Burrow

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Start a timer. Your distracting apps wait.

Burrow is a focus timer with an app blocker, for iPhone. You pick the apps to pause, start a session and get back to work. Every minute makes Gaston, the app's mole, dig a little deeper. If you stop early, the minutes still count.

On the App Store soon

For iPhone, with iOS 26.5 or later. Free, with Pro as an option.

The Burrow app icon: the face of Gaston, a grey mole wearing a headlamp, on an amber background

How it works

  1. Pick what waits

    Select apps, categories or websites with Apple's own picker. Burrow cannot see their names.

  2. Start a session

    From the app, a widget, Control Center, the Action button or Siri. The time left shows on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.

  3. Get back to work

    If you open a paused app, the blocking screen shows Gaston and the time left. Every focused minute digs his burrow deeper.

What Burrow does

Free

A timer you set your way

25/5 cycles Pomodoro-style, Flowtime, 52/17 or a plain countdown. Keep the default lengths or set your own.

  • The Live Activity shows the time left in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen, with pause, skip and stop without opening the app.
  • Two controls for Control Center, the Lock Screen and the Action button: a "Focus" switch and "Start a preset".
  • A Home Screen widget to start a session, a Lock Screen widget with the time left, and Siri: "Start a 25 minute session".
  • On Apple Watch, the Live Activity appears in the Smart Stack.
  • Pausing costs nothing: it never breaks your streak or your burrow.

Free

Blocking you set yourself

You pick the apps, categories and websites with Apple's own picker. During a session, the blocking screen shows Gaston and the time left. One setting decides how firm it is: the level.

  • Gentle: you breathe for about 10 seconds, then the app opens for a moment.
  • Firm: the breath, then one question, "Why now?". Ending a focus block early goes through the same small ritual.
  • Strict: no ritual, and you cannot stop the session before it ends. The emergency unlock (3 per month, a 30-second wait, a visible counter) ends the session and keeps your minutes.
  • One free blocking schedule, for example at night or on weekday mornings, even outside a session, in Gentle or Firm.
  • Hard to get around, not impossible: iOS always lets you remove Screen Time access in Settings. A guide in the app shows how to hand the Screen Time passcode to a friend or a parent to make that harder. It does not ask who holds the code and stores nothing.

Free, optional

Study mode, if you need it

Burrow has two tabs, Focus and Burrow. If you are preparing for exams, turn on Study mode in Settings, or answer yes to the question at first launch. A Plan tab appears with your subjects and exams (countdown, revision goal in hours). Each session can be linked to a subject.

Turn it off whenever you like: nothing is deleted, everything is hidden.

Free, with Pro options

Gaston, his burrow and his finds

Every focused minute digs galleries, then rooms. While digging, Gaston unearths collectible finds: crystals, fossils, lost objects. If you stop early, he keeps the minutes already dug.

A streak keeps rest days. The Burrow tab also counts the times you tapped "Back to digging" instead of opening an app. Stats keep 30 days of history on Free, and all of it with Pro.

All of the progression is free and is never sold. Pro adds alternate app icons, nothing that touches progression.

Free

Your data stays on your iPhone

No account, no ads, no tracking, no Burrow server. Your sessions, notes, subjects, exams and block lists stay on your iPhone, and are never used to train any AI, by Burrow or anyone else. Burrow cannot see the names of the apps you block: Apple keeps that information on its side.

The details are in the privacy policy.

Free, or Pro to go further

The core of Burrow is free, Strict sessions included. Pro adds room (more profiles, more schedules) and a few settings. What is free at launch never moves to Pro; new features may be Pro.

Free €0

  • All timer modes, 3 presets.
  • Live Activity, Dynamic Island, widgets, Control Center, Siri.
  • 2 block profiles, 1 blocking schedule, the Gentle, Firm and Strict levels, the emergency unlock (3 per month), the Screen Time passcode guide.
  • 30 days of history, streaks with rest days, goals.
  • The whole burrow progression and every find.
  • Study mode: subjects and exams.

Pro

  • Yearly €24.99 per year 7-day free trial, then €24.99 per year, renewed automatically. About €2.08 per month.
  • Monthly €4.99 per month Renewed automatically every month.
  • Lifetime €49.99 One payment, no renewal.
  • More than 2 block profiles.
  • More than one blocking schedule, up to 15.
  • Type a sentence before opening a blocked app, instead of the breath.
  • Full history, all time.
  • Alternate app icons.

Renewal and cancellation

  • Monthly and yearly subscriptions renew automatically, at the same price and for the same length, unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
  • Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase, then at each renewal.
  • During the 7-day trial you pay nothing. When the trial ends, the yearly subscription becomes €24.99 per year unless you cancel before then. The trial applies once per Apple Account.
  • To cancel: iPhone Settings, your name, Subscriptions, Burrow. In the app, Settings then "Manage subscription" opens the same screen. You keep Pro until the end of the period you already paid for.
  • If notifications are on, Burrow reminds you 2 days before the trial ends and about 30 days before a yearly renewal. The exact date is always visible in the Subscriptions of your Apple Account.
  • Prices are in euros, taxes included, for the euro area. In other countries, the price shown in the App Store applies.
  • Refunds and the right of withdrawal: see the terms of use. You can also request a refund from Settings in the app.

During the launch month, the yearly subscription costs €14.99 for the first year, then €24.99 per year, instead of the free trial.

If money is the obstacle, a code gives 12 months of Pro. At the end, the subscription becomes €24.99 per year unless you cancel it, and a reminder arrives 7 days before.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Burrow ask for Screen Time access?

It is the only way, on iPhone, to hide apps during a session. iOS shows its own authorization window, and Burrow asks for access only for you, not to watch someone else. Before that window, Burrow explains what is about to happen.

You can say no: Burrow then stays a timer, without blocking. You can also remove access at any time in Settings, Screen Time.

Can Burrow see which apps I use?

No. When you pick apps to block, iOS gives Burrow opaque tokens, not their names. Burrow hands them back to iOS to block them, but cannot read them. Names and icons are drawn by Apple's own components.

What happens to my data? Does it train an AI?

It stays on your iPhone. From version 1.1, if you turn on sync, it also goes through your iCloud, which the publisher cannot read. There is no account, no advertising and no audience measurement. You can erase everything from the app's settings.

Your data never trains any AI. Read the privacy policy for the details, including what happens when you write to support.

Is Burrow only for studying?

No. Burrow is a timer and an app blocker for everyone: work, a project, or less phone time. Study mode, with subjects and exams, is an option you turn on if you need it.

I am under 18: can I use it?

Yes, Burrow is made for high-school and university students first. It does not ask your age, collects no personal data and offers the same features at every age. In some places, the law requires Apple to give the app an age range. Burrow keeps it on your iPhone and uses it only to follow the law.

Purchases go through your Apple Account. In a Family Sharing group, the organizer may have to approve them with Ask to Buy. If a parent manages your Screen Time, iOS may ask them to approve Burrow. Without that approval, Burrow still works as a timer.

Burrow is not a parental control tool: you choose what you block.

What if I need a blocked app during a session?

In Gentle, you breathe for about 10 seconds, then the app opens. In Firm, you breathe, then answer "Why now?". In Strict, the emergency unlock exists: 3 per month, a 30-second wait and a visible counter. It ends the session, and Gaston keeps the minutes already dug.

Can I switch Burrow off in Settings?

Yes. iOS lets you remove Screen Time access, and nobody can take that away from you. To make it harder, give the Screen Time passcode to a friend or a parent: the "Make Burrow harder to switch off" guide in the app shows how. Harder, not impossible.