TLDR
Most people search for alternatives to Opal because its blocks can be switched off in iOS Settings or deleted unless they're locked with a passcode, or because its time limits are easy to override once the novelty wears off.
Opal vs iOS Screen Time vs Digital Wellbeing vs Brick: compared according to reddit users
Gets in the way when you need it 1 = Didn't notice · 2 = Mildly annoying · 3 = Noticeable · 4 = Frustrating · 5 = Made me want to quit
Reduction strength 1 = No real change (~0-10%) · 2 = Slight decrease (~10-30%) · 3 = Moderate decrease (~30-60%) · 4 = Large decrease (~60-90%) · 5 = Total reduction (100%)
The Unscroll hypothesis (dotted circle): Unscroll is new and doesn't have independent Reddit data yet. Read more on the transparency of this research and the weaknesses of this approach below.
How these scores are chosen
Both axes are 1-5 scores averaged from real Reddit users' answers to a fixed-choice question — see the answer-dictionary legend for exactly what each answer means. Hover any point for how many people are behind each score, and a verbatim quote from the median-scoring one of them. 874 unique Reddit users are behind the scores; the per-tool counts add up to more because some people discussed more than one tool.
15 of 16 solutions here have both axes directly measured from real Reddit users. Unscroll's dotted circle is a hypothesis rather than a Reddit measurement (see the note above).
The quote shown for each axis is the median-scoring user of everyone found for that solution, not the most quotable one, so it represents the score rather than the extreme. Axes with a borrowed or manually seeded score have no quote, by design.
Gets in the way (X)
Gets in the way — how much the tool disrupted the user in the moment (a blend of how often and how intensely it did, judged as a single gut-feel answer rather than two separate scores, since either factor alone can dominate the felt experience)
Reduction strength (Y)
Reduction strength — impact on scrolling screen time
Show all 16 tools and their evidence
The rare person who can give up a smartphone entirely.
"the hardest part for me has been everyone else in the world. … statements such as "how am i supposed to get ahold of you?"...."what if there's an emergency?", etc. … you will feel out of place."
"I actually didn't have a smart phone my first 3 years in Accounting. I did have to buy a tablet for an authenticator app to log into work since I WFH, but otherwise it was never an issue."
People who want a set break, like a weekend or a week, rather than a permanent change.
"The first day was the most relaxing I'd had in a long time. Time dilated and I felt like one day was 48 hours instead of 24… Around this day everything became way easier: the frequency of randomly picking up my phone to check it reduced greatly."
"I managed to almost complete the challenge but I lost my job and needed a place to vent so I redownloaded reddit. […] I’m so glad I did the detox. I rediscovered my love for art and started reading again."
People willing to carry a classic feature phone for calls and texts and give up smartphone apps.
"I bought one a few weeks ago. My thoughts… Pros: light/slim… looks cool… cheap. Cons: had issue with phone calls dropping… sent texts would be sent, but i couldn’t see them on my screen… battery barely lasted a day."
"I use the tracfone version of it (2760), and the browser is SO laggy and barely loads a lot of sites... I got mine to break my doomscrolling addiction, and it’s genuinely helped so much. I can barely even load reddit on it."
People ready to go cold turkey on specific apps, who can still use the browser version when they truly need it.
"The best thing I ever did was delete the Instagram app and start using the instagram.com mobile site. It still gives me the dopamine hit and I’m still up to date but because the mobile version is a bit more clunky than the app it makes me scroll less."
"Heck yes!!! I love that app SO MUCH. I frequently put full blocks on super strict mode for a month at a time. Just got back on reddit on the 1st of this month. Ready to delete it again LMAO."
People who want a phone with calls, texts and, on most models, maps, but no social media feeds.
"The screen is definitely small. And I’ve noticed that I don’t really feel like installing new apps or special apps on the phone because using them is more tedious than on a normal smartphone. But when I actually need something, everything has worked for me so far except Revolut."
"since i'm working mostly in front of PC, is nothing more change other than i reduce my screentime significantly and more focus on my work… I also do more journaling these days, it really feels good to write with my hand instead of typing on my social media like i used to."
People who want a physical tag they have to tap to unblock, so unblocking takes a deliberate trip.
"I bought the ‘Brick’ blocker. … Deleting the app won't let you open your phone—you have to get up and walk to wherever the device is to ‘un-brick’. That's enough ‘friction’ for me to make better choices."
