Best app blocker for ADHD on iPhone in 2026: 8 apps compared by their exits
The best app blocker for ADHD is the one whose exits you cannot take at midnight, and that is a different question from which one has the most features. Below, eight iPhone blockers are lined up on the five things that decide whether a block survives a bad night: price, whether a free trial turns into a charge, how a break works, what happens when you delete the app, and the shortest block it will actually run. Every fact comes from the app's own App Store page or site, opened on 2026-09-12. We build one of these apps, so read the last column with that in mind.
The short answer
- No iPhone blocker survives an adult deleting it. Apple's Family Controls documentation protects only children authorized by a parent. The fix is a Screen Time setting, not an app.
- Two of the eight document a free trial that converts to a subscription (Opal, Freedom). Jomo, One Sec and ClearSpace do not say on the pages we opened. Unbudge, ScreenZen and Brick do not run trials.
- Prices range from free (ScreenZen) to $99.99 a year (Opal). Unbudge is $29.99 a year or $3.99 a month, with 3 apps free.
- Only one app on the list states its minimum block length; Apple's system floor is 15 minutes and we measured it.
Prices are the US App Store in-app purchase list or the app's own pricing page as displayed on 2026-09-12. Subscriptions change; check the page before you pay. We did not test every app on a device; the table reports what each app says about itself.
The comparison table
"Break mechanism" is how the app lets you use a blocked app during a block, and what ends the break. "Survives deleting the app" is the same for every Screen Time API blocker, because Apple decides it; the column notes what the app says about it. "Minimum block" is the shortest block the app states it runs.
| App | Price (US App Store / own site) | Free trial that converts | Break mechanism | Survives deleting the app | Minimum block stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unbudge | Free for 3 apps and 1 schedule; Pro $29.99/year or $3.99/month | No. Site: "No weekly plan, no trial that turns into a charge." | "Take 15": 15 minutes, then the block returns on its own with the app closed. Strict mode (Pro) removes breaks during a schedule | No (Apple rule). Onboarding and Settings show the Deleting Apps path | 15 minutes, stated on the break screen |
| Opal | Free plan (1 rule); Pro $99.99/year, $19.99/month, $399 lifetime; App Store also lists a $4.99 weekly plan | Yes. Pricing page: "Start Free Week" (annual), "Start Free 3 Days" (monthly) | Break inside a session: "choose the app you want to use, write your intention, and set a timer." Hard Mode: "No way out. You can't turn Opal off." | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
| One Sec | Free for one app; Pro $2.99/month, $19.99/year, $99.99 lifetime | Not stated on the pages opened | Not a block by default: a breathing pause before the app opens, with a "re-intervention" after a set time. Scheduled full blocks are also offered | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
| Freedom | Free plan; Premium $8.99/month, yearly at $3.33/month billed annually ($39.99/year on the App Store), Forever $199 list | Yes. App Store: "Free 7-day trial" before the $39.99 annual plan | Sessions with a start and end. Locked Mode "prevents quitting so you stay committed." Its pages do not describe a break inside a locked session | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
| Jomo | Free tier; Plus $5.99/month, $29.99/year, $99.99 lifetime | Not stated on the pages opened | "Take mindful pauses when needed." Site: "you can always unlock if you really need to," or lock the block so it cannot be disabled (strict mode) | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
| ScreenZen | Free. Site: "ScreenZen is completely free." Optional tips $5 to $40 | No trial (nothing to convert to) | A pause and prompts before the app unlocks; limited unlocks per day; a lock mode and password-protected settings | Site says lock mode "protects against common loopholes"; deletion not addressed in detail | Not stated |
| Brick | App free; the physical Brick is $59 on its site. "No subscriptions or monthly fees" | No trial | Blocking starts and ends by tapping the phone on the physical Brick. "Five emergency unbricks" for when the Brick is out of reach | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
| ClearSpace | Premium $6.99/month, $44.99/year (App Store list) | Not stated on the pages opened | A "breathe screen" pause before opening; daily limits that relock after the time expires | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
Two patterns stand out. Every app except Brick and Unbudge is silent about the shortest block it runs. And "not stated" for deletion is not a mark against any app; Apple's rule is the same for all of them. What differs is whether the app tells you.
The rule that applies to every row: deleting
Apple's Family Controls documentation is explicit about who gets protection: "authorizing an app prevents the child user from deleting the app that provides parental controls." That sentence is about child users authorized by a parent. For an adult who authorizes an app on their own phone, the same documentation family says the system removes the restrictions that would stop deletion. So the delete button is always there, for every app in the table, and the only thing that closes it is a Screen Time restriction on your own phone: Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases › Deleting Apps › Don't Allow, behind a passcode someone else keeps. The full path with Apple's wording is in Deleting the app bypasses your blocker. Here is the fix.
