Guide

Apple's Screen Time or Lampworth: which do you need?

Lampworth and Apple's Screen Time use the same engine inside iOS. This page says what both do, where Lampworth is different, and what Apple's tools do that Lampworth does not.

What both do

Both are free today. Both use Apple's Screen Time, so iOS itself does the pausing. Both can rest chosen apps at set times, apply a daily limit, and let your child ask a parent for more time.

Where Lampworth is different

Your child reads the rules in one place. They open Lampworth and see what rests and when, in plain words. The pause screen uses your child's first name, if you gave one. It says why the app is resting and when it is back.
You choose what rests. Everything else stays free. Apple's older Downtime worked the other way round: you chose what stayed available.
It tells you when protection has gone. If Screen Time access is switched off, Lampworth shows a warning the next time you open it. It also says whether your child could delete the app, and walks you through closing that gap.
A history of every change. A short log shows what changed and when, including what iOS did in the background.
It runs on older devices too. Lampworth needs iOS 17 or later, so it also runs on some devices that cannot update to iOS 27.
Nothing leaves the device. No account, no ad and no tracking. The free app makes no network request at all.
Being built: tasks to earn time. "Tidy your room" is worth 15 more minutes, if you say yes. It is planned for a paid version and is not in the free app.

What Apple's Screen Time does that Lampworth does not

In Settings, then Screen Time, Apple's tools can:

Manage your child's device from your own iPhone, through Family Sharing. Free Lampworth is set on the child's device. Doing it from your phone is planned for a paid version.
Show how long your child used each app. Lampworth shows no reports.
Limit who your child can call and message.
Restrict content, purchases and websites.
Set limits for whole categories, such as Games. Free Lampworth takes up to ten apps or websites, ticked one by one.

Apple keeps adding to Screen Time. iOS 27, out since September 2026, brought new schedules and daily allowances. If your child's device has them, they cover some of what Lampworth does. Look in Settings, then Screen Time, to see what they offer.

Which do you need?

Choose Lampworth if a few particular apps cause the arguments, and you want clear school, homework and bedtime rules that your child can read for themselves.

Choose Apple's Screen Time on its own if you want to manage from your phone, see reports, limit messaging, or cover many apps at once.

Here are two examples. Sam is nine, and the arguments are about one game and one video app in the evening. Lampworth fits: tick two apps, turn on Bedtime, and the rule is the same every night. Sam's older sister is fourteen, and her parents worry about who she messages and what she buys. Apple's tools fit better, because Lampworth does not cover either.

Use both if you need both jobs done. Apple's settings for content and messaging do a different job from Lampworth's times. Set each time rule in one place only, so you always know which one is pausing an app.

Things to weigh

Cost. Both are free today. Paid versions of Lampworth are planned, and the free app stays free. The plans page has the detail.
Age. Lampworth is new, and made by one person in the United Kingdom. Apple's Screen Time is part of iOS.
Limits. No tool is perfect. Keep talking with your child about why the rules are there.

Ready to try it? Read how to pause apps at bedtime or how to stop apps during homework time.