Fitlock vs touch grass: a touch grass alternative for any weather
touch grass unlocks your apps when you photograph real grass. Fitlock unlocks them when you hit a steps, workout or push-up goal. See how they compare.
The short answer
touch grass asks you to go outside and take a photo of real grass, which the app checks before it unlocks your apps. It's simple, free for two apps, and half its skip profits go to UK rewilding. Fitlock asks you to move instead: steps, a workout or camera-counted push-ups, which you can do indoors, at night or in the rain. Both are iPhone apps with a free plan for two apps.
Choose Fitlock if
- You want exercise to be the price, not a photo
- Grass isn't always to hand: you live in a city, work nights or it's winter
- You want to choose when blocking runs, and let steps, a workout or arriving somewhere unlock it
Choose touch grass if
- You want the simplest possible rule: go outside
- Getting outdoors matters more to you than exercise
- You like that skip money helps fund rewilding in the UK
Fitlock vs touch grass at a glance
| Feature | Fitlock | touch grass |
|---|---|---|
| What unlocks your apps | Hitting a daily goal you set, confirmed by Apple Health, the camera or your location. A rule can unlock apps outright or earn you extra time | Take a photo of real grass. The app checks it's grass before it unlocks your apps |
| What counts | Steps, workouts, stand time, cycling, meditation, time outside, arriving at a place like the gym, wheelchair pushes, and push-ups or squats counted by the camera | Going outside to find grass, not exercise |
| When blocking is on | Schedules you set: recurring or one-off, on the days and times you choose, with an optional allowance before the locks start | Blocked apps stay locked until you photograph grass |
| Free plan | Yes, with no time limit: one schedule, two apps or sites and one goal | Yes: block up to two apps |
| Paid plans (US App Store) | $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $49.99 once | Premium, monthly or yearly. $49.99 a year on the US App Store, with a 7-day trial |
| Runs on | iPhone (iOS 17 or later) | iPhone (Android has a waitlist) |
| Getting round the block | Breaks, each one longer than the last. Strict Mode (Pro) removes them | One free skip a month. Extra skips are pay-what-you-want, and half the profit goes to UK rewilding |
touch grass and Fitlock both take a phrase people say about screen time and make the app enforce it. One says go outside. The other says move. Which one fits depends on what you want more of.
How touch grass works
touch grass blocks the apps you choose through Apple’s Screen Time. When you want them back, you go outside, open the camera and take a photo of grass. The app uses computer vision to check it’s real grass, then unlocks your apps for a while. Its FAQ says photos aren’t stored.
The free version blocks up to two apps and shows your current screen time. Premium removes the app limit, lets you block whole app categories and adds your screen time history. Everyone gets one free skip a month, and extra skips are pay-what-you-want. Half of the profit from skips goes to rewilding projects in the UK, and the developer publishes the donations. touch grass is an iPhone app, with an Android waitlist.
How Fitlock works as a touch grass alternative
Fitlock blocks the apps or websites you choose on a schedule you set, like 9 to 5 on weekdays with Sundays left open. They stay locked until you hit a daily goal, confirmed by Apple Health or the camera: steps, wheelchair pushes or push-ups on the free plan, and workouts, stand time, cycling, meditation, time outside, arriving at a place or squats with Fitlock Pro.
Schedules can repeat every week or run just once, and you can start the day with an allowance of screen time before the locks begin. A place can be a goal too: arrive at the gym, the office or school and Fitlock unlocks your apps, or earns you time, as soon as you get there.
If you need to get in early you can take a break, but each extra break makes the next wait longer, and Strict Mode (Pro) removes breaks altogether.
The real difference
touch grass is about getting outdoors. The photo takes seconds, and the point is the trip outside, not the exercise. That’s a lovely idea when grass is a short walk away, but harder in a city flat, on a night shift or in the middle of winter. Fitlock is about moving. Twenty push-ups on the kitchen floor count as much as a walk in the park, so the rule works wherever you are.
Both apps have a free plan for two apps, so you can try either without paying. See pricing for what Fitlock Pro adds.
Where touch grass may suit you better
touch grass has the simpler rule, and a lighter one: you don’t have to break a sweat, just step outside. If fresh air matters more to you than exercise, or you like that your skips help fund rewilding, it’s a good fit. If you’d rather compare Fitlock with an app built entirely around reps, see Fitlock vs Pushscroll.
What Fitlock does with your data
Analytics are anonymised, so we can’t identify you from them, and the only personal details we hold are ones you choose to share with support. Screen time data is securely managed by Apple and inaccessible to us. Health data is stored only on your device and never externally. We never sell user data to third-party companies.
Questions people ask
Is Fitlock a good alternative to touch grass?
Yes, if you want to move rather than go outside. Both apps block the apps you choose and have a free plan for two apps. touch grass unlocks when you photograph grass; Fitlock unlocks when you hit a daily goal like steps, a workout or push-ups, which you can do anywhere.
How does touch grass check it's real grass?
touch grass uses the camera and computer vision to check the photo shows real grass. Its FAQ says it doesn't store your photos.
Is touch grass free?
Yes, for up to two apps, with one free skip a month. Premium removes the app limit, lets you block whole categories and adds your screen time history. Fitlock is free for one schedule, two apps or sites and one goal, and Fitlock Pro costs $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $49.99 once.
Does Fitlock have a time outside goal?
Yes. Time outside is one of Fitlock Pro's goal types, alongside workouts, stand time, cycling, meditation and reaching a place. It still counts as the day's goal, so there's no photo to take.
Sources
Checked on 29 September 2026. Apps change their features and prices, so check the App Store before you decide.
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Start earning your screen time
Free on the App Store, and takes about two minutes to set up.
