How MoveFirst works
MoveFirst turns the apps you open without thinking into something you decide to open. Here is the whole loop, with nothing hidden.
Choosing what waits for you
On first run you pick the apps that should be held back — the ones you open on reflex rather than on purpose. The picker is Apple's own, and it hands MoveFirst a sealed token rather than a list of names, so the app can hold those apps behind a block screen without ever learning which ones they are. You can change the selection whenever you like, and nothing else on your phone is touched.
Earning minutes with the camera
Ten moves are counted by the front camera: push-ups, squats, sit-ups, jumping jacks, a plank, jump squats, lunges, high knees, mountain climbers and a one-foot balance. Counting happens live on the phone using Apple's Vision framework — each frame is read as it arrives and discarded straight away. No video is recorded, stored or sent. Prop the phone where it can see you, and the count runs on screen as you go.
Earning minutes without the camera
The camera is never the only way in. A walk is measured by the phone's own step counter while it sits in your pocket. Your daily step total can be credited from Apple Health without starting a session at all. And a focus session earns time simply by leaving the chosen apps shut for a stretch — no sensor, no reps, no lens. These earn at the same rates as everything else, because a way out that pays less is not really a way out.
The bank
Earned minutes do not have to be spent immediately. They land in a bank and wait for you. Do a set in the morning and spend it on the sofa that evening if you like. When you open a blocked app, minutes are drawn from the bank; when the balance runs out, the block comes back on its own.
Your rates, your call
Every exchange rate is yours to set. Ten squats for five minutes is only a starting suggestion — make it gentler if you are easing in, or steeper if you want the friction to bite. Because you set the number, the bargain stays one you actually agreed to.
When you stop early
Half a set still earns the time you moved for. Nothing is forfeited for stopping, and walking away from your phone without spending anything is treated as a win rather than a missed session. There are no streaks to break and no counter of failures.
MoveFirst is finishing its final test round. It is not on the App Store yet.