Do app blockers work? What they fix, and what they miss

What blockers do well

A blocker adds friction. The site you open without thinking is suddenly not there. That small wall is often enough to break the loop.

The best ones are hard to undo. Freedom blocks apps and websites and syncs across Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and Chrome, so one session covers all your devices. Cold Turkey Blocker, on Windows and Mac, is built so that once you lock a block, it's almost impossible to stop early. Even uninstalling it won't help.

If you know exactly which two or three sites eat your afternoon, a blocker is a smart tool.

What the research says

The evidence is real, but mixed. A 2023 review in the Journal of Medical Internet Research looked at 13 apps designed to cut phone use, across 19 studies. Their effects "varied from weak to strong." Grayscale mode, app time limits and mixed approaches were among the things that helped.

The authors concluded that apps like these have potential, and that more research is needed. In plain words: they can help, but they're not a sure thing.

The part a blocker can’t reach

A blocker works on where you go. It can't touch why you wanted to leave.

When London School of Economics researchers filmed everyday phone use, 89% of pickups were started by the person, not by a notification. Something inside moved first.

A locked app doesn't make that feeling go away. So the urge looks for another exit. You check email. You make a coffee you don't want. You spend four minutes finding a way around the block.

The destination changed. The reason for leaving didn't.

And at work, there's a bigger catch. You can't block the things that distract you most, because they're your job. Email, Slack, Teams and the browser all have to stay open. A blocker can't help with those at all. Something that works on the urge can.

So what is the urge, really?

Nir Eyal, author of Indistractable, argues that distraction usually starts with an internal trigger: a feeling you want to escape.

At a desk, that feeling is usually one of six. The report is boring. You're stuck and frustrated. There's too much and you're overwhelmed. You're anxious about a deadline or a client call. Your head is foggy. Or a quiet voice says you're not good enough for this.

None of those are solved by a locked screen. We go through each one, and what it needs, in why we doomscroll.

Blocker or urge tool: what’s the difference?

A blocker asks: where can't I go? It works on the destination. It's best when a few specific sites are the problem.

An urge tool asks: why did I want to leave? It works on the feeling behind the reach. It's best when the pull comes from how the work feels: dull, hard, too big, or scary.

They're not rivals. They solve two halves of the same problem. One holds the door shut. The other deals with the reason you walked to it.

Use both, in the right order

Eyal lays out four steps to becoming "indistractable". Locks and precommitments come last. He calls them "the last line of defense," to use after you've dealt with the internal triggers.

That order matters. A blocker without the first step is a wall with an angry person pacing behind it. A blocker after the first step is a helpful backstop.

A simple setup for tomorrow

Here's a setup that uses both halves:

Before you start: turn your blocker on for your worst two or three sites. Not everything, just the ones that really cost you. At work, mute Slack or Teams for the block if you can.

While you work: use a 25-minute focus timer, so there's always a break coming. Our free focus timer works in your browser with no sign-up.

When the urge hits anyway: don't fight the block screen. Stop, and name what you're feeling in one word. Then spend two minutes on what that feeling needs. Long breath out for anxious. Stretch and set a ten-minute challenge for bored. Write it all down for overwhelmed.

Then: go back and finish the block.

The full routine is in how to stop doomscrolling when you should be working.

Where CatchScroll fits

CatchScroll isn't a blocker, and it's happy to sit next to one. It's built for the other half: the moment the urge arrives.

You tap what you're feeling (anxious, bored, frustrated, overwhelmed, foggy or self-doubt). It talks you through a two-minute reset made for that feeling. Then it sends you back to your focus timer. The blocker keeps the door shut. CatchScroll makes you stop wanting to open it. See how it works.