"The brick is pricey and it doesn't take a genius to bypass some things, even in Strict Mode, but, man, it's so effective for me. One on the fridge, one in the office. I'm more present at home and don't doom scroll while commuting. Highly recommend!"
The Unscroll hypothesis — our target, not yet tested against independent Reddit data. That's why it's a dotted circle.
iPhone users who need their feeds for work or social life and want to see how long they've been scrolling while they scroll, without hard blocks.
Unscroll is too new for organic Reddit discussion. Its reduction-strength placement ('Moderate decrease') is a hypothesis supported by real but limited internal data: across all users, scrolling time fell by a weighted average of 52% versus their own pre-Unscroll estimate (aggregated app data, self-reported baseline, not peer reviewed; unscroll.io/results). Its gets-in-the-way placement ('Mildly annoying') is a design goal only: there is no measured figure for it yet.
iPhone users who want scheduled app blocking and will lock its settings with a Screen Time passcode someone else holds.
"I started keeping social media (and any distracting apps) blocked at all times... it’s super annoying, I kept opening reddit and instagram to find it blocked, but over a few weeks I got used to it and my screen time went way down."
"Been using Opal for a little while now, and my screen time has been cut almost in half, down to about 3 hours a day. It’s made staying focused and off my phone way easier."
People who want a short pause before opening chosen apps, to break the automatic open-and-scroll habit without losing access. On iPhone and Android.
"Every time I try to open Instagram, I get redirected to the one sec app where I’m forced to wait 10 seconds. This is just long enough for me to think about what I'm doing… Since I started using the one sec app in December, I've saved a whopping 16 hours of time."
"I use the free version of ‘one sec’, it has its drawbacks (ex. no app switching in the free plan, stuff like that) and setting it up feels slightly clunky but they do a good job walking you through it and overall it has been a boon to me!"
People who want a plainer, text-only home screen on the phone they already own.
"The best part is you can ‘hide’ apps, which makes it really annoying to get to... Then I realized the BEST BEST part... You can set each app to open with a delay... If I try to open instagram, it asks ‘are you sure?’ and doesn't let me reply for like 10 seconds... This has worked SO much."
"After my stint with the LP2, i got a qwerty smartphone, put a minimal launcher on it, set it to greyscale+darkmode, only install utility apps, and its the best phone experience ive ever had."
People who want to earn app time with push-ups, or pass a short pause, before opening chosen apps.
"The biggest difference this time for me, maybe was ClearSpace. It does cost money and there’s a lot of apps with similar features that do the same thing, its just the one I’ve ended up using. I think I’ve found that having to wait 30 seconds even though it doesn’t sound like a lot was too much effort so I just won’t bother using it."
"Those few seconds of pause before accessing an app felt like an eternity, but they made me more conscious of my actions. Gradually, I noticed a change. I started reaching for my phone less and engaging more with the world around me."
Android users who want free, built-in daily app timers and a scheduled Focus mode.
"I’m currently preparing for job interviews, and the ‘Focus Mode’ is nice for adding a little bit of friction for when my mind wanders and I pick up the phone to reflexively check the news or see what’s on the Reddit front page."
"If anyone else is trying to decrease their phone use, I'd recommend the Digital Wellbeing app… You can see your total phone use time, and set time limits for certain apps. Putting a 30 minute daily limit on Reddit helped cut my screen time significantly."
People who want a free setting that makes the phone less rewarding to look at.
"I had some luck on my iphone by using slightly less than full grayscale. There was a slider that allowed some color, which made navigation easier, but not the full throbbing vibrant eye-catching palette."
"Setting my phone to greyscale helped me stop using it so much. Then, I deleted everything except my music app and a couple games like sudoku and tetris."
People who want a free, built-in app limit and won't tap 'Ignore Limit', or who let someone else set the Screen Time passcode.
"My wife held the Screen Time passcode; I got to keep essential iPhone features and keep my problem apps down to a collective hour a day. Sometimes I picked up the phone, found the dopamine-heavy apps locked, and put it back."
"I had this problem so I had my son pick a screentime password for me. When my time is up (45 min total on FB, Instagram and Reddit) I can’t do 15 more minutes because I don’t know the password."
People who would rather earn scrolling time with push-ups or squats than face a plain block.
