iPhone · Apple Watch

Go outside to unlock your apps.

Your most distracting apps stay locked until you hit a daily outdoor goal: daylight, steps, or distance.

Download Nature Nudge on the App Store See how it works
  • No account
  • No tracking
  • Apple Watch verified
Nature Nudge home screen showing 63 daylight minutes recorded today, a completed progress ring, four unlocked app icons, and an 89 day streak.
Apple Watch showing a daylight progress ring with 14 minutes to go and the label Apps locked.

How it works

Three decisions, then it runs itself

Set it up once in about two minutes. After that, the only thing that changes your day is whether you went outside.

  1. Setup screen asking which apps should you earn, with a Select Apps button.

    Choose what gets locked

    Pick the apps and websites you want to earn. Everything else stays open: calls, maps, music, whatever you actually need.

  2. Goal screen with Daylight, Steps and Distance tabs, set to 30 minutes per day and measured by Apple Watch.

    Set a daily goal

    Daylight, steps, or distance. Daylight is verified by Apple Watch; steps and distance come straight from iPhone Health data.

  3. Schedule screen with a six in the morning start time, six in the evening end time, and a Weekends too toggle switched on.

    Pick your hours

    Decide when locking is active and whether weekends count. Outside those hours, your phone is your phone.

Why it works

A lock you can’t argue with

Willpower is negotiable. A goal measured by your watch is not.

  • Real daylight, verified

    Daylight goals use your Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor. Manually typed Health entries don’t count.

  • Streaks worth keeping

    One grace day a week keeps a real streak alive. Miss twice and it resets, which is the whole point.

  • Private by design

    No account, no sign-up, no analytics. Your goals, schedule, and streak never leave your device.

  • Only when you want it

    Locking runs on your schedule: weekday mornings, all weekend, or whatever hours you set.

Momentum

Watch the habit stack up

Trends show your daylight week by week, your best streak, and how many days you actually hit the goal, so progress is a number, not a feeling.

  • Current and longest streak, side by side.
  • Week and month views with your daily average against the goal line.
  • Achievements for the milestones that take weeks, not minutes.
Trends screen showing an 89 day current streak, 1368 daylight minutes for the week, a bar chart against the goal line, and 7 of 7 goal days met.

Your rules, honestly kept

Easy to set. Deliberately hard to wriggle out of.

Nature Nudge is built so that the version of you making the rule beats the version of you trying to break it.

  • Raising your goal takes effect now. Lowering it waits until tomorrow.
  • An emergency unlock is always there. It just costs you the streak.
  • One grace day a week, because life happens and a broken streak shouldn’t end the habit.
  • Change anything, anytime in Settings: apps, websites, hours, goal type.
Nature Nudge Settings showing a 30 minutes of daylight goal slider, start and end times, an include weekends toggle, 21 locked apps and 7 locked websites.

Pricing

One subscription, both apps

Nature Nudge is a subscription. One plan covers the iPhone app, the Apple Watch app and every feature on this page. Billing is handled by Apple and cancels any time in your App Store settings.

  • Best value

    Yearly

    $19.99 / year

    Works out at about $1.67 a month, a saving of roughly 44% against paying monthly.

  • Monthly

    $2.99 / month

    The same access, month to month, with no commitment.

Questions

Before you download

Do I need an Apple Watch?

Only for daylight goals. The watch’s ambient light sensor is what verifies real time outdoors. Steps and distance goals work from iPhone Health data alone.

Does it still count if my watch is under a sleeve?

Yes. A long sleeve or a coat cuff over the watch does not stop it counting, so you can walk in whatever you would normally wear and still get the credit. There is nothing to push up and no wrist to hold out.

What happens if I genuinely need a locked app?

There’s an emergency unlock you can use at any time. It opens everything immediately and resets your streak, so it stays available without becoming a habit.

Can I still use my phone normally?

Yes. Only the apps and websites you choose are locked, only during the hours you set. Calls, messages, maps and everything you didn’t pick stay open the whole time.

Does Nature Nudge collect my data?

No. There is no account, no analytics and no advertising. Your goal, schedule, app selections and streak are stored on your device. Read the full privacy policy.

Do I need a subscription?

Yes. Nature Nudge needs an active subscription to lock apps: $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year, billed by Apple and cancellable any time in your App Store settings.

What do I need to run it?

iOS 26 or later on iPhone, iPadOS 26 on iPad, and watchOS 26 for the Apple Watch app. Nature Nudge needs Screen Time permission to lock apps and Health read access for the goal type you choose.

Can I miss a day?

You get one grace day a week. Use it and the streak survives; miss a second day in the same week and it starts over.

Your apps are waiting outside.

Set it up tonight. Tomorrow morning, the only way back in is through the front door.

Download Nature Nudge on the App Store

Subscription required. iOS 26 or later. Apple Watch required for daylight goals.