Who builds it
Ilyes Ben Haj Dahmane is the founder of RepUnlock and writes every line of the iOS app: the Screen Time blocking, the on-device rep counter, the widgets and Live Activities, and Volt, the creature who holds your screen time. There is no content team behind the guides on this site. They are written by the person who built the thing they describe, which is why they say exactly what the app does and does not do.
You can reach him at repunlock@gmail.com or on LinkedIn. Support questions go through the support page.
Why the app exists
Apple Screen Time already blocks apps. The problem is the button at the end of the block. “Ignore Limit” costs nothing, so within a week most people tap it without reading it. RepUnlock keeps Apple’s system-level block and replaces the button with a price you pay with your body: push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, high knees and lunges, counted by the front camera, one rep for one minute of screen time.
Volt came later, once it was clear that a number on a screen is easy to ignore and a hungry creature is not. He is the screen-time balance itself. Reps fill him, scrolling drains him, and at empty the apps lock. He gets hungry when you skip days, reacts when you try to open a blocked app, grows over thousands of lifetime reps, and keeps a scar for every broken streak. He never dies.
How it is built
- Blocking uses Apple’s Screen Time and Family Controls frameworks, the same system layer Apple uses, so a blocked app shows a shield instead of opening.
- Rep counting runs a pose-estimation model on the phone’s Neural Engine. Rep counting runs entirely on your device. Camera frames are never uploaded, never stored, and never leave the phone.
- Platform: iPhone and iPad, iOS 17.6 or later. Free to download, with an optional Premium subscription.
How the guides are written
Every claim about RepUnlock on this site is checked against the app’s own source code before it ships, and the product facts live in one file that the homepage, the landing pages and the structured data all read from. When the app changes, the site changes with it. Where an article quotes research or screen-time statistics, it names the source.
The comparison articles cover competing apps honestly, including the cases where another app is the better choice. RepUnlock is one app with one mechanic. It is right for people who bypass their own limits, and we say so when it is not the right fit.
Found something wrong? Email repunlock@gmail.com and it gets fixed.