"sometimes when i spend 5 hours doomscrolling on my phone and my app (pushscroll) blocks it i’ll go on my laptop and cant stop. i really liked pushscroll cause it made me RECORD me doing something else to get out of that brain rot cycle so it helps a lot. i pay about 35/year for it. got my screen time down about 2 hours"
"Hey you can try out this app called PushScroll. It makes you do pushups if you want to doomscroll. So kills two birds with one stone. Get gains and reduce scroll time."
People who want the same scheduled blocks on their phone and their computer.
"Freedom is very annoying from my experience, the VPN will get in the way of some apps even if they are not in the block list. I found I was constantly having to delete the app to use a train ticket app…"
Surprising findings about Opal
Deleting the apps cuts scrolling more than Opal does, with no extra day-to-day annoyance.
Why this is surprising The assumption is that a sophisticated paid blocker is necessary for effective screen time reduction, but the zero-cost, zero-configuration method of simply deleting the apps outperforms Opal on reduction strength while being about as disruptive.
Evidence Opal averages 3.44/5 on gets in the way (18 users) vs deleting the apps' 3.33/5 (67 users); reduction strength 2.87/5 (31 users) vs 3.37/5 (137 users).
Opal's blocks can be switched off in iOS Settings unless you lock them with a Screen Time passcode.
Why this is surprising Opal's help centre has a guide titled 'How can I make Opal foolproof?', but the protection it describes has to be set up separately and depends on a passcode you don't know yourself.
Evidence A feature request on Opal's community forum and a third-party guide both describe turning off Opal's Screen Time access in Settings to end its blocking. Opal's own help centre says a Screen Time passcode stops this, and suggests having someone else set it.
The real reasons people leave Opal
Bypass via iOS Settings
Opal's blocking runs on the Screen Time permission you grant it, and that permission can be switched off in iOS Settings unless you lock it with a Screen Time passcode, which works best when someone else holds it.
Deletion escape
Deleting Opal ends its blocks. Opal's App Uninstall Protection and a Screen Time passcode can stop that, but only if they're set up before the urge hits, and only as strong as whoever knows the code.
Overridable limits
The app only blocks at opening; users can unblock with one tap and ignore time limits. The mechanism requires sustained willpower it doesn't help build.
Is Opal worth it, according to app store reviews?
Users say Opal significantly reduces screen time, one person dropped from 7.5 hours to 2 hours daily, and helps build healthier phone habits. They report less mindless scrolling, improved focus, and a changed relationship with social media, with several describing the app as life-changing for doom scrolling and impulse control.
Users report that a recent update made the UI complicated and unintuitive, and introduced frequent bugs, lag, and crashes that sometimes freeze the whole phone. Blocking features often fail or require manual reloads. Many also criticize the pricing, noting that essential automated blocking now requires a $130 AUD/year subscription after a short trial, whereas the app was previously free.
"The app is borderline unusable now, they have no intention of backpedaling on the terrible update from a couple of months ago."
"The beauty of this app was always its simplicity. The new user interface is so complicated and unintuitive that has literally ruined the app. Please change it back!"
"Not sure what they were thinking with the new update, it's awful, completely unusable"
"The most recent updates have made the app so laggy/buggy - high key crashed my phone one day."
"Unfortunately, since the latest update, it's become almost unusable. The app frequently freezes, crashes, and sometimes causes my phone to become unresponsive."
"Everything is beyond slow. I am using an iPhone 13 and can barely use the app, even with full battery, nothing else open."
"I went from an average of 7:30 hours a day on my phone to only 2hours as my daily average."
"This app cut my daily average for 4 hours to just 1 and i almost never even scroll on social media anymore!"
"I have a completely different relationship with social media now. It also keeps me from mindlessly checking work emails when I do not need to."
"As someone who struggles with doom scrolling and impulse control, this app is life changing!"
"This app has truly helped me form new habits. I did not know how badly I needed a tech shake up - and how significantly it would have further repercussions in my everyday life."
"I have gone from spending hours on social media to 5 minutes Max. Wish I had installed it sooner."
"The app blockers don't even work half the time and I always have to reload the blocks so it doesn't help"
"This app does not work, your apps do not get blocked like they advertise. you can easily remove and ignore limits just like Apple screen time"
"Want your life back? Want to take back your own time? Lower your screen time and be present? Well for a small fee of $129.99 AUD you can!"
