What Is LevelUpStudy? A Study Tracker App for Exam Preparation

Almost everyone preparing for an exam says the same sentence: "I studied a lot today." Then you count the day minute by minute and the total is two and a half hours — while the time spent at the desk was seven. The gap is phone-checking, pages that never turned, and the "five-minute break" that lasted forty.

The first step in closing that gap is not studying more; it is measuring how much you actually study. LevelUpStudy was written for exactly that: a free iOS app that measures the real time you spend preparing, reflects it back to you, and gives you a reason to come back tomorrow.

Why measuring study time works

Measured behaviour changes. There are three concrete reasons:

• The estimation gap disappears. "Today was good" and "this week was bad" usually contradict the real data. Once you see a number, you can plan.
• Small progress becomes visible. Studying 40 minutes in a day does not feel like anything, but 40 minutes standing as a bar on a weekly chart changes how you feel about it.
• Accountability appears. A study session that is recorded is easier to repeat than one that is not.

Focus sessions: the heart of the app

In LevelUpStudy everything begins with a focus session. You pick a duration, pick the exam you are preparing for, and start. When the session ends, points proportional to the time studied are credited to your account.

There are two modes:

• Single-block session: the classic approach — 45, 60 or 90 minutes without interruption.
• Pomodoro: 25/5 or 50/10 cycles. A notification arrives when the break starts, and the session continues where it left off afterwards.

Which one to use depends on the task. Working through practice questions suits 50/10; watching a lecture or entering a brand-new topic suits 25/5, because it lowers the chance of drifting off. Break minutes never count towards points, which closes the "farm points during breaks" loophole.

Duration is not measured by your device's stopwatch but by the difference between two server timestamps — which is what makes the times on the leaderboard real.

Streaks: the hardest day is the second one

The critical threshold for a study habit is the first week. In LevelUpStudy, every day you study adds one to your streak, and a day with nothing resets it. It is a simple mechanism with a large effect: to avoid breaking an 11-day streak, you will open a 20-minute session at 11 p.m. And those 20 minutes beat the book that never opened.

The day boundary is fixed to Istanbul time, so it does not shift when you travel or work from another time zone. If you have not studied by evening, a reminder notification arrives. A freeze, bought with points, covers a day that was genuinely impossible.

Leaderboards and friends

Rankings are separated by exam type, so you compete with people sitting the same exam. Daily, weekly, monthly and all-time tabs are available.

The friends side is more about not feeling alone: add friends by username, see who is studying right now, and keep a shared streak. A shared streak depends on both of you — when one stops, both lose it. It sounds harsh; in practice it is the most effective form of group study.

You can switch exams whenever you want. Alongside TYT and AYT, the app supports LGS, KPSS, ALES, DGS, YDS, YÖKDİL, TUS and MSÜ.

Where the points go: a 3D study desk

In most study apps, points are just a number. In LevelUpStudy they buy objects from a shop: monitors, headphones, desk lamps, plants, a game console, stationery. You place what you buy on your own desk in a real 3D scene, rotate it and rearrange it. You can visit and like your friends' desks too.

This is the part of gamification that works: what you get in return for studying is something that accumulates, is visible, and is yours. A desk that starts empty and fills up over the weeks becomes a visual summary of your study history.

The same logic drives achievements: 40 badges tied to real metrics, from total minutes and longest streak to completed sessions and the number of items on your desk.

Three tips for getting the most out of it

1. Keep your daily goal low. Someone who misses a 120-minute goal quits in three days; someone who hits a 60-minute goal raises it themselves two weeks later.
2. Watch the weekly chart, not the daily number. One bad day is not a statistic; one bad week is. That is what the weekly report is for.
3. Put the phone down before the session ends. Leaving the focus screen and switching apps triggers warnings; you get the best result by turning the phone over and carrying the session to the end.

How to download it

LevelUpStudy is free on the App Store. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Silicon Macs with iOS 16 or later; there is no subscription and every core feature is free. You can optionally watch a rewarded ad at the end of a session for bonus points, but it is never required.

All features, screenshots and frequently asked questions are on the LevelUpStudy page. If you are curious about how the app was built, the article on shipping an App Store app with vibe coding covers the technical side in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is LevelUpStudy free?

Yes. The app is free to download and every core feature is free; there is no subscription. Optionally, at the end of a session, you can watch a rewarded ad for bonus points.

Which exams are supported?

YKS, TYT, AYT, YDT, LGS, KPSS, ALES, DGS, YDS, YÖKDİL, TUS and MSÜ. Leaderboards are separated by exam type, so you see the ranking inside your own group.

Is there an Android version?

Right now the app runs only on iPhone, iPad and Apple Silicon Macs and requires iOS 16. An Android version is in progress.

How is my study time measured?

Duration is calculated from the difference between the server timestamps taken when you start and finish a session. The value reported by the app can only lower that number, so finishing early works correctly and inflating time does not.

How do I keep my streak?

Complete at least one session every day. The day boundary follows Istanbul time, you get a reminder notification if you have not studied by evening, and a freeze bought with points covers a single missed day.