App To Lock Your Phone When Studying: 7 Powerful Ways To Stop Scrolling And Actually Focus

So, You’re Looking For An App To Lock Your Phone When Studying?

So, you’re looking for an app to lock your phone when studying because you keep “just checking” Instagram and suddenly it’s been 40 minutes? Honestly, the best setup is using a distraction blocker plus a study app that makes every minute count—something like Flashrecall), which turns your phone into a focused flashcard machine instead of a TikTok portal. Lock apps help you not open distracting stuff, while Flashrecall gives you fast, active recall and spaced repetition so your limited focus time actually sticks. If you’re going to lock your phone anyway, you might as well use the time you are on it to learn way faster.

Why A “Lock Your Phone” App Isn’t Enough By Itself

Here’s the thing: an app to lock your phone when studying is great, but on its own it only solves half the problem.

• It stops doom-scrolling.
• But it doesn’t guarantee effective studying.

You can block Instagram and still stare at a textbook doing nothing. The real win is:

1. Block distractions

2. Make the time you’re allowed on your phone insanely productive

That’s where something like Flashrecall) comes in. Instead of your phone being the enemy, it becomes your main study weapon.

Turn Your Phone Into A Study Device, Not A Distraction Machine

Most people think: “My phone is the problem.”

Reality: how you use it is the problem.

If you combine:

• A focus/lock app to block social media, games, and random apps
• A study app that’s actually designed for memory (like Flashrecall)

…you suddenly have a setup where:

• When your phone is locked → you’re focused on books, notes, or offline work
• When your phone is unlocked → you’re doing high‑intensity active recall, not scrolling

Why Flashrecall Fits Perfectly Into This Setup

Flashrecall basically turns your phone into a turbocharged flashcard brain:

• Create flashcards instantly from:
• Images (class notes, slides, textbook pages)
• Text you paste in
• PDFs
• YouTube links
• Audio
• Or just by typing normally
• Built‑in active recall (you see the question, try to remember, then reveal)
• Automatic spaced repetition with smart reminders, so you don’t have to remember when to review
• Works offline, so you can put your phone in airplane mode and still study
• You can chat with the flashcard if you’re confused and want more explanation
• Great for:
• Languages
• Exams (SAT, MCAT, USMLE, bar exam, etc.)
• School/uni subjects
• Medicine, business, anything with lots of info
• Free to start, fast, modern, and works on iPhone and iPad

Link again so you don’t have to scroll:

👉 Flashrecall on the App Store)

Use a lock app to block distractions, and then open Flashrecall as your “safe” app when you are allowed on your phone.

1. Types Of Apps That Lock Your Phone While Studying

When people say “app to lock your phone when studying,” they usually mean one of these:

1. App blockers

• Block specific apps (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, games)
• You can still use allowed apps (like Flashrecall or Notes)

2. Full phone lockdown / focus modes

• Only a few whitelisted apps work
• Great if you want your phone to be almost useless except for study tools

3. Pomodoro / focus timers with blocking

• You choose a 25–50 min focus session
• During that time, distracting apps are blocked
• After that, you get a short break

4. Website blockers (via browser or VPN)

• Block distracting websites so you can’t open them even in Safari/Chrome

Most people do best with a combo:

Focus timer + app blocking + a dedicated study app.

2. How To Use A Lock App And Flashrecall Together

Here’s a simple setup that actually works in real life:

Step 1: Choose Your Lock/Focus App

On iPhone, you can use:

• Screen Time (built‑in)
• Focus Modes (also built‑in)
• Or third‑party focus apps from the App Store (search “focus timer”, “block apps”, etc.)

Set it so:

• Social media, games, random browsing = blocked during study blocks
• Study apps like Flashrecall = allowed

Step 2: Set Your Study Blocks

Try this:

• 25 minutes: phone locked except Flashrecall + maybe Notes
• 5 minutes: break (you can allow some apps, but don’t go full doom-scroll)

During those 25 minutes:

• Do your reading / lectures / notes
• Then switch to Flashrecall for active recall rounds on what you just learned

Step 3: Use Flashrecall As Your “On-Phone” Study Mode

A few ideas:

• Take a picture of your notes or textbook page → Flashrecall turns it into flashcards
• Paste parts of your lecture slides or PDFs → instant cards
• After class, quickly make cards from the key points while they’re still fresh

Because Flashrecall has spaced repetition with auto reminders, you don’t need to plan your review schedule. It literally tells you what to study and when.

