end it without unlocking.
Private by design
No account, no email, no server. Screen Time is read through Apple's on-device framework, so the numbers never leave your iPhone.
Free to plan.
Pro makes it hold.
- Full day planner & timeline
- Wake-up alarm, rings on silent
- Focus timer & lock-screen controls
- 3 fully blocked sessions a week
- 2 habits with streaks
- Block apps on every session
- Strict mode with no exit
- Blocked Hours, recurring auto-lock
- Unlimited habits
- Full history & weekly recaps
Fair questions.
How is this different from Apple's Screen Time?
Screen Time asks nicely, and you tap "remind me in 15 minutes" a thousand times. ARCO ties a plan for the hour to a lock on the apps that steal it. During a focus session your chosen apps simply do not open — and strict mode removes the exit entirely.
Does the alarm really ring on silent?
Yes. ARCO uses Apple's alarm framework — the same power the Clock app has. Schedule Wake up on your timeline and a real full-screen alarm rings at that time, silent switch or not. Requires iOS 26.
What can the free version do?
Almost everything: the full planner, the wake-up alarm, habits with streaks, focus sessions, and three fully blocked sessions every week. Pro removes the limits — blocking on every session, strict mode, Blocked Hours, unlimited habits, and full history.
Can you see my screen time data?
No. There's no account and no server. Usage is read on your device through Apple's Screen Time framework, built so the numbers never leave your iPhone. We couldn't see them if we wanted to.
What if I need a blocked app urgently?
Normal focus sessions can be ended from the app or lock screen anytime. Strict mode is the one you choose when you don't want that door to exist. You always pick the mode before you start.
Plan a little.
Block a lot.
Free on the App Store. No account, nothing to set up but the day in front of you.
Download on the App Store