iPhone screen time
Screen time you have to earn.
Controller Dopamine pauses the apps that pull you into a scroll, then gives them back after something real — a walk, a chapter, a few quiet minutes.
- No account to create
- Habits stay on your iPhone
- No ads in the app
iPhone on iOS 17 or later. On the App Store as Control Dopamine: Screen Time. US listing checked October 2026: 4.3 out of 5 from 7 ratings.
The pause
This app is blocked.
Brain credits
0
Earn one with a real activity.
- Walk + credit
- Read + credit
- Meditate + credit
- Exercise + credit
- Journal + credit
Spend a credit when you actually want the app. The shield comes back when the window ends.
In short
What is Controller Dopamine?
Controller Dopamine is an iPhone screen time app that blocks apps you choose until you earn brain credits by walking, reading, meditating, exercising, or journaling. DataReportal’s Digital 2025 report, drawing on GWI’s survey of adult internet users, puts average time online at 6 hours and 38 minutes a day, about 3 hours and 46 minutes of it on a phone.
How is this different from a dopamine detox list?
A dopamine detox listicle usually tells you what to delete, then leaves you alone with the urge. Controller Dopamine keeps those apps on the phone and changes what it costs to open them. Walking, reading, meditation, exercise, or journaling earns a brain credit. You spend the credit on a short window. When the window ends, the shield is back. The credit is the product. A list of tips does not do that work for you.
Neither a list nor a credit resets your brain chemistry on a schedule. Controller Dopamine is a habit tool, not a treatment.
The problem
The loop is working as designed.
Feeds are tuned for one more hit of novelty. Interest spikes, the feeling flattens, and your thumb is already moving. A block can interrupt that. Pairing the block with something you meant to do is how the interruption lasts.
-
01
A lot of hours
DataReportal’s Digital 2025 report, drawing on GWI’s survey of adult internet users, puts average time online at 6 hours and 38 minutes a day — about 3 hours and 46 minutes of it on a phone. It is self-reported time online, not a clinical measure, and it is still a large share of a day.
-
02
Spike, then flat
In Dopamine Nation, psychiatrist Anna Lembke describes a pleasure–pain balance: easy rewards, repeated often, can make ordinary effort feel flat, which makes the next easy reward more attractive. That is a way to think about the scroll. It is not a diagnosis, and this app is not a treatment.
-
03
Movement is the trade
World Health Organization guidance on physical activity and sedentary behaviour asks people to break up long periods of sitting and replace some of that time with movement. Earning a credit with a walk is a small version of that swap. It is not a medical program.
How it works
How does earning screen time work?
Three steps. You pick the apps, you do something real, you decide when a credit is worth spending.
-
Block
Choose the apps that swallow your attention. When you open one, Controller Dopamine pauses you before the next video starts itself.
-
Earn
Walk, read, meditate, exercise, or journal. Finish the session and you collect brain credits. The credit is the point: screen time becomes the reward.
-
Spend
Use a credit to open a blocked app for a short window. When the credits run out, the shield is back. You can still use your phone. You just stop doing it by accident.
Features
A quieter kind of accountability.
-
Smart app blocking
Choose the apps that turn a spare minute into twenty. Opening one brings up a shield, so the scroll is a decision instead of a reflex.
-
Brain credits
Walking, reading, meditation, exercise, and journaling earn credits. Screen time is what you spend them on.
-
Yelo
Yelo is the mascot who reflects the streak. Keep showing up and Yelo brightens. Skip the activities and Yelo droops. A companion, not a public score.
-
28-day challenges
A set length makes the habit easier to start. Daily streaks, milestones, and a look back at the month. A practice window, with no promise of a cure.
-
Streaks
The day count is there when motivation is not. Miss a day and you begin again. The point is the return, not a perfect record.
-
Weekly reports
See screen time week over week, on your iPhone. A short read on whether the trade is doing what you hoped.
On-device privacy
There is no account to create, and the habit log is stored on your iPhone. The app does not show ads. Apple’s privacy label also covers purchases, identifiers, and crash diagnostics — the details are in the Privacy Policy.
Pricing
Simple plans. Apple handles billing.
Download free, then subscribe in the app if you want Controller Dopamine Pro. The amounts below are US App Store list prices in US dollars. See the App Store for your local price.
Updated . US App Store list prices were checked the same month.
-
Weekly
ControlDopamine Pro Weekly
$6.99
per week
A short stretch, if you want the tool without a long commitment.
See the App Store -
Monthly
ControlDopamine Pro Monthly
$14.99
per month
Stay month to month while the habit settles in.
See the App Store -
Best long-term value
Yearly
ControlDopamine Pro Yearly
$49.99
per year
About $4.17 a month, billed once a year.
See the App Store
The US listing also shows an Annual Welcome Offer at $14.99 for eligible purchases. That offer is separate from the regular yearly price. If you qualify, Apple shows it before you pay.
Plans renew until you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. On iPhone, that is Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions. A free trial appears only when Apple shows it. Recent versions have kept an annual trial for eligible subscribers and sold the monthly plan without one.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
Does the app need an account?
No. You do not create an account with us. Streaks, credits, and the activities you log are stored on your iPhone. Purchases are tied to your Apple ID, which Apple manages.
Where does my data go?
The habit record stays on your iPhone. Controller Dopamine does not show ads, and this website does not ask you to sign up or create an account. Apple’s privacy label for the app lists purchases and identifiers, which may be used for tracking and for the developer’s own marketing, plus diagnostic data such as crash logs that is not linked to your identity. GH SERVICOS DIGITAIS LTDA does not sell personal information.
Read the Privacy Policy Which phones does it support?
iPhone running iOS 17 or later. The App Store listing is for iPhone, not iPad or Android. You will be asked to allow Screen Time access so a block can stay in place after you leave the app.
How much does it cost?
The download is free. Controller Dopamine Pro is an auto-renewing subscription billed by Apple. On the US App Store the plans are listed as ControlDopamine Pro Weekly at $6.99, ControlDopamine Pro Monthly at $14.99, and ControlDopamine Pro Yearly at $49.99. An Annual Welcome Offer at $14.99 may appear if you are eligible. Your currency, tax, and any trial are shown before you pay. See the App Store for your local price.
How do I cancel?
On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. Cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Apple keeps the plan active until that period is over. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription. Refunds follow Apple’s rules.
Is there a free trial?
Only when the App Store shows one on the sheet you confirm. Recent versions have offered an annual trial to eligible subscribers and sold the monthly plan without a trial. Region, Apple ID history, and the plan can all change what you see. If you do not see a trial, you are not in one.
Is this a dopamine detox or a medical treatment?
People look for a dopamine detox app when scrolling starts to feel compulsive. Controller Dopamine is a habit tool: blocks, earned credits, and streaks. It draws on a careful idea from behavioral science, including psychiatrist Anna Lembke’s writing on the pleasure–pain balance. It does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition, and it does not claim to reset your brain chemistry on a schedule.
Who publishes Controller Dopamine?
GH SERVICOS DIGITAIS LTDA publishes Controller Dopamine. The company is at Rua Rio Grande do Norte 1436, Savassi, Belo Horizonte - MG, 30130-138, Brazil. Gabe Hale is the public face. Email hello@controllerdopamine.com. This website is controllerdopamine.com.
Make the next unlock mean something.
Get Controller Dopamine on the App Store. The price you confirm there is the one that applies.