Spark vs Foqos
Foqos is free, open source, and works with any NFC tag you already own — if you want to spend nothing at all and you have an iPhone, it is a genuinely good answer and we will say so plainly. Spark differs in three ways that matter to some people and not to others: it runs on Android as well as iOS, the credential is a paired Bluetooth key verified by a fresh random challenge rather than a copyable tag or printable code, and locking never requires the credential at all.
Every figure below was read from Foqos’s own site or store listing on 24 Jul 2026. Prices change — check the source links before deciding.
At a glance
Side by side
| Dimension | Foqos | Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (optional $1.99 tip) | Free app; key sold separately, one-time |
| Platforms | iPhone only, iOS 17.6+ | iOS and Android |
| Credential | Any NFC tag or printed QR code | Paired Bluetooth key, challenge–response |
| Can the credential be copied? | Yes — codes photographed, tags cloned | No — a fresh random challenge each time |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | No |
| Locking needs the credential? | Depends on the strategy chosen | Never — locking is always free |
| Support | Solo developer, voluntary tips | Not shipped yet |
Foqos
How Foqos works
Foqos is a free, MIT-licensed open-source iPhone app blocker that starts and stops sessions with any generic NFC tag, a QR code, a timer, or manually.
It uses Apple's Screen Time API to block chosen apps and websites, with twelve documented activation and deactivation strategies including NFC, QR, timers and combinations. The intended workflow is to hide the tag or printed code so you have to physically retrieve it.
Platforms
iPhone only, requiring iOS 17.6 or later. No iPad or Mac version. No Android version — their site points Android users to two unaffiliated third-party apps.
Pricing
Free, with no paid features. The only in-app purchase is an optional $1.99 tip for the developer. NFC tags are whatever you choose to buy; printed QR codes cost nothing.
How hard it is to get around
Weaker than a purpose-built key, as a direct consequence of using commodity credentials. A QR code is an image, so it can be photographed or reprinted and scanned later, which defeats the hide-the-code workflow. Generic NFC tags such as NTAG213 are writable and cloneable with commodity tools. Several of the strategies involve no physical credential at all.
The difference that matters
A credential you can copy versus one you cannot
Foqos's great strength is also the source of its main limitation. Using commodity tags and printed codes means the hardware costs cents and you can put credentials in several rooms at once — genuinely better than buying a device per location. It also means the credential is copyable: a QR code can be photographed before you hide it, and a writable NFC tag can be cloned.
Whether that matters depends entirely on who you are protecting the block from. If it is you-in-a-weak-moment and you would not go to the trouble, it does not matter at all, and Foqos is the better-value product. If you know you would go to the trouble — and some people honestly do — a credential that answers a fresh random challenge cannot be photocopied in advance.
The other two differences are simpler. Foqos is iPhone-only. And in Foqos the physical credential is optional on both sides; in Spark locking is always free and keyless by design, because hesitating to lock is the failure that ruins everything downstream.
The cost side is where Foqos wins outright and we will not dress it up. Spark's app is free with no subscription, but the key is a manufactured object: a one-time purchase in rupees quoted ex-GST, shipped within India with a GST invoice and a 7-day replacement if it arrives damaged. A commodity tag costs a fraction of that and you can buy it anywhere in the world. If price is the deciding factor, the deciding factor has already decided.
To be fair
When Foqos is the better choice
Foqos is the only genuinely free, MIT-licensed, auditable option in this category, and the most flexible: twelve activation strategies including combinations the paid products do not offer, it works with any commodity tag or a free printed code rather than proprietary hardware, and it keeps everything on device with no account and no analytics.
Choose Foqos if
- You want to spend nothing at all. If your objection is fundamentally that you do not want to buy hardware, Foqos is the correct recommendation.
- You want to read the source before granting a blocker Screen Time permissions. That is a reasonable thing to want and only Foqos allows it.
- You want credentials in several places at once — office, bedroom, car — without buying a device for each.
- You need one of their strategy combinations, such as a timed session that can only be ended early with a physical tag.
Documented limitations
- iPhone only, and requires iOS 17.6 or later — a higher floor than most alternatives.
- You source your own tag or print your own code; there is no packaged hardware, mount or replacement path.
- A solo-developer project funded by voluntary tips: no company, warranty, money-back guarantee or support commitment.
- QR codes can be photographed and generic NFC tags can be cloned, which weakens the hide-the-credential workflow.
- No family or parental product.
Sources: foqos.app · apps.apple.com
Questions
Foqos, answered
Is Foqos really free?
Yes. No features are paywalled and there is no subscription. The only in-app purchase is a voluntary $1.99 tip for the developer.
Does Foqos work on Android?
No. Foqos is iPhone-only and their own site points Android users to two unaffiliated third-party apps.
Can someone copy an NFC tag or QR code?
Yes. A QR code is an image that can be photographed before you hide it, and common NFC tags are writable and cloneable with ordinary tools. Whether that matters depends on whether you would actually do it.
Compare something else
The other six
Spark vs Brick
Brick is a $59 NFC device that blocks distracting apps. Spark is a free app plus a Bluetooth key. The real differences, and when Brick is better.
Read the comparisonunpluq alternativeSpark vs Unpluq
Unpluq's Tag needs a Premium subscription to work at all. Spark's app is free and the key is bought once. What each enforces, and when Unpluq fits better.
Read the comparisonopal alternativeSpark vs Opal
Opal is a polished screen-time app for iPhone at $99.99 a year. Where its hard block is hard, where it is soft, and when it is the better choice.
Read the comparisonfreedom app alternativeSpark vs Freedom
Freedom blocks across Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android in one session. If your problem is a laptop, it wins. If it is a phone, the comparison changes.
Read the comparisonscreen time not workingSpark vs Apple Screen Time
Screen Time is free, built in, and enough for a lot of people. Here is exactly why it fails when you administer it yourself, and the two ways to fix that.
Read the comparisoncold turkey alternativeSpark vs Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey has the hardest locks in the category — reboot to unlock, 40-day delays — but it is desktop only. Where each one belongs.
Read the comparisonFacts checked 24 Jul 2026
Locking is free. Unlocking costs you a walk.
Blocking has no subscription and needs no account — one tap, offline, with Bluetooth switched off. The key is the only thing you buy, and it is the only thing standing between a bad moment and your feed.