At home
Rest and family time
No more scrolling Instagram on the couch. No more checking work email at home.
Perimeter · An app by For Purpose Labs
Your phone, tuned for every place you go.
Perimeter helps you block distractions inside or outside of the areas where you want to be focused or present. Home for rest and family time. The office for work. A different phone in every place, the way it was before smartphones.
Free for a limited time · iPhone · iOS 26 or later
At Home · 4 apps paused
- Social
- Video
- News
- Work email
- Games
- Messages
- Maps
- Phone
Home for rest and family time. No feeds, no work email.
The core issue
One device. Every room.
Perimeter directly addresses one of the core issues of modern smartphones and screens: constant connection.
We used to have TVs with a few channels that were on for an hour or two per day, and they stayed in the living room. Now we have screens in our pocket with infinite information that travel with us: into our kitchens, our bedrooms, our offices, and our friends' and family's homes.
Then
- HomeA landline phone, connected to the wall
- OfficeA desktop computer
- Living roomA TV with a few channels, an hour or two a day
Now
All three combined into one device, with an infinite catalog of entertainment, news, and communication, following us everywhere.
The insight
Places shape how we think.
Our brains naturally respond to the environments we are in, good or bad. We think differently at the office vs. at home vs. out on the street. Until now, our smartphone has always been configured the exact same way in all those different environments.
At the office
Work
No more scrolling Instagram at work. The feeds wait until you leave.
In public
Present where you are
Your phone becomes a different device at home vs. the office vs. in public.
How it works
Draw a perimeter. Choose what doesn't belong.
-
1
Pick a place
Home, the office, the bedroom. Anywhere that's meant for something.
-
2
Choose what doesn't belong there
Social feeds out of the living room. Work email out of dinner. Games out of the office. Each place gets its own list.
-
3
Just live
Walk in and those apps pause. Walk out and they're back. No timers to set, nothing to remember.
Prefer the reverse? A perimeter can also work the other way: apps you only allow in one place, like a café where scrolling is fine.
Why it's different
Not all the time. Not on a schedule.
Unlike other screen time apps or Apple's built-in Screen Time, Perimeter doesn't block apps all the time or on a set schedule. Those apps lead to problems: needing access to apps when traveling or at work, being easy to bypass whenever you want, and applying the same blocking everywhere you are, regardless of what you're doing.
No more setting limits and then not being able to check in for a flight or authenticate a login. Just a context-aware system to help you keep things in check where it matters most.
Typical screen time limits
Perimeter
Same rules everywhere
Different rules for each place
Blocks on a timer, even when you need an app
Blocks only where an app doesn't belong
Easy to switch off in the moment
Passcode, optionally held by someone you trust
Gets in the way when you travel
Checking in for a flight still works
Part of a bigger system
A first step toward freedom from screens.
Perimeter provides the first step. The goal is to keep taking steps toward more freedom from screens, going far beyond Perimeter. We offer it as a helpful tool on that journey, one of several.
- PerimeterBlock or allow apps based on where you are
- A less distracting screenA black and white filter, blocking photos and videos, a smaller screen
- Downtime for sleepOnly Phone, Messages, and Apple Maps during your sleep schedule
- Phone out of the bedroomLeave it outside your bed, or your bedroom
- An accountability partnerSomeone who holds the passcode, and holds you to it
- Other hobbiesRediscover what you did before the feed
- FreedomStarting to prefer time off the device to time on it
A software strategy. Together, this forms a software strategy for maximizing the utility of your smartphone while minimizing the undesired distractions it brings. Combine Perimeter with iOS Screen Time limits and other screen time apps for the most comprehensive system, with Perimeter providing the context to inform what should be blocked when.
In our words
The philosophy behind Perimeter
The full thinking, for anyone who wants it. Open any section.
Constant connection
This is Perimeter, an app that helps people block distractions inside or outside of the areas where they want to be focused or present. It is unique in that it directly addresses one of the core issues of modern smartphones and screens: constant connection.