3. Why Just Locking Your Phone Won’t Make You Remember More

You can have the strictest lock app in the world and still:

• Re-read notes passively
• Highlight everything and remember nothing
• “Study” for hours and get almost zero retention

What actually improves memory:

• Active recall – forcing your brain to pull info out, not just re-read it
• Spaced repetition – reviewing right before you’re about to forget
• Mixing questions – not just reading in order, but testing yourself

Flashrecall bakes all of that in:

• Every card = a mini active recall test
• The app schedules reviews automatically using spaced repetition
• You don’t sit there planning; you just open the app and follow the queue

So yeah, lock your phone so you don’t waste time. But then, when you do use your phone, use something like Flashrecall) so your effort actually sticks.

4. How To Set Up iPhone Focus Mode For Studying (Quick Guide)

If you’re on iPhone, you already have a decent “app to lock your phone when studying” built in.

Quick setup:

1. Open Settings → Focus → + → Custom

2. Call it Study

3. Under Allowed Notifications:

• Allow only important contacts (family, partner, etc.)

4. Under Apps:

• Allow: Flashrecall, Notes, maybe Calendar, Calculator, and your PDF/reader app
• Block: social media, games, YouTube (unless you need it for lectures)

5. Set a schedule or turn it on manually when you sit down to study

Now your “Study” Focus basically turns your phone into:

• A study device (Flashrecall, notes, textbooks)
• Not a social media machine

Pair that with Flashrecall’s offline mode and you can even throw your phone into airplane mode and still run through flashcards.

5. Example Study Routine Using A Lock App + Flashrecall

Here’s a simple routine you can copy:

Before Study

• Turn on Study Focus (or your lock app)
• Open your textbook, slides, or lecture notes

Block 1 – Learn (25–30 min)

• Read/watch/attend class
• Highlight key ideas
• Jot quick notes

Block 2 – Convert To Flashcards (10–15 min)

In Flashrecall:

• Snap photos of important pages or handwritten notes → auto-convert to flashcards
• Paste chunks of text from PDFs or slides → auto cards
• Add manual cards for formulas, vocab, definitions

Block 3 – Review With Spaced Repetition (15–20 min)

• Open Flashrecall’s review queue
• Go through the cards it suggests (based on spaced repetition)
• Rate how well you remembered → app schedules the next review for you

That’s it. No need to overthink “When should I review this again?” Flashrecall handles it.

6. Why Flashrecall Beats Just Using Notes Or Photos

You could just take pictures of your notes and stare at them. But:

• That’s passive
• Your brain gets lazy
• You’ll feel like you “studied” but not actually recall much in the exam

With Flashrecall:

• Every card forces you to think before revealing the answer
• The app spaces your reviews so you see stuff right before you’d forget it
• You get study reminders, so you don’t fall behind

Plus, you can:

• Use it for languages (vocab, phrases, grammar rules)
• Medicine (drug names, side effects, anatomy)
• Business (frameworks, formulas, definitions)
• Literally any subject where you need to remember stuff

And again, it’s free to start and works on iPhone and iPad:

👉 Download Flashrecall here)

7. Tips To Make Your Lock App + Flashrecall Setup Actually Stick

A few quick tips so you don’t drop this after two days:

1. Don’t Block Everything At First

If you go too extreme, you’ll just turn the lock off.

• Start by blocking your top 2–3 most distracting apps
• Keep study-related ones (Flashrecall, Notes, Books) available

2. Use Short, Realistic Study Blocks

You don’t need 4 hours straight.

Try:

• 25 min focus
• 5 min break
• Repeat 3–4 times

During at least one of those blocks, make it pure Flashrecall review.

3. Add New Flashcards Right After Learning

Just finished a lecture or chapter?

• Take 5–10 minutes
• Dump the key points into Flashrecall (photo, text, or manual)
• Future you will be very grateful

4. Let The Reminders Do Their Job

When Flashrecall pings you:

• It’s not random
• It’s the spaced repetition algorithm saying “Hey, review now or you’ll start to forget this”

Treat those notifications like mini study sessions.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Lock Your Phone—Make It Work For You

An app to lock your phone when studying is a good move, but it’s only half the story. The real upgrade is:

• Lock out distractions
• Let in only the apps that actually help you learn

If you want your phone to be part of your study system instead of your biggest enemy, set up:

• A focus/lock mode to block time-wasting apps
• Flashrecall as your main on-phone study app for flashcards, active recall, and spaced repetition

You can grab it here and set it up in a few minutes:

👉 Flashrecall – Study Flashcards on the App Store)

Turn your phone from “constant distraction” into “exam weapon.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

Is there a free flashcard app?

Yes. Flashrecall is free and lets you create flashcards from images, text, prompts, audio, PDFs, and YouTube videos.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

What is active recall and how does it work?

Active recall is the process of actively retrieving information from memory rather than passively reviewing it. Flashrecall forces proper active recall by making you think before revealing answers, then uses spaced repetition to optimize your review schedule.

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