Pond - Screen Time & Pomodoro

• Pond Plus 1 Month — $7.99/month
• Pond Plus 1 Month — $49.99/year ($4.16/mo)
• Pond Plus Lifetime — $99.99

Last verified 6 Aug 2026

4.6 845 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Great for focus

   I really didn't think I needed an app like this, as I'm fairly focused normally--or so I thought! After a successful friend raved about it, I figured I could at least give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much more focused I am when using it, as it forces me to commit and stay on task. End result is that I get way more done than before I started using it. Here's how it has craftily gotten more work out of me. I only use it for tasks that need heavy focus. So I do a session and stay on task. Then it's break time and I say "Screw it--I'm on a roll." So I end up doing anywhere from 4 to 8 sessions in a row, with no breaks except bathroom and pour a cup of coffee. And the more sessions I do in a row, the more the challenge is on to do even more sessions. I find it funny how I entertain myself with this. But it's really interesting the mind games I have played in the past, where I let myself get distracted in the middle of important tasks by things I "really have to do." Now, when the challenge is on, all of that stuff waits until I've done at least 8 sessions, sometimes as many as 12. And I thought I really knew myself!

   Changogrande · 6 Aug 2026

2. 5/5It’s good!

   I had this app (the free version) on my older device, it worked perfectly! Switched to a new phone and used the auto backup process to set it and now it is all messed up. First the app version I had didn’t even open (the only app that failed the auto move process), so I had to delete and reinstall it. Then, the new version I installed didn’t support any of the cool features I loved so much, they are all blocked now under the “get pro version” wall. Very poor experience to have it all open and then get a crippled version when upgrading my phone... Ok, so I bought the pro version and guess what, the main feature that made me do it won’t even work!! Trying to set a song from my music library as the ticking sound keep failing, and actually does nothing (won’t even open my songs list to pick from). For me it was the main feature (it is an awesome feature) that distinguished this app from the rest of the similar apps out there. Not only that I could set a song as ticking sound but I could also have it keep playing in the background when other sounds (videos, lectures etc) were playing simultaneously. And now it is all gone.... Rather than that the app is fine but doesn’t offer any key advantage compared to many free timer apps. Please fix it. The app support link leads to a tumblr page 😩 so I had to write this review as a support ticket in addition to a message I’ve sent on tumblr (didn’t get any response to it). —- UPDATE—- They have finally fixed it!

   Shraga!bz · 6 Aug 2026

3. 5/5Timer is not accurate but still a great app.

   This is a great free app and I will continue to use it but I have noticed that the time is slightly inaccurate. Maybe I’m just going crazy but I have been trying to record study with me videos and the timer never lines up with the video. It is always slightly short, meaning when I go to study for an hour, I end about 7 seconds early. Not really a problem for most but just wanted to point this out.

   M.F.R. Maxwell · 6 Aug 2026

4. 3/5Has potential, but needs to be thought through more

   Focus Keeper Review Focus Keeper is close to being a great app, it’s just too buggy and not thought through enough to be an everyday app for most Pomodoro technique practitioners. Positive first: the interface is beautiful, very clean, a gorgeous app to look at, and having a session automatically leading into a break leading into a session is great, that has really helped keep my break times to a minimum. But usage needs to be more thought out. For example, making a simple audio change like when I’m listening to a podcast during my session (I want ticking off) or working at my computer (I want ticking on) takes 7 button presses! This is way too many. Also, a bug: Focus Keeper is supposed to reset the number of sessions you’ve done so far each day, and indeed the first time you use it each day it asks if you’d like to reset, but it usually ignores your response (hasn’t reset 4/5 days so far). Per Pomodoro “rules” Focus Keeper has long breaks built in, which is really cool, but it doesn’t let you skip them. I sometimes pause a long break because the time on long breaks varies for me, and when I resume I just want to skip it and go to my session. If I do that it will come up again after my next session, and again after the next, and so on, until I actually fulfill a long session. It got so annoying that I finally deactivated that feature (by making a “round” which is usually 4 sessions, something long, like 30 so it doesn’t come up). Overall, this app feels like it’s about 80% thought through. It definitely needs to smooth its rough edges, but once it does I think it’ll be a killer app for people who use the Pomodoro system.

   Wattslefft · 6 Aug 2026

5. 3/5Small but Vital Improvements Needed

   So, the app is largely good, but a few small issues really detract from the overall effectiveness and quality of the app. First, the inability to quickly restart a “group” of pomodoro timers. For example, if you have a lunch in the middle of one group, and want to start fresh when you get back, you have to manually pretend you did the rest of the first group. So if I do 3 rounds before a long break, and I’ve done 1, to start fresh at zero, I have to set timers for 2 and 3 to zero to get back to 1. This is really bad design. Second...the volume controls do nothing. I like the idea of ticking on my short breaks. But, you know, not loud. So I set the volume for those to 0.9. Except that doesn’t work. If it is ticking at that moment, it lowers. But when the next short break hits, it’s back to whatever my phone volume is. This makes that feature useless. The same is true for alarms. I don’t want to have to pick up my phone to change it every time, so I have to choose between turning off ticking or remembering to set my phone volume where I want it for this app, change it for other apps, then come back and change it for this app. The core is good. The errors render it a frustratingly incomplete app.

   ..A.O.. · 6 Aug 2026

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