Everything you need to know about Focus.

Arrowway Focus (Focus by Arrowway) is a strict distraction blocker and digital wellbeing app for Android, Windows, Mac and Linux. It stops compulsive phone scrolling by strictly locking distracting apps and websites with no early exit or cancel button, replacing idle scrolling habits with 12 cognitive brain games. Developed by independent product studio Arrowway, it is completely distinct and unrelated to the casual mobile puzzle game named 'Arrow Way'.

Focus is an app and website blocker made by Arrowway. It blocks the apps, programs and websites you pick for as long as you choose, with Strict sessions you can't cancel, and turns the urge to scroll into quick brain-training games. Focus for Android is in early access on Google Play, Focus for Windows, Mac and Linux are free downloads from this site, and Focus for Chrome is coming soon.

No. Focus mode is a setting in Android's Digital Wellbeing that pauses the apps you choose until you turn it off, which takes one tap. Focus is a separate app made by Arrowway: it blocks the apps you pick for a set time, with Strict sessions that can't be ended early, schedules that start on their own, and quick brain-training games in place of scrolling.

No. Focus by Arrowway is an independent app blocker and digital wellbeing application. It is not affiliated with Apple. While Apple's built-in Focus mode only silences notifications, Focus by Arrowway actively intercepts and blocks selected distracting apps and websites on Android, Windows, Mac and Linux with uncancelable strict sessions.

Focus for Windows (Windows 10 and 11), Focus for Mac (macOS 12 or newer, Apple silicon and Intel) and Focus for Linux (for ARM64 computers for now, with a .deb for Ubuntu and Debian and a .tar.gz for other distributions; Intel and AMD PCs are coming soon) are free downloads from arrowway.online. Focus for Android works on Android 7.0 and newer. Focus for Chrome, a browser extension, is coming soon. There is no iPhone or iPad app.

Unlike Cold Turkey, Focus works across both mobile (Android) and desktop (Windows, Mac and Linux). Unlike Freedom and Opal, Focus does not require a mobile VPN, does not lock basic desktop blocking behind a $99/year subscription, and provides built-in cognitive brain games directly on the block screen rather than just passive time limits. Focus desktop apps are completely free with no ads.

Yes. Focus for Android blocks apps on your phone. Focus for Windows, Mac and Linux block programs and also websites, in all major browsers and with no extension, during your sessions. Blocking a program blocks its website too, so Discord can't just be opened at discord.com instead. Focus for Chrome, coming soon, will block websites in Chrome without installing the app.

Not single websites. Focus for Android blocks whole apps, so to keep a site out of reach on your phone, block the browser apps you'd open it in for the session, or use Phone-only mode, which blocks everything except the phone dialer, the camera and payment apps. Focus for Windows, Mac and Linux do block single websites, in all major browsers.

Yes. Sign in with the same Focus account on each device and your streak, XP and progress carry over. If you focus on two devices at the same time, that time counts once.

Yes. Focus for Android is free and blocks up to 3 apps at once, with ads; Focus Pro, bought on Google Play, removes the limits and the ads. Focus for Windows, Mac and Linux are free with no ads and have the same free limits, such as 3 programs blocked at once; Pro bought on Android removes them there too when you sign in with the same account.

Focus Pro is a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase, bought in Focus for Android through Google Play. Google Play shows the price in your currency before you pay, and prices vary by country. Pro removes the ads and the free limits, like blocking only 3 apps at once, and you manage or cancel it in Google Play.

Focus Pro purchases are processed securely through Google Play with clear, upfront pricing and no dark patterns. You can view, manage or cancel your subscription at any time in two taps under Google Play > Payments & subscriptions. Refunds follow Google Play's standard refund policies and support windows.

Not in Strict mode, which is on by default on your phone and computer: the session runs until the timer ends, and on a computer Focus can't be quit until then either. If you turn Strict mode off, you can end early on your phone or computer by solving a 30-second puzzle, which costs 50 XP and resets your streak.

Customer support cannot unlock an active session for you: Focus is built without a remote backdoor, ensuring Strict sessions remain truly unbreakable when temptation hits. However, you are never locked out of vital tools: Phone-only mode automatically keeps the phone dialer, emergency calls, the camera and essential payment apps available. In Standard mode, you can also end early by solving a 30-second focus puzzle, which costs 50 XP and resets your streak.

No. Focus doesn't ask for device-admin or accessibility access, so it can't stop you uninstalling it or switching off its permissions. Strict mode closes every way out inside the app instead: no early exit, no emergency pass, and no signing out until the timer ends. If Usage access or “Display over other apps” is turned off, Focus notices within seconds and sends a “Blocking is paused” notification.

