Health, home and travel decision
Step N Scroll
Build a narrower replacement (Android-only) is realistic for a single developer, but reproducing the App Store iOS experience and guaranteed OS-level app locking there is not feasible without platform privileges.
View on the App Store↗$6.99/mo
$84/yr
Read off the official pricing page.
$100one-off120 h to build
$20/mo6 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 5 seats.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Step N Scroll alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- User selects apps to block; app reads step count and unlocks chosen apps when threshold reached; intercepts repeated attempts to open blocked apps and shows a coach dialog; optional AI progress scan from a user photo to generate a projected progress preview.
What it still won’t have
- OS-level app blocking on iOS (App Store app cannot enforce system-wide app locks without platform support).
- Polish of a production App Store submission, ratings, and cross-device compatibility.
- Proprietary subscription buy-flow and Apple/Play store discovery.
- Any proprietary telemetry or analytics the vendor uses.
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 5 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build an Android app using Kotlin + Jetpack that locks selected apps until the user reaches a daily step goal. Core features in scope: 1) read step counts from Google Fit and display daily/weekly history; 2) let the user pick apps to restrict and block launches using the AccessibilityService; 3) detect repeated launch attempts and present an interrupting coach dialog with a short reset option; 4) implement subscription handling via Google Play Billing for unlocking features; 5) implement an optional AI progress-scan feature using a local ONNX image model (or a hosted inference endpoint) to produce a simple before/after projection; 6) basic UI for onboarding, progress ring, and subscription paywall. Out of scope: iOS implementation, App Store submission, enterprise MDM-based enforcement. Require: error handling for sensor and permission failures, unit tests for business logic, and end-to-end instrumentation for subscription and Accessibility flows.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 3 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 2/2 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score67
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 3
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productStep N Scroll on the App Store
- open sourceActivityWatch/activitywatch
- open sourceMirix-AI/MIRIX
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