The rule that applies to every row: 15 minutes
Every blocker in the table that uses Apple's Screen Time system hands its schedules to the Device Activity framework, and that framework rejects intervals that are too short with an error Apple documents as intervalTooShort: "The activity's schedule has an interval that is too short." Apple does not print the number. On an iPhone 14 running iOS 26.5, on 2026-08-09, we measured 5- and 10-minute schedules rejected and 15 and 20 minutes accepted. Any app promising a 2-minute or 5-minute block is running a timer with a dismiss button for that part, not the system block. That is not a flaw in the app; it is worth knowing which parts of an app are real shields and which are reminders.
Which one for which kind of ADHD night
Different exits fail for different people. Match the app to the exit you actually take.
| Your pattern | What you need | Candidates from the table |
|---|---|---|
| You open the app on autopilot, then keep going | A pause before the app opens, not a wall | One Sec, ScreenZen, ClearSpace |
| You "pause" the blocker for a quick look and lose two hours | A break with a fixed length that relocks by itself | Unbudge (15 minutes, automatic relock); ClearSpace daily limits that relock |
| You turn the blocker off at night, then regret it | An off switch you cannot flip alone | Brick (physical tap), Opal Hard Mode, Freedom Locked Mode, Jomo strict mode, Unbudge Strict mode |
| You sign up for trials and forget to cancel | No trial at all | ScreenZen, Brick, Unbudge |
| You want your Mac and iPad covered too | Cross-device sessions | Freedom ("no device limits"), Opal (iOS, Android and Mac on its pricing page) |
For the friction-pause group in the first row, the trade-offs are covered in One Sec alternatives: friction pause vs a hard block. If Opal is the one you are weighing up, the price breakdown is in Opal alternatives: the price table and what a no-trial blocker looks like.
Before you pay for any of them
- Install, block one app, and try to open it. You should see a shield, not a notification. If a payment screen appears before that first block has held, close it.
- Take a break, close the blocker completely, and wait for the break to end. If the app is still open past the break, the break has no end.
- Find every off switch. Count taps. Anything that costs one tap will lose.
- Set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow, with the Screen Time passcode entered by someone else. This step is the same whatever you pick.
- Only then compare price. A $99 blocker with a one-tap exit is worth less than a free one with none.
The longer version of this checklist, including what fails specifically for ADHD, is in App blocker for ADHD: what actually works on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
Which app blocker is hardest to bypass on iPhone?
None can stop an adult deleting it; Apple's Family Controls documentation only protects children authorized by a parent. Among the exits that remain, Brick requires a tap on a physical device to unblock, Opal's Hard Mode and Freedom's Locked Mode are described as no way out or prevents quitting, and Unbudge's Strict mode removes breaks during a schedule. Whichever you pick, set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow behind a passcode someone else holds.
Is there a free app blocker for ADHD on iPhone?
Yes. ScreenZen states on its site that it is completely free, with optional tips. Opal, Freedom, One Sec and Unbudge each have a free tier with limits: Opal one rule, One Sec one app, Unbudge three apps and one schedule. Apple's own Downtime with Block at Downtime is free and needs only a Screen Time passcode.
Why do ADHD app blockers keep failing after a few days?
Usually one of three exits: a one-tap pause or off switch, a break with no automatic end, or the delete button. Apple documents that adults can always delete an authorized blocker, so the fix for the third is the Deleting Apps restriction. For the first two, choose a blocker whose break has a fixed length and relocks by itself, and whose off switch sits behind something you cannot do impulsively.
Unbudge: where it sits in this table
Unbudge is the row with no trial, a stated 15-minute break that relocks by itself with the app closed, a Strict mode that removes breaks during a schedule, and screens that tell you about the delete door instead of hiding it. It proves the block works with a 15-minute test before any payment screen. Free for 3 apps and 1 schedule; Pro is $29.99 a year or $3.99 a month.
Unbudge
ADHD app blocker for iPhone. Schedules, 15-minute breaks that relock on their own, no free trial that turns into a charge
Free for 3 apps and 1 schedule · Pro $29.99/year or $3.99/month, no trial · No account, no ads, data stays on the phone · How Unbudge works
Related guides
- App blocker for ADHD: what actually works on iPhone — the six failure modes and the eight questions to ask.
- One Sec alternatives — friction pause vs hard enforcement, and who each is for.
- Opal alternatives — Opal's price table and the no-trial option.
- Deleting the app bypasses your blocker. Here is the fix — the setting that closes the delete door.
- How to stop yourself from tapping Ignore Limit on Screen Time — if Apple's own limit is the one you keep tapping past.
Sources
All checked on 2026-09-12.
- App Store, "Unbudge: ADHD App Blocker" and Unbudge site
- App Store, "Opal: Screen Time Control" and Opal pricing page
- App Store, "one sec | screen time + focus", one sec site and one sec FAQ
- App Store, "Freedom: Screen Time Control" and Freedom pricing page
- App Store, "Jomo - Screen Time Blocker" and Jomo site
- