Pray Shield: Bible App Blocker

Pray Shield is an app blocker with a twist. You pick the apps that eat your day (Instagram, YouTube, whatever it is for you) using Apple's Screen Time, and at each prayer hour those apps rest until you've prayed. Tap "Pray now," spend two or three minutes, and you're through.

There are four hours: morning, midday, evening and an optional night prayer, loosely in the spirit of the Church's daily prayer. It isn't the Liturgy of the Hours, but it gives the day a shape. You can pause the shield for an hour, until morning or over a weekend, so it never feels like a trap.

When you set it up you choose a Catholic, Protestant or open style. In the Catholic style you get the Rosary with the mysteries of the day, prayed decade by decade, plus the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Angelus, the Memorare and other traditional prayers. There's an offline Bible with classic woodcut illustrations, and a church-year view with today's season and feast.

Privacy is handled well. There's no account, and your prayer intentions and evening journal stay on your phone. The developer says the apps you choose to pause never reach their analytics.

The free version covers what matters: the blocking and all four prayer hours. Pray Shield Plus, an optional subscription, adds the 3D Rosary, the guided full Rosary, all ten guided prayers, the full church year, Bible notes and extra widgets.

It's a good fit for anyone who reaches for their phone before they reach for God. Because it's built for all Christians, the Catholic prayers are one style among three, so if you want a fully Catholic hours app, pair it with Divine Office or Laudate.

Pray Shield is free on the App Store, by Damian Witkowski.