YellowA dumbphone alternative that keeps your iPhone
A dumbphone alternative is any way to get a dumbphone’s calm without giving up your iPhone. Yellow is an iPhone app that puts a quick math problem in front of the apps you open on autopilot, so you can stop scrolling without buying a dumbphone.
7 days free, then $29.99/year or $5.99/month. Cancel anytime. iPhone only, iOS 17 or later.
Why people look at a dumbphone
You opened Instagram at the playground. You don’t remember deciding to.
Most people who look at dumbphones aren’t after a worse phone. They want to stop reaching for the same few apps without deciding to. A phone that only calls and texts fixes that by taking everything else away.
What a dumbphone costs you
Then the list of what you’d lose shows up: rides, maps, your bank app, a work or school app, a decent camera. Some models add a few apps back, and then you are choosing which apps to keep on a small phone.
If you want a phone that can’t do anything else, a dumbphone is the right call. This page is for the person who looked at dumbphones, thought about Uber and Google Maps, and doesn’t want to pick.
The honest options
Here is how the common routes compare. None of them is wrong. Which one fits depends on what you are trying to stop.
| Option | What it does | What it costs you | It suits you if |
|---|---|---|---|
| A dumbphone or flip phone | Replaces your phone with one that calls and texts. | You give up most of what runs your day (some models add maps or rides back), and set up a new device. | You want out of the smartphone entirely and can live without the apps. |
| A minimalist hardware phone (Light Phone-style) | A simpler device, as your only phone or a second one you carry. | A new device to buy, carried instead of your iPhone or alongside it. | You want a device built to stay simple and will carry two phones, or move to it fully. |
| A hardware blocker (Brick-style) | A physical tag you tap to block and unblock apps. | A device to buy; unlocking normally means tapping it. | You want a physical gate and will carry it. |
| A launcher app | Puts a short text list of apps on your home screen, using widgets. | On their own, launchers hide the other apps rather than gate them: search or the App Library still finds them. Some also add app blocking. | Your problem is the icons and the look of the home screen. |
| Apple’s built-in tools (Focus, grayscale, Screen Time limits, Assistive Access, deleting apps) | Quiet the phone or limit apps using what iOS already has. | Built into iOS at no extra cost. By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once you reach them, and Assistive Access works by hiding everything except the apps you pick. | You want to try something today. These work for some people. |
| Yellow | Puts a quick math problem in front of the apps you choose. Solve it and the app opens for 3, 5, 10 or 15 minutes, then locks again. Every other app works like always. | 7 days free, then $29.99/year or $5.99/month. iPhone only. Websites are covered in Safari only, with the Yellow extension. You can answer the question or switch Yellow off in iOS Settings. | You want to keep your iPhone and your apps, and you need a second to decide. |
Last checked: November 2, 2026. We don’t list other products’ prices here because they change.
How Yellow works
Pick your apps. Yellow starts from your own Screen Time and shows the apps that take the most of your day. You choose which ones get a question.
Open one, get a question. Instead of the app, you see Yellow’s shield. Tap through and solve a short math problem, like 47 + 38.
It opens for a few minutes. Get it right and the app opens for the window you set: 3, 5, 10 or 15 minutes.
Then it locks again. When the window ends, the app re-locks on its own, even if Yellow is closed.
Yellow can’t see which apps you picked. Apple hands Yellow your picks as private tokens, and your rules, unlocks and score stay on your phone.
What Yellow isn’t
- iPhone only. iOS 17 or later. There is no Android, iPad or Mac version.
- Websites in Safari only, with the Yellow extension turned on. Other browsers aren’t covered.
- A self-control tool, not a cage. You can always solve the question, and you can turn off Yellow’s Screen Time access in iOS Settings. It works because it makes you decide, not because it can’t be undone.
- For your own phone. It can’t manage anyone else’s device.
Is Yellow the right dumbphone alternative for you?
Yellow fits if you looked at dumbphones, then thought about Uber, Maps and the bank app, and you want to keep your iPhone. It fits if the pull is social media or email you open without deciding to. Turn the questions on for work hours, evenings, or always.
A dumbphone fits better if you want a phone that cannot run those apps at all. That is a reasonable choice, and Yellow won’t talk you out of it.
Pricing
7 days free, then $29.99/year or $5.99/month.
$29.99 / year
About $2.50 a month. 7 days free first.
$5.99 / month
7 days free first.
You choose a plan when you turn on protection at the end of setup. Nothing is charged during the 7-day free trial. After that, the plan you chose ($29.99/year or $5.99/month) is billed to your Apple ID and renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms. Privacy.
Questions
Is Yellow a dumbphone?
No. Yellow is an app on your iPhone. You choose which apps get a math question first, and every app you don’t choose works like always.
Can I still use Uber and Maps?
Yes, unless you pick them. You choose which apps get a question, so Uber, Maps and the bank app can stay exactly as they are.
What happens if I get the answer wrong?
The app stays locked. Yellow shows how many tries you have left.
Can I turn Yellow off?
Yes. You can always turn off Yellow’s Screen Time access in iOS Settings. Yellow works because it makes you decide, not because it can’t be undone.
Does Yellow work on Android, iPad or Mac?
No. Yellow is iPhone only, iOS 17 or later. There is no Android, iPad or Mac version.
How much does Yellow cost?
7 days free, then $29.99 per year or $5.99 per month, billed to your Apple ID. The plan renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings, your name, Subscriptions, Yellow.
Who makes Yellow?
Yellow is made by Bridge the App Mobile LLC. Support is at info@bridgetheappco.com.
You don’t need a dumbphone to stop opening Instagram. You need a second to decide.
7 days free, then $29.99/year or $5.99/month. Cancel anytime.