An app that makes you earn your screen time, free

By the edgi team Updated October 23, 2026 Facts checked October 23, 2026

edgi is the free iPhone app that makes you earn your screen time with something worth having: a 60-second Lesson opens TikTok, Instagram or any app you lock, for the number of opens and minutes you set. Other earn-it apps charge steps, workouts, a photo of grass or quiz answers. edgi charges one new idea, and keeps it for you as a card on a Map of everything you've learned.

We make edgi, and we built Focus on the belief that the best price for screen time is one you'd pay anyway.

The earn-it apps, by what they charge

"Earn your screen time" has become its own corner of the App Store. They share the same lock on the apps you pick and differ in the price at the door.

Fitness and grass apps from TechCrunch's August 2026 roundup; the others from their own sites and App Store listings, October 2026.

All of them put a price on the reach. The question is what you want the reach to turn into.

Why the payment matters more than the lock

Here's the mechanism under all of them:

Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning is a learning process where voluntary actions change based on the rewards or punishments that follow them.

60-second Lesson

Operant Conditioning

Whatever comes right after an action decides whether it comes back, and a reward that came only sometimes is the hardest to quit.

Play it here Read about operant conditioning

Reaching for your phone comes back because of what comes right after it. A feed pays out unpredictably, which is the strongest schedule there is. An earn-it app changes what comes right after the reach. Pushups make the reach cost effort. A quiz makes it cost recall. A Lesson makes it pay: a minute of guessing, tapping and testing your way into something you didn't know, often strange enough that you keep going.

That's why edgi charges learning. Curiosity doesn't need a gym or good weather, and the 44,000+ Lessons in edgi cover 105,000 ideas, from how a slot machine decides before the reels move to why red wine dries your mouth.

How earning works in edgi

1. In edgi, open Settings, then Focus, and pick apps through the iPhone's Screen Time picker. edgi never sees which ones.
2. Set an intention for each app. edgi writes it as a sentence: "I'll open TikTok no more than 3 times a day, for 5 min each time." 1 to 30 opens, 1 to 60 minutes, on the days you choose.
3. Choose the price. Once a day: the first open of the day costs one Lesson and the rest are free. Every open: each one costs a Lesson.

Then reach for TikTok and the screen says "One lesson opens TikTok for 5 minutes." Do the Lesson, and TikTok opens for exactly five minutes. Earned screen time is worth more when it can't be inflated, so a stricter rule starts the moment you save it and a looser one waits until midnight.

What the earning adds up to

edgi's payments add up somewhere you can see. Every Lesson is a card. Cards turn foil, then gold, as you come back to the idea. Cards fill Sets with a finish line, and they light up your Map next to the ideas they connect to. One Lesson a day keeps your streak, and the block screen shows it whenever you reach for a locked app.

So a month of earning your screen time leaves you with a month of ideas. That's the difference between a lock and a trade.

For the Duolingo version of the idea, see apps like Duolingo Focus Mode. For the TikTok-specific setup, see an app that makes you learn before opening TikTok.

FAQ

Is there an app that makes you earn screen time? Yes. edgi makes you earn each app with a 60-second Lesson, free on iPhone, on the opens and minutes you set. Others charge steps, pushups or quiz answers.

Is there a free app that makes you learn before using social media? edgi. Its Focus lock opens Instagram, TikTok or any app you pick after a 60-second Lesson on any subject, and it's free.

Can I earn screen time by studying? Yes. Any Lesson you finish in edgi pays the door, and you can make a Lesson, a Quiz of up to 20 questions or an Explainer on any topic you name, so the price can be your course.

Is edgi free? Yes. edgi is free on iPhone, Focus included.