We used to have TVs with a few channels that were on for an hour or two per day, that would stay in your living room. Now we have screens in our pocket that have infinite information and travel with us, including into our kitchens, our bedrooms, our offices, and our friends' and family's homes.
Perimeter is the first comprehensive software solution to the core issue of smartphones: that they bring all that information with you everywhere.
Our environments shape us
Our brains naturally respond to the environments we are in, good or bad. We think differently at the office vs. at home vs. out on the street.
Until now, our smartphone has always been configured the exact same way in all those different environments, completely disrupting how we used technology in the 20th century. Back then, we had a landline phone at home connected to the wall, a desktop computer in our office, and a TV in the living room. Now we have all three combined into one device with an infinite catalog of entertainment and news and communication following us everywhere.
Restoring order
Perimeter is just one part of the solution to return us to environments that are geared towards what they are meant to be: home for rest and family time, the office for work. Perimeter is a first step to help us restore that order.
Enabling it on your phone helps to turn your phone into a different device at home vs. the office vs. in public. It allows your smartphone to block or allow apps based on your environment, just the way it used to be before smartphones existed.
Not all the time, not on a schedule
Unlike other screen time apps or Apple's built-in Screen Time, Perimeter doesn't block apps all the time or on a set schedule. Those apps lead to problems like needing access to apps when traveling or at work, being easy to bypass whenever you want, or applying the same blocking everywhere you are regardless of what you're doing.
Perimeter provides the first step, and helps you learn to use your smartphone differently depending on where you are: no more scrolling Instagram at work or at home, no more checking work email at home.
No more setting limits and not being able to check in for a flight or authenticate a login or other legitimate uses. Just a context-aware system to help you keep things in check where it matters most.
The journey to freedom
The goal is to then continue taking steps to have more freedom from screens, going far beyond Perimeter: leaving your phone outside of your bed or bedroom, setting downtime for better sleep, having an accountability partner, rediscovering other hobbies, and starting to prefer time off of the device to time on it.
We offer Perimeter as a helpful tool on that journey to freedom, just one of several tools that will be helpful for you. Others include making your screen less distracting (black and white filter, blocking photos and videos, making the screen smaller) and setting a downtime where the phone is reduced to only the most basic apps (Phone, Messages, Apple Maps) during your desired sleep schedule.
Together, this forms a software strategy for maximizing the utility of your smartphone while minimizing the undesired distractions it brings. Combine with iOS Screen Time limits and other screen time apps for the most comprehensive system, with Perimeter providing the context to inform what should be blocked when.
A new paradigm
We are providing Perimeter free of charge for a limited time, in the hopes of introducing the world to a new paradigm of context-aware screen time limits, like having different devices tuned for the different places you go.
Private by design
Your location never leaves your iPhone.
- No account. Nothing to sign up for.
- No servers. Zones and rules live on your device.
- No analytics. No tracking, no ads.
- Apple's Screen Time pauses the apps. Perimeter never sees what you do inside them.
Questions
Good to know
What does it cost?
We are providing Perimeter free of charge for a limited time.
Can I still use an app when I really need it?
Yes. Perimeter only blocks what you've chosen, and only where it doesn't belong. Leave the place and the app is back. You can also allow short breaks.
Why does it need Always location?
So iOS can tell Perimeter when you arrive or leave a place, even when the app is closed. It uses Apple's low-power region monitoring, not constant GPS, and your location stays on your device.
Does it replace Apple's Screen Time?
No, it works with it. Combine Perimeter with iOS Screen Time limits and Downtime for the most comprehensive system, with Perimeter providing the context for what should be blocked when.
What do I need?
An iPhone on iOS 26 or later.
Free for a limited time
Like having different devices tuned for the different places you go.
We're offering Perimeter free for a limited time, in the hope of introducing the world to a new paradigm of context-aware screen time.