Disclosure: Reset is ours, and it is listed first. It gets the same four fields as every other app, including its drawbacks.
Short answer
If you have learned to wait out the delay, our pick is Reset — a real block only a friend can end early, free. For a gentler pause, one sec.
ScreenZen is one of the best free screen-time apps: a delay before a distracting app opens, growing each time. It works — until your thumb learns to wait.
This guide is for the moment friction stops being enough.
Switch to Reset if
- You wait out the delay on autopilot
- You want bedtime to be a hard stop
- You want someone to keep you honest
Stay with ScreenZen if
- The delay still works for you
- You want no lock at all
- You like its per-app goals
At a glance
| App | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Reset (ours) | People who keep tapping through their own limits and want a friend to hold the key | Free, with no subscription and no in-app purchases |
| ScreenZen | People who want free, gentle friction | Free |
| one sec | People who want a breathing pause | Free for one app; one sec pro |
| Opal | People who want scheduled hard blocks | Free core app; Opal Pro subscription |
| Brick | People who want a physical key | Buy the physical Brick once |
| Freedom | People who want blocks on every device | Subscription after a 7-day trial |
The apps in detail
Reset
Ours
- Best for
- People who keep tapping through their own limits and want a friend to hold the key
- Highlights
- Real blocking built on Apple’s Screen Time
- The friend key: only a friend’s code ends a locked block early
- SOS for the urge and a 22-exercise Boredom Gym
- No account, no server, no ads
- Pricing
- Free, with no subscription and no in-app purchases
- Watch out
- iPhone only, on iOS 18 or later — no Android, no Mac and no browser extension. The friend key works best if you actually have someone to hold it; without one, a block ends only through the emergency unlock, which makes you wait.
ScreenZen
- Best for
- People who want free, gentle friction
- Highlights
- Delay before opening, growing each time
- Scrolling interruptions
- Goals by day and time
- Pricing
- Free
- Watch out
- It slows you; it doesn’t stop you.
one sec
- Best for
- People who want a breathing pause
- Highlights
- Pause before one app
- Research-backed
- Safari extension
- Pricing
- Free for one app; one sec pro
- Watch out
- Only one app free.
Opal
- Best for
- People who want scheduled hard blocks
- Highlights
- Schedules and limits
- Block screens
- Game layer
- Pricing
- Free core app; Opal Pro subscription
- Watch out
- Harder modes are Pro.
Brick
- Best for
- People who want a physical key
- Highlights
- A device you tap to lock and unlock
- Blocks any app except the dialer
- No subscription
- Pricing
- Buy the physical Brick once
- Watch out
- Hardware to buy and carry.
Freedom
- Best for
- People who want blocks on every device
- Highlights
- Phones and computers
- Scheduled sessions
- Focus sounds
- Pricing
- Subscription after a 7-day trial
- Watch out
- Not free.
From friction to a lock
Friction apps and locks solve different problems. Friction catches the mindless open; a lock stops the determined one.
Reset is a lock with a person attached: calls, Messages and Maps stay open, and an emergency unlock exists but makes you wait.
Common questions
Is ScreenZen free?
Yes — ScreenZen is free.
What if ScreenZen isn’t strict enough?
Try a lock someone else controls, like Reset’s friend key.
Can I use ScreenZen and Reset together?
They use the same Screen Time system; most people pick one to avoid overlapping rules.
App Store listings checked on 27 September 2026. Prices change — each entry describes how an app is paid for rather than a number that goes stale.
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