Get your day back from your phone.
Hardcore Focus is an iPhone app blocker and focus timer. It blocks distracting apps with Apple's Screen Time API while you work a timed session toward a daily focus goal. Three tabs — Focus, Habits, Shield. No account. No VPN. No task list.
7-day free trial on annual. iPhone, iOS 26+.
The average smartphone owner burns 4+ hours a day on their phone — that's 60+ days a year. (Backlinko, 2026)
How it works
Block the apps. Hit the dial. Keep the streak.
1. Shield
Pick the apps that eat your day. Hardcore Focus blocks them with Apple's native Screen Time API — no VPN, no proxy, no third-party account. On a schedule, during a session, or always on.
2. Focus
Tap the Focus dial and work until you are done. The ring is your daily goal (default two hours, yours to set). Pause when life happens. The screen stays awake.
3. Habits
Stack habits into routines. Check them off, count reps, or run a timer. Workouts, walks, and mindful minutes can auto-complete from Apple Health.
The discipline you keep promising yourself — enforced.
Actually start.
One dial. Hit it and the session owns the screen until the work is done. Daily goal on the ring. Mission is a one-line statement you set for yourself — not a task inbox.
Become the person who shows up.
Habits and routines by time of day. Apple Health checks off what you've already done.
Remove the temptation.
The apps that eat your day, gone — on a schedule or for the session. No Bypass, or a 15-minute unlock. That's it.
What's included
One subscription. The whole app.
There is no free tier and no Free vs Pro split. Annual includes a 7-day trial. Focus, Habits, and Shield are the product — not a task manager with blocking bolted on.
- App blocking via Apple Screen Time (Family Controls) — scheduled, session, or always-on
- Two bypass modes: No Bypass, or a 15-minute unlock
- Focus dial, open-ended session timer, daily goal
- Habits and routines, with optional Apple Health auto-complete
- Apple Watch companion — start sessions and complete habits from your wrist
- Widgets, Live Activities, Dynamic Island, Siri & Shortcuts
- Shutdown ritual, analytics, on-device insights
- iCloud sync through your Apple account — no Hardcore Focus servers
App Store
5.0 from 11 ratings.
Small sample. Real people. Not a landing-page testimonial mill.
“It helps with mental clarity and focus. For me, it just feels like my brain is more organized.”
“Really like this app. Hardcore keeps me on track with my daily tasks without being complicated.”
Compared honestly
How it stacks up against other iPhone app blockers.
Opal is a screen-time dashboard. Jomo is cheaper Strict Mode, including Mac. Brick is a physical NFC tag. one sec is friction, not a wall. Freedom is the laptop. Hardcore Focus is a focus session plus a native Screen Time shield — no account, no VPN, no task inbox.
The best app blockers for iPhone (2026)
Hardcore Focus, Opal, one sec, Freedom, Brick, Jomo, Forest, and ScreenZen — by strictness, price, and how they actually block.
7 best Opal alternatives for iPhone (2026)
Cheaper, stricter, or more private than Opal — including when Hardcore Focus is the wrong pick.
Hardcore Focus vs Opal
Screen-time dashboard vs timed sessions + Shield. Price, bypass, privacy.
Can you bypass iPhone app blockers?
The Settings → Screen Time escape hatch, and what No Bypass, Jomo Strict, and Brick actually close.
Who this is for
People who already know which apps steal the day and keep opening them anyway. Not a planner. Not a calendar. Not an AI that argues with you. Block, focus, show up for the habits. If you need Android, a Mac blocker, or a free tier to try five apps first — ScreenZen and one sec exist for that.
Pricing
Less than a coffee a month to get your hours back.
One app, no add-ons, no ads. Hard paywall — a subscription unlocks everything.
FAQ
iPhone (iOS 26+), with an Apple Watch companion app. iPad runs the iPhone app. There's no dedicated macOS or Android version.
No. Everything lives on your device and in your private iCloud. There's no backend and no sign-up.
It uses Apple's native Screen Time (Family Controls) API — the same one parental controls use. No VPN, no proxy, no third-party account. How Shield works.
No. A subscription unlocks the full app. The annual plan has a 7-day free trial. See support for billing details.
$3.99 / week, $8.99 / month, or $49.99 / year (7-day free trial on the annual plan). Cancel anytime in Settings.
Yes. Everything stays on your device and in your private iCloud. No servers, no analytics SDKs, no account.