Put your phone face down. We count how long you go without touching it.

25 min focus
25:00
0 caught
0 times caught CAUGHT

Scroll

The Study Timer That Detects Your Phone

This is a study timer that detects your phone: press start, turn the phone face down, and it counts every time you pick it up. When you finish, it shows how much of the session was phone-free.

It’s free, with no app to install and no signup.

  • iPhone and Android
  • No app to install
  • No account
  • Free

A regular pomodoro timer keeps counting while you scroll

The timer says 25 minutes of focus. It has no way to know how many of them went to your phone.

The usual fixes are the phone in another room, or an app blocker you install and give permissions to. We chose a different route: the phone becomes the timer, lying face down on the desk, and it counts every time you pick it up.

Start a session

Free. No signup. Nothing to install.

On average, students studying at home got distracted in under 6 minutes

Researchers watched 263 middle school, high school and university students during a 15-minute study session at home.

On average, they spent only 65% of those 15 minutes actually studying. The rest of the time they were distracted, most often by social media and texting.

Source: Rosen, Carrier and Cheever, Facebook and texting made me do it: media-induced task-switching while studying, Computers in Human Behavior, 2013.

Start a session

See how your own session compares.

Your record on this device

Finish a session and your totals show up here. They are stored in this browser only.

Sessions
0
Phone-free time
0 min
Times caught
0
Longest without touching it
0 min

Press start, put your phone face down, and every pickup gets caught

The timer starts once you put your phone face down.

Pick it up and you get a CAUGHT stamp, a sound and a live timer showing how long you’ve been on your phone. Put it back face down to continue.

Start a session

Free. No signup. Nothing to install.

Study blocks can last 25, 50 or 90 minutes, or any length you set

Pick a block from the list under the start button, or set your own focus and break lengths with the Custom option. To study with no end time, count up from zero instead.

The ring shows the time left in the block, and each pickup leaves a mark at the minute it happened.

Start a session

Free. No signup. Nothing to install.

Focus · block 1 09:00 3 caught

See your phone-free time at the end of each session

The big number is your session time minus the time the phone was in your hand.

Below it, you see how many times you picked up the phone and your longest phone-free stretch.

Save it as an image or share it.

Start a session

Free. No signup. Nothing to install.

Pomodoro session · example
41:12 Caught phone-freeout of 50:00 · picked up 9 times
Session length
50:00
In your hand
08:48
Picked up the phone
9
Longest without touching it
11:20
caughtscrolling.com

Motion readings from your phone never leave your browser

  • The motion sensor only tells the page whether the phone is face down. Each reading is checked in your browser and dropped. None are saved or sent.
  • No sign-up and no email. Visits are counted with Google Analytics, which never sees your timer or your phone.
  • Your totals sit in this browser’s storage. Clear your browsing data and they are gone.
  • The end card is made on your device. Nobody sees it unless you save or share it.

Read exactly what the site stores and loads.

Start a session

No account. Nothing to install.

Motion sensor
Checked in your browser
+1A pickup
Our servers get no readings

This timer counts pickups and keeps your phone in reach, with nothing to install

Caught ScrollingRegular study timerApp blockerPhone in another room
Counts your phone pickups
Shows your phone-free time Some show screen time
Nothing to install
Phone stays in reach for emergencies
Physically stops you using apps
Start a session

Free. No signup. Nothing to install.

How it works, in three steps

  1. Open the timer on your phone

    Studying on a computer? Scan the QR code shown with the timer to open it on your phone. Pick a 25, 50 or 90-minute block, or a custom one, then press start.

  2. Keep the phone face down

    The clock starts when you put your phone face down. Every time you pick up the phone, it counts as a catch.

  3. Press Finish

    You get your phone-free time, your pickups and your longest stretch without touching your phone, on one card.

Start a session

Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.

Questions about the study timer that detects your phone

What counts as a phone pickup?
Three things count during focus time: lifting the phone for more than half a second, locking it and switching to another app. Each pickup counts once, however long you hold the phone.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, in the phone’s web browser, with nothing to install. An iPhone asks for motion access when you press start; allow it, or the timer can’t tell face down from picked up. If a browser doesn’t share motion data, the timer tells you and falls back to a plain timer.
Does this study timer block my phone or apps?
No. A website can’t lock or block your phone, so this study timer catches phone pickups instead of blocking them. The comparison above shows what it does and doesn’t do.
What if I need to take a call?
Take it, then tap “Undo: that was a call” on the caught screen. The pickup is taken back, the call’s time doesn’t count, and the clock carries on once the phone is face down again.
Can I use it on my computer?
Yes. Scan the QR code shown with the timer and lay your phone face down. Your computer shows the phone’s clock and every pickup, and you can press Finish there. Without the phone, the computer runs a plain timer.
Does the phone have to stay face down?
Yes, during focus time. It needs to lie flat on its screen, on a desk or a table. If you hold it, prop it up or put it in a pocket, it counts as picked up.

Start a session and see how much phone-free time you can get in the next 25 minutes

The timer is at the top of this page. Press start, turn your phone face down and press Finish when you are done.

Start a session

One click to start. Close the tab whenever you like.

  • Free, with no account and no install
  • Counts each time you pick up your phone
  • Ends with your phone-free time on a card