"You literally advertise this as a free app, when it is in fact extraordinarily expensive for what it is. There is no free option, only a 1 week trial and then a $130 subscription fee."
"Used to use this every single day. The fact that it was free was incredible. Now, any automated blocking you want is paid."
What the research says about Opal's mechanism
Research on Opal's mechanism, scheduled hard blocking with bypassable permissions, centers on friction-adding interventions. The evidence indicates these tools produce small effects but suffer from poor adherence and limited replication.
App timers and screen-time dashboards show poor adherence; users routinely dismiss limits, and long-term effectiveness remains unknown.
Friction-adding techniques, the mechanism Opal uses, show promising small effects in pilot studies, but these findings are rarely replicated.
Who does Opal actually work for?
When Opal works best
For users with decent baseline discipline who want a gentle friction layer against doomscrolling, not a tamper-proof lock. People who won't bypass Screen Time settings or delete the app to escape limits.
- Willing to respect iOS Screen Time permissions
- Comfortable with one-tap overrides they don't exploit
- Looking for a nudge, not a jail
- No need to block messaging or essential apps
- Accept that Opal relies on sustained willpower
Why does Opal fail long term?
The mechanism: why Opal works the way it does
Opal enforces hard blocking through iOS Screen Time permissions. Unless those permissions are locked with a Screen Time passcode, users can revoke them, consistent with evidence that app timers show low adherence as limits are routinely dismissed. This friction-based approach raises the cost of getting around a block rather than removing the option, which suits people committed to short-term focus more than anyone trying to stop a determined bypass.
Best alternatives to Opal that work differently
Pause-based awareness
The pause only happens as an app opens and can be dismissed, so it does nothing once you're already scrolling.
One Sec doesn't block the app, it adds a pause before it opens, so there's no time limit to override. Deleting it only removes the pause on future opens.
- Overridable limits
- The pause only triggers at the moment of opening the app; once inside, the user can scroll indefinitely after dismissing the pause.
- Its pause can be switched off too, by turning off its Shortcuts automation or Screen Time access, unless those are locked.
One Sec
People who want a short pause before opening chosen apps, to break the automatic open-and-scroll habit without losing access. On iPhone and Android.
Field study, 280 people (Grüning et al., 2023, PNAS): attempts to open target apps fell 37% over six weeks. Co-authored by the app's developer.
Live screen time
It never blocks anything, so it relies on you acting on what you see, and it's weaker than a hard block for people who need one. iPhone only.
Unscroll’s checkpoints are dismissible pauses, not hard blocks – there is little reason to disable Screen Time when the tool is not blocking anything. It uses scrolling awareness and goal-based checkpoints, not time limits that can be ignored. Deleting Unscroll stops the awareness features, but does not end an active block; the mechanism is not punitive, so escape is less of a concern.
- Bypass via iOS Settings
- Deletion escape
- Overridable limits
- Enforcement relies on the iOS Screen Time API – if a user is determined to bypass even low-friction checkpoints, they can still delete the app or disable Screen Time, though the incentive is lower.
Unscroll
iPhone users who need their feeds for work or social life and want to see how long they've been scrolling while they scroll, without hard blocks.
Internal data, not peer reviewed: across all users, scrolling time fell 52% on a weighted average versus their own pre-Unscroll estimate (unscroll.io/results).
Dumbphone
New hardware to buy and carry. A feature phone like a Nokia keeps calls and texts but loses maps, messaging apps like WhatsApp, banking and most authenticator apps; a dumb touchscreen phone usually keeps maps and sometimes a messaging app, depending on the model.
A dumbphone physically removes the ability to install and run scrolling apps, so there is no Screen Time API to disable, no app to delete, and no limit to override.
- Bypass via iOS Settings
- Deletion escape
- Overridable limits
- Users may still have a smartphone for essential tasks and switch back. The radical lifestyle change is not feasible for everyone.
Dumb touchscreen phone
People who want a phone with calls, texts and, on most models, maps, but no social media feeds.
No study of dumb touchscreen phones specifically.
Nokia (feature phone)
People willing to carry a classic feature phone for calls and texts and give up smartphone apps.
No study of feature phones specifically.
About the author
Sources (71)
71 sources directly shaped the analysis above; 216 were reviewed in total during research.
Research & studies 44
Changelog & product docs 27
Additional sources reviewed 75
Reddit threads (25)
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