Pickup is an iOS app that surfaces three tiers of phone interaction — how often you pick up, how often that becomes a session, and which apps consume the time. It shows you the cost honestly, then lets you decide where to add friction.

How is Pickup different from Screen Time?

Apple Screen Time shows aggregated numbers. Pickup separates the impulse (picking up the phone) from the choice (unlocking) from the cost (time in specific apps). Each tier is a different behaviour with different implications.

Case Study

Pickup

Mindful device pickups — understand your screen time habits without judgement.

The Gap

Screen Time shows you a number. You look at it, feel something between guilt and indifference, and carry on. The number does not distinguish between the impulse to pick up your phone and the choice to use it. It does not separate the act of unlocking from the cost of what follows. It is a single, undifferentiated count that collapses three distinct behaviours into one.

Measurement-only screen time apps have been launching and dying for years. The evidence is clear: awareness alone does not change behaviour. The apps that survive lead with friction — a deliberate pause between impulse and action.

The Approach

Pickup separates phone interaction into three tiers. Tier one measures the pickup itself — the impulse made physical. Tier two measures how many pickups become authenticated sessions — the moment impulse became choice. Tier three measures which apps consume the time — the actual cost in minutes of your day.

Each tier is a different behaviour with different implications. Tier one tells you about habit. Tier two tells you about intent. Tier three tells you about cost.

The app shows these tiers honestly, then hands you the tools to act: per-app shields and time caps of your own choosing, applied where you decide they belong. Measurement is the diagnostic. Friction is the intervention. You choose both.

Privacy

All data stays on-device. Pickup uses Apple's DeviceActivityReport and ManagedSettings frameworks, which are structurally sandboxed — app-level data never leaves Apple's own rendering pipeline. There is no backend, no analytics, and no data export.

FAQ

What is Pickup?Pickup is an iOS app that surfaces three tiers of phone interaction — how often you pick up, how often that becomes a session, and which apps consume the time. It shows you the cost honestly, then lets you decide where to add friction.
How is Pickup different from Screen Time?Apple Screen Time shows aggregated numbers. Pickup separates the impulse (picking up the phone) from the choice (unlocking) from the cost (time in specific apps). Each tier is a different behaviour with different implications.

Status

Pickup is in concept stage. The feasibility analysis, competitive landscape, and monetisation hypothesis are complete. Development has not started.