LatchScreen Time vs Latch: a passcode you know, or a key you have to fetch
Apple's Screen Time is free, built into every iPhone, and good at showing where your time goes. Its weak spot, when you use it on yourself, is that you hold the passcode. Latch keeps your apps locked until you scan a key you keep somewhere else, so getting back in takes a walk instead of four digits.
We make Latch, so read this with that in mind. Screen Time details come from Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and iOS 26, checked October 2026, and link to their sources.
Our verdict
Keep Screen Time for reports. Use Latch for the lock
Screen Time is free, covers your iPhone, iPad and Mac, and is the right tool for parents managing a child's device through Family Sharing. For an adult setting limits on their own phone, the passcode is the gap: you know it. Latch moves the unlock to a sticker, a printed QR code or a walk, and it's free to start.
Screen Time vs Latch at a glance
| Feature | Latch | Screen Time |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; Latch Pro is $9.99 once | Free, built into iOS, iPadOS and macOS |
| What guards the limit | Your key: an NFC sticker, a printed QR code, or a set number of steps | A four-digit Screen Time passcode you set for yourself, which you can reset with your Apple Account if you turn on Passcode Recovery (Apple) |
| Without a passcode | Not needed; the key is the lock | On iOS 26, with Block at Downtime off, "you can choose to continue using the apps" (Apple) |
| Limits | Daily limits per app or category; each key scan buys one more round | Time Allowances by category and Screen Time Schedules on iOS 27 (Apple) |
| Locks on its own | Schedules, arriving at a place, while driving, Siri or Google Assistant | Schedules |
| Emergencies | Break glass: 3 a month, 5 to 15 minutes, locks again on its own | Always Allowed apps and contacts |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad and Android | iPhone, iPad and Mac, shared across devices on iOS 27 (Apple) |
Screen Time and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc. Latch isn't affiliated with Apple.
What Screen Time does well
Screen Time costs nothing and is already on your phone. Its weekly report shows your most used apps, how often you pick up your phone and how many notifications you get, which is the best place to start if you don't yet know where your time goes. On iOS 27 you can set Time Allowances for categories like Social Media and Games, build a schedule for weekdays and weekends, and share it all across your iPhone, iPad and Mac. With Family Sharing, a parent sets the passcode on their own device, which makes the limits real for a child.
The passcode gap
When you set Screen Time up for yourself, you also choose the passcode, and you remember it. Apple's guide even offers Passcode Recovery, so you can reset a forgotten one with your Apple Account. That's sensible for a settings lock. As a way to stop yourself at 11 pm, it means the limit only holds when you agree with it. On iOS 26, Apple's guide says that when Block at Downtime is off, "you see a reminder that it's downtime, but you can choose to continue using the apps". Our guide, Why Screen Time limits don't work, covers the Ignore Limit screen and the trick of letting someone else hold the passcode.
Where Latch is different
The key isn't something you know
Latch replaces the passcode with an object or a walk. Your key is a sticker on the fridge, a QR code at your desk, or a number of steps. There's no button that skips it; day to day, the only way back in is to go to your key.
The key can be a few-cent NFC sticker, a QR code you print, or a number of steps between 500 and 20,000. If you'd like it ready to go, the Latch Key Kit is three stickers and three QR keys for $7.99.
Built on Screen Time
On iPhone, Latch uses Apple's Screen Time framework. Your app choices stay on the device, and Latch has no account, ads or analytics. iOS always lets you revoke Latch's Screen Time access in Settings. While it's off nothing is blocked, but the lock isn't over: turn access back on and it picks up where it left off.
It locks when your day changes
Latch can lock when you arrive at a place, while you're driving, or from Siri ("Latch my phone"), Control Center or the Action button, as well as on a schedule.
Emergencies are built in
Break glass lets you open your apps for 5 to 15 minutes, three times a month, without your key. They lock again on their own, and your session carries on.
What you'd give up
Nothing, if you keep Screen Time for its reports. Latch doesn't run on Mac, and it isn't a parental control system like Screen Time with Family Sharing.
Which should you use?
Screen Time alone is enough if
- you're managing a child's device with Family Sharing
- someone else holds your passcode
- you mostly want reports and gentle reminders
Add Latch if
- you know your own passcode and use it
- you want the way back in to be a walk to a key
- you want locking by place or while driving
- you also have an Android phone
Common questions
Why don't Screen Time limits work for me?
When you set limits for yourself, you also know the Screen Time passcode, so the person the limit is meant to stop is the one who can lift it. Our guide, Why Screen Time limits don't work, covers this and what helps.
Does Latch replace Screen Time?
On iPhone, Latch is built on Apple's Screen Time framework, so your app choices stay on the device. You can keep using Screen Time's reports and schedules alongside it. Latch adds a lock that only opens with your key.
Can I turn off Latch in Settings?
iOS always lets you revoke an app's Screen Time access, and Latch can't stop that. While access is off nothing is blocked, but your lock isn't over: turn access back on and it picks up where it left off.
Is Latch free?
Latch is free with one key, three profiles and two places. Latch Pro is a one-time $9.99 purchase with no subscription.
A lock you can't type your way out of
Latch is out now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Google Play (Android 9 and later).
Last updated by Sudarshan Neupane, founder of Lukla Logic. See also: all app blockers compared.