Focus is an Android app blocker for people who keep undoing softer limits: its Strict sessions can't be cancelled, schedules start blocks by themselves, and the block screen offers a brain game instead of the feed. Digital Wellbeing is enough for gentle limits, one sec and ScreenZen are built around a pause before apps open, and Opal or AppBlock fit better if you need iPhone or website blocking.
We make Focus, so read this with that in mind. We've tried to be fair: each app below is good at something, and for some people another app is the better pick. We describe how each one works rather than listing prices, which change often. Check each app's store page for current details. For a closer look at two of them, see Focus vs Opal and Focus vs AppBlock.
At a glance
| App | How it works | Platforms | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Hard block: Strict sessions with no cancel button, schedules, block rules and Phone-only mode. Brain games on the block screen. | Android | People who undo softer limits and want something to do instead of scrolling |
| Digital Wellbeing | Built-in app timers, Focus mode and Bedtime mode | Android (built in) | Gentle limits, with nothing to install |
| one sec | A short pause or exercise before chosen apps open | Android, iPhone, Mac, browsers | Cutting down on autopilot opens, without a hard block |
| ScreenZen | A wait before chosen apps open, plus limits; free, supported by tips | Android, iPhone | A free pause-first app |
| Opal | Focus sessions, app limits and a focus score; premium subscription | iPhone, Mac, Android (since 2025) | People who use an iPhone or Mac too |
| AppBlock | App and website blocking with schedules and a strict mode | Android, iPhone, browsers | Blocking websites as well as apps |
| Forest | A focus timer: stay off your phone and a virtual tree grows | Android, iPhone, browsers | Light motivation, without locking other apps |
Three ways app blockers work
Reminders you can dismiss
Digital Wellbeing's app timers and Focus mode tell you when you've had enough. They're free and already on your phone, but you can switch them off in a couple of taps, which is exactly what the urge to scroll wants you to do.
A pause before the app opens
one sec and ScreenZen put a short wait or exercise between you and the app, then let you choose. This works better than you might expect: in a 2023 study in PNAS, one sec users opened their target apps 57% less often after six weeks. It suits people who mostly open apps on autopilot.
A block that holds
Focus, AppBlock's strict mode and Opal's sessions lock apps for a set time. This suits people who get past softer limits. Research supports it too: limits that couldn't be overridden on the spot cut use of targeted apps by 22 minutes a day in a study of about 2,000 Android users (American Economic Review, 2022).
Where Focus is different
- No way out of a Strict session. No pause or cancel button: the session ends when the timer does. Standard mode lets you leave early only by solving a 30-second puzzle, and that costs XP and your streak.
- Phone-only mode. Blocks every app except the dialer, emergency calls, the camera and payment apps.
- Blocks that start by themselves. Focus schedules and block rules run on set hours and days, so you don't have to remember.
- Something to do instead. The block screen offers 12 short brain-training games, so the urge to scroll turns into a minute of training.
- Free to start. The free version blocks 3 apps at once with one schedule; Pro removes the limits and the ads. Compare Free and Pro.
When another app is the better pick
- You use an iPhone. Focus is Android only. Look at one sec, Opal or Forest.
- You want to block websites. Focus blocks apps only. AppBlock handles websites too.
- You just want a nudge. Start with Digital Wellbeing, which is free and built in, or a pause app like one sec or ScreenZen.
New to blocking apps? Start with how to block apps on Android.
Common questions
What is the best app blocker for Android?
It depends on how much you need to be stopped. For gentle limits, Android's built-in Digital Wellbeing is enough. For a pause before an app opens, one sec and ScreenZen are built around that. If you keep undoing softer limits, choose a blocker with sessions you can't cancel, such as Focus.
Is Focus a good alternative to Opal on Android?
If you only use Android, yes. Focus is made for Android, has a free version, and its Strict sessions can't be cancelled once they start. Opal suits people who also want it on an iPhone or Mac, which Focus doesn't support.
How is Focus different from one sec or ScreenZen?
one sec and ScreenZen slow you down before an app opens and then let you decide. Focus locks the app for the length of a session or a schedule, and offers a brain game on the block screen instead of the feed.
Does Focus block websites?
No. Focus blocks apps on your phone. If you need to block websites too, look at a blocker with website support, such as AppBlock.
Is Focus available on iPhone?
No. Focus runs on Android 7.0 and newer only.