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Pick your worst apps and set a daily screen time limit or focus hours. When you hit the limit, they lock. Want more anyway? Pay a toll you priced yourself ($0.99 to $9.99). If 10 minutes isn't worth $2, it wasn't worth your time anyway.
A while back I watched a Greg Isenberg video with the Wombo AI founder. He said that people are glued to their phones. Nothing new, but I kept thinking, how I could change that? Simply because I dislike that reality. Aaand I probably could spend less time on my phone as well. I was already using the Screen Time feature of Apple, but you can just tap that away. I then discovered, that there is a huge market for app blockers and focus apps. But none of them were right for me. Collecting steps or do push-ups/workout? I workout five times a week already, so that was no blocker for me. Praying? I am not religious. Just use will power/focus? Would I need the app if that worked? So I brainstormed a bit and finally thought: "What if screen time would cost money?" And that is how TapToll was born. If going past my limit cost real money, I'd think twice. That's the entire app: pick your worst apps, set a daily limit or focus hours, and when you hit the limit they lock via Apple's Screen Time enforcement. If you want more time anyway, you pay a toll you priced yourself in advance ($0.99–$9.99). Afterwards it asks: was it worth it?
My beta testers reported that even in Apple TestFlight, where you do not actually pay the money, the psychological effect is so strong that they were reluctant to pay money just to spend more time on e.g. Instagram.
Things I cared about building it: – You set the price, in a calm moment. No surprise pricing, no dark patterns, spend caps included. – Walking away is always free. The toll is the escape hatch, not the goal. The goal is for you to spend less time on your phone. – Local-first. Your rules, usage, and history stay on your iPhone. No account needed.
Free tier runs one focus rule with up to 2 apps, forever. Pro (more rules, bigger app groups, deeper insights) is 50% off the first year during launch week with code TOUCHGRASS (redeemable during onboarding).
I have built this solo on the side and would be super interested in your honest feedback.
Edit:
I completely forgot to say what I have in mind for the future:
Add multiple languages for the app
depending on demand and feasibility, release on Android as well
improve the progress page with even more insights and perspectives
honestly the pay yourself to unlock thing is kind of genius, made me think twice about scrolling for no reason
The toll idea is clever and the auto-lock once you hit the limit actually sounds effective. One thing that would make it even more useful for me is a weekly recap that shows how much I "toll-paid" versus how many times I gave in, so you can see the real cost of your scrolling habits in dollars.
love the concept of paying yourself to break bad habits, really clever twist. one thing i'd find useful is a weekly summary that shows how much i would've spent without the locks and how much time i actually reclaimed. seeing those numbers side by side would make the progress feel way more real and keep me motivated to stick with tougher tolls.
honestly this is such a clever spin on screen time limits, the toll idea is genuinely motivating. one thing though, can you let users split the toll between a charity and an anti-charity or something like that? basically if i cave and pay up, it would hit way harder knowing the money goes somewhere i'd hate instead of just disappearing into an app store purchase. would probably make me way more disciplined about those focus hours.
The "pay yourself" toll gimmick genuinely reframes mindless scrolling as an actual choice. Set my toll at $3 and watched myself hesitate for once before opening Instagram, which never happens with regular screen time apps.
About TapToll on Product Hunt
“Would you pay for more screen time?”
TapToll was submitted on Product Hunt and earned 9 upvotes and 11 comments, placing #113 on the daily leaderboard. Pick your worst apps and set a daily screen time limit or focus hours. When you hit the limit, they lock. Want more anyway? Pay a toll you priced yourself ($0.99 to $9.99). If 10 minutes isn't worth $2, it wasn't worth your time anyway.
TapToll was featured in iOS (110.5k followers), Health & Fitness (82.9k followers) and Productivity (656.2k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 212.3k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted TapToll?
TapToll was hunted by Alex König. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how TapToll stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Alex König
Hi Product Hunt,
A while back I watched a Greg Isenberg video with the Wombo AI founder. He said that people are glued to their phones. Nothing new, but I kept thinking, how I could change that?
Simply because I dislike that reality. Aaand I probably could spend less time on my phone as well.
I was already using the Screen Time feature of Apple, but you can just tap that away. I then discovered, that there is a huge market for app blockers and focus apps. But none of them were right for me. Collecting steps or do push-ups/workout? I workout five times a week already, so that was no blocker for me. Praying? I am not religious. Just use will power/focus? Would I need the app if that worked?
So I brainstormed a bit and finally thought: "What if screen time would cost money?" And that is how TapToll was born. If going past my limit cost real money, I'd think twice.
That's the entire app: pick your worst apps, set a daily limit or focus hours, and when you hit the limit they lock via Apple's Screen Time enforcement. If you want more time anyway, you pay a toll you priced yourself in advance ($0.99–$9.99).
Afterwards it asks: was it worth it?
My beta testers reported that even in Apple TestFlight, where you do not actually pay the money, the psychological effect is so strong that they were reluctant to pay money just to spend more time on e.g. Instagram.
Things I cared about building it:
– You set the price, in a calm moment. No surprise pricing, no dark patterns, spend caps included.
– Walking away is always free. The toll is the escape hatch, not the goal. The goal is for you to spend less time on your phone.
– Local-first. Your rules, usage, and history stay on your iPhone. No account needed.
Free tier runs one focus rule with up to 2 apps, forever. Pro (more rules, bigger app groups, deeper insights) is 50% off the first year during launch week with code TOUCHGRASS (redeemable during onboarding).
I have built this solo on the side and would be super interested in your honest feedback.
Edit:
I completely forgot to say what I have in mind for the future:
Add multiple languages for the app
depending on demand and feasibility, release on Android as well
improve the progress page with even more insights and perspectives