PrayLock: Prayer Screen Time Review

Is PrayLock free, and is it legit?

Is it free? Only to download. The App Store listing says daily Scripture, prayer topics, prayer stats, shareable prayer quotes and prayer notes require a purchase, and the developer's site says many features need a PrayLock Pro membership.¹² Reviewers describe a subscription screen at the end of setup that they could not close.⁵ As of October 12, 2026 Pro is listed at $4.99 a week, or $39.99 or $9.99 a year.¹

Is it legit? It is a real, actively maintained App Store app from Ruvix Ltd, launched in March 2025 and updated as recently as October 2026, with a 4.8-star average across about 390 US ratings.¹ That rating base is small next to the bigger prayer lock apps, and Ruvix does not say where it is based on the App Store, its site or its policies.¹³⁴ We have not tested PrayLock ourselves, so the sections below rely on the listing, the developer's site and FAQ, and user reports.

What PrayLock actually is

PrayLock is made by Ruvix Ltd, which signs its terms of service as Ruvix Labs and publishes a mix of unrelated apps, including games, photo editors and fitness trackers, under the same App Store account.¹⁴ The FAQ says PrayLock is an iPhone app that needs iOS 18 or later, with no Android, separate iPad or Apple Watch version.³

The idea is a prayer shield. You choose apps or app categories, and PrayLock uses Apple's Screen Time controls so that opening one brings you to PrayLock first.²³ A short timed prayer, 30 seconds by default and adjustable from 5 seconds to 5 minutes, opens them again.³ The App Store description frames it as praying for yourself, your loved ones, or others to unlock your apps.¹

Day-to-day features

Two modes: Daily Devotion and Mindful Moments

In Daily Devotion you pray once a day, and your apps stay open until your daily reset time. In Mindful Moments you take a prayer break before each app session, and the apps unlock for a session length you set, 10 minutes by default and anywhere from 5 to 60.³ The per-session mode arrived in an August 2025 update; before that, PrayLock was once a day only.¹

A prayer list for the people you love

You keep a private list of people you are praying for, with an optional note for each, and the app shows how often you have covered them in prayer.²³ Prayer notes require a purchase.¹ Prayer topics with Bible verses are there to guide you when you do not know where to start.³ The privacy policy says prayer data is stored on your device unless you choose to back it up or sync it.⁴

Read and pray, and the Bible feed

Read and pray has you swipe through three Bible verses, one at a time, and then pray with what you read.² The Bible tab is a verse feed: the whole World English Bible, all 31,098 verses, one per screen, with the same swipe-up motion as a social feed.²³ Tapping Study on key passages shows a plain explanation, context and cross references, and you can save verses to a My verses list or share them as images.² The feed, the Read and pray flow and the study notes all arrived in the September 2026 redesign.¹

The 75-Day Rule, widgets and stats

The same update added the 75-Day Rule, a 75-day season of prayer, Scripture and disciplines you choose, with an evening reflection, a record of your journey, and a community.¹² There is also a daily verse widget for the Home Screen, prayer streaks and stats, and gentle reminders to pray.²

Where it stands out

Prayer for others is the toll. Most prayer lock apps ask you to read a verse or say a generic prayer. PrayLock builds the lock around the people on your prayer list, which turns a moment of friction into intercession.¹³

Two modes for two kinds of user. A once-a-day lock suits people who want a morning habit; the per-session mode suits people who reach for the phone dozens of times a day.³

A cheap annual plan. At $39.99 a year, or $9.99 when that offer applies, Pro costs less than many rivals; Pray Screen Time's yearly plans, for example, run up to $59.99.¹⁶

Active development. Updates in March, June and September 2026 targeted lock reliability, crashes and force-unlock failures, and the September release was a full redesign.¹

Where it falls short

iPhone only. No Android, no iPad version.³

The paywall comes early. One July 2026 reviewer says that after setting up a personalized prayer plan, the app forced a subscription screen with no way to exit, and a 2025 reviewer says it makes you pay to do anything beyond the basics.⁵

Stability reports. An annual subscriber reported in September 2025 that the app kept freezing and had to be reinstalled three times in a few weeks, and said they would not resubscribe.⁵ Later release notes list fixes for crashes and lock timing, but we cannot confirm how much they solved.¹

One translation. The Bible feed uses only the World English Bible, and study notes cover key passages, not every verse.²

Tracking on the privacy label. Apple's privacy label says usage data may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites, and lists third-party advertising among the purposes for the data it collects.¹

A small track record. About 390 ratings, compared with thousands for the most-rated apps in this category.¹

The pricing reality

As of October 12, 2026 the App Store lists three Pro prices, and the developer's FAQ lists the same three:¹³

• PrayLock Pro Weekly: $4.99
• PrayLock Pro Annual: $39.99
• PrayLock Pro Annual: $9.99

The $9.99 annual price is unusually low, and is most likely an introductory or discounted offer, but neither Apple nor the developer says when it appears. No trial length is published. The FAQ notes that prices vary by country and that the price shown in the app before you buy is the one that applies.³ At $4.99 a week you would pay about $260 over a year, versus $39.99 on the full annual plan. If you subscribe, pay yearly. Cancellations and refunds go through Apple.³

Who else should consider it

People who keep a prayer list and never get through it. PrayLock makes the list part of the daily routine.³

Heavy phone users who want a pause before every session, not just once a day. Mindful Moments is built for that.³

People who want to doomscroll Scripture instead of social media. The Bible feed keeps the swipe and changes what is on the screen.²

Our final word

PrayLock has the most personal idea in the prayer lock category: pray for the people you love, and your apps open. The two modes, the new Bible feed and the 75-Day Rule round it out, and the annual plan is inexpensive. The trade-offs are access and scale. It is iPhone only, most features are paid, reviewers describe a paywall at the end of setup, the only translation is the World English Bible, and with about 390 ratings it is still a small app. If intercessory prayer is the habit you want to build, it is worth a look; check the price in the app first and pay yearly.