Yes. Focus sessions, schedules and block rules persist across device reboots and power cycles. When your phone or computer restarts, Focus resumes blocking within seconds in the background. Your active session remains locked until the timer expires.

No. Focus timers do not rely on simple device clock settings. Active sessions, schedules and block rules measure elapsed time against system uptime and secure timestamps, so changing your phone or computer clock will not end a session. On desktop (Windows, Mac and Linux), Focus runs as a resilient background service that resists Task Manager or Activity Monitor quit attempts until the timer ends.

On your phone, a session you start yourself runs from 5 minutes to 8 hours: tap 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours, or pick any length in 5-minute steps. A schedule can run for up to 24 hours at a time.

On Android, Focus shows its block screen on top of the app. On Windows and Linux, Focus minimizes the program, and on a Mac it hides it, so no work is lost; then Focus shows its block screen. On Linux under Wayland, programs Focus can't see in front are closed instead. A blocked website won't open in any major browser, and Focus sends a notification.

No. Focus stops blocked apps from opening, but their notifications still arrive, and tapping one shows the block screen instead of the app. To silence them too, turn on Do Not Disturb or switch off notifications for those apps in your phone's settings.

On Android, Focus blocks the whole app during a session, and on a computer it can block youtube.com and instagram.com in all major browsers. Focus for Chrome, coming soon, will also hide just YouTube Shorts and the Instagram Reels feed and leave the rest of YouTube and Instagram working.

Yes. Schedules start a focus session on their own on the days and times you set, even when Focus is closed, with an optional reminder 5 minutes before. Block rules keep chosen apps blocked during set hours on the days you pick, without starting a session. Both work on your phone and on your computer.

Yes. On Android, Focus keeps running in the background and shows a notification while it does. On Windows, Mac and Linux, closing the window keeps Focus running in the system tray or menu bar, so sessions and schedules carry on.

Focus is built to stay light. On Android it reads the phone's own record of which app is in front, uses no location and doesn't keep your phone awake, and it runs only while a session or block rule needs it. It checks every few seconds, and several times a second while apps are blocked, so a blocked app is covered at once. Some phones close background apps to save battery, so letting Focus run in the background keeps blocking reliable.

Some phone makers aggressively close background apps to save battery, which can pause Focus's blocking service. To keep blocking active, open your phone's Settings > Apps > Focus: set Battery usage to Unrestricted (turn off battery optimization), enable Autostart or Allow background activity, and lock Focus in your phone's Recent Apps screen.

Yes. Blocking runs on your device, so sessions, schedules and block rules keep working with no internet, and sessions you finish offline sync when you're back online. You need a connection to sign in the first time (Focus uses a free account, with email, phone number or Google), to buy Pro, and to sync your streak and XP between devices.

On Android, two are required: Usage Access, to detect when a selected app comes to the foreground, and “Display over other apps”, to show the block screen on top of it. Focus also asks for notifications on Android 13 and newer, and offers to turn off battery optimization so blocking keeps running. Focus for Windows and Linux need no special permissions: during a session they point your computer's proxy setting at Focus to block websites, and put it back afterwards. Focus for Mac does the same, and macOS may ask for your administrator password to change that setting; it also asks the first time Focus sends a notification.

Many mobile blockers install a VPN profile to intercept network traffic, which can slow down your connection, drain battery and conflict with work or ad-blocking VPNs. Focus for Android uses native Usage Access and system overlays instead, with zero traffic rerouting. On Windows, Mac and Linux, Focus runs a lightweight local proxy directly on your machine (127.0.0.1) that never routes browsing through outside servers.

Yes. A normal session only blocks the apps you pick. Phone-only mode blocks everything else, but keeps the phone dialer, emergency calls, the camera and payment apps available.

Blocking runs on your device. On a computer, Focus blocks websites through a small proxy that runs on your own computer, so your browsing doesn't go through our servers. Your account and progress sync to our servers, and the free Android version shows ads from Google AdMob. The Privacy Policy linked below explains what is collected and how to delete it.

No. Focus is built for blocking your own distractions. It has no parent PIN, child profiles or remote controls, so it isn't designed for managing someone else's phone.

Focus has 12 brain-training games: Memory Grid, Reaction Test, Stroop Test, Digit Span, Memory Test, Mental Math, Logic Patterns, Schulte Table, Arrow Focus, Object Tracking, Sustained Attention and N-Back, plus a daily puzzle and a 2-minute daily challenge. Play them from the Games tab, or from the block screen when you reach for a blocked app.

Blank block screens often trigger a rebound craving, driving you to search for another distraction. Focus replaces mindless scrolling with 12 cognitive training exercises (including Stroop Test, Schulte Table, Memory Grid and N-Back). When you instinctively open a blocked app, a quick 30-second challenge satisfies the urge to interact with your phone while training working memory, reaction speed and impulse control.