Apple Screen Time alternatives
Screen Time is free and already on your iPhone, so try it first. If you keep dismissing your own limits, the fix is to move the off switch away from you: to another person, to a paid app with a strict mode, or to an object in another room.
Checked 11 November 2026. We make moss, which is first on this list for that reason and no other. The rest are in no ranked order.
Why people look past Apple Screen Time
- By default you can ignore a limit when you reach it.
- A passcode you set yourself is one you know.
- Family Sharing is built for parents managing children, not adults agreeing to something together.
The full picture, including what Apple Screen Time does well: moss vs Apple Screen Time.
The alternatives
moss
moss is an iPhone app that comes with a small physical stone. You choose the apps that distract you, tap your phone on the stone, and those apps stay locked until you tap the stone again. People who live together can link their phones to share schedules and put their phones down at the same time, while each person keeps control of their own phone. Locking is free in the app, the stone is a one-time purchase, and the household features are a paid add-on.
Suits: people who want the key kept somewhere at home, and households who want to put phones down together.
Brick
Brick is a $59 magnetic puck and a free app. You choose apps, tap your phone on the Brick to block them, and tap again to unblock. It has up to 10 modes, schedules and a Strict Mode, and it works on iPhone (iOS 18 or later) and Android (12 or later). It is the product that made this category, and its app is rated 4.9 on the App Store from roughly 60,000 ratings.
Suits: You or your household use Android, or you want the most proven option.
Bloom
Bloom sells a wallet-sized stainless steel card for $39, a magnetic pod for $59 and a set of both for $69. The app is free with no subscription. You tap to block and tap to unblock, or use schedules. It has 5-minute breaks, a Strict Mode, a friends leaderboard for focus streaks and a Child Mode in which only a parent's card can change settings. It works on iPhone and Android.
Suits: You want a card you carry, you use Android, you want parental control over a child's phone.
Foqos
Foqos is a free, open source iPhone app (MIT licence) that turns any standard NFC tag, QR code or barcode into a lock for your apps. It has profiles, schedules, breaks, website blocking, a Hard Mode and Shortcuts support, and a profile can be bound to one specific tag so that no other tag stops it. There is no subscription. The App Store listing offers optional tips. It needs iOS 17.6 or later, and it has no emergency unlock.
Suits: You are comfortable buying a tag and setting it up yourself, and you only need to lock your own phone.
Opal
Opal is a screen time app with no hardware. It blocks apps in sessions and on schedules, sets time and open limits, scores your focus and lets you challenge friends on a leaderboard. There is a limited free tier. Opal Pro costs $19.99 a month, $99.99 a year or $399 for life, and the strictest mode, where a session cannot be ended early, is part of Pro. Its pricing page lists iOS, Android and Mac.
Suits: You want analytics, you want your Mac covered, or you are away from home most of the day.
ScreenZen
ScreenZen is free and supported by donations. It does not lock apps outright. It adds a pause before a chosen app opens, can lengthen the wait each time, limits how many times a day you open it and cuts sessions short. It runs on iOS, macOS, Windows and Android. ScreenZen also sells Halo, a $49 Bluetooth device with no subscription that blocks apps while your phone is within a set distance of it. Halo ships to the US only.
Suits: You want to open apps less without being locked out, or you want something free.
One Sec
One Sec shows a breathing exercise each time you open an app you chose, then asks whether you still want to continue. It delays access; it does not block it. It is free for one app. One Sec Pro is $6.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $99.99 for life. In a study published in PNAS in 2023, in which 280 people used it for six weeks, they closed the target app again after 36% of attempts and were opening those apps 57% less by week six. One of the study's authors is the app's developer, and the study had no control group.
Suits: Your problem is opening apps on autopilot, and a moment to think usually stops you.
Freedom
Freedom blocks websites and apps across Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chromebook and Linux, and one session can cover all your devices at once. There is a free plan. Premium is $8.99 a month or $3.33 a month billed yearly, with a one-time Forever option. Locked Mode, which stops you quitting a session, is part of Premium.
Suits: Your distraction is on your computer as much as your phone.
Kidslox
Kidslox is a parental control app, which is a different job from moss. A parent installs it on a child's iPhone, iPad or Android device and manages it remotely: daily limits and schedules, instant lock, app blocking, web filtering, location and activity reports. It is a subscription after a free trial, and one account covers up to 10 devices. Check Kidslox's site for current prices.
Suits: You need to set and enforce limits on a young child's device.
moss is a stone that locks the apps you choose.
Tap to lock, tap to unlock. One price, and locking needs no subscription.
