NYT Wirecutter · Jan 2026
Wirecutter reviewed Clearspace as a screen-time tool that adds friction before opening distracting apps, highlighting squats, time limits, accountability features, and the app's freemium pricing.
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 30, 2026
Clearspace is a YC-backed digital-wellbeing startup that helps users reduce compulsive phone use by adding friction before opening distracting apps and websites, with features like timed sessions, accountability partners, and physical/mindful unlock challenges.
Primary product
iPhone app / digital wellbeing platform for screen-time control and distraction reduction
Founded
2022
Headquarters
San Francisco, CA 94117, United States
Team size
1-10 employees
Industry
Wellness and Fitness Services
Sub-industry
Digital wellbeing / screen-time management
Offices
0 jobs at Clearspace
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Business model
Stage
pre-seed
Total raised
$500K
Latest round
Pre-Seed · Apr 2023
Latest amount
$500K
Apr 2023 · Y Combinator
Investors
Mission-driven and product-obsessed, with a culture centered on attention protection, behavior change, family use cases, and playful friction mechanisms such as breathing exercises and pushups to unlock apps.
Pricing
Freemium: one app is free; paid plans unlock multiple apps via subscription.
Differentiators
Technology
Customers
Competitors
NYT Wirecutter · Jan 2026
Wirecutter reviewed Clearspace as a screen-time tool that adds friction before opening distracting apps, highlighting squats, time limits, accountability features, and the app's freemium pricing.
NPR Marketplace · Jan 2026
Marketplace again cited Clearspace as an app that prompts exercise or breathing before opening distracting apps, with annual pricing around $49.99.
NPR Marketplace · Nov 2025
Marketplace profiled Clearspace as part of the digital-detox economy and noted its exercise-based prompts and $49.99/year pricing.
Forbes · Jan 2025
Forbes profiled Clearspace as a YC-backed app founded by Royce Branning and Oliver Hill and said the company was most recently valued at $20 million.
Business Insider · Oct 2024
Business Insider covered Clearspace's screen-time creeping feature and described it as one of the more aggressive apps in the screen-time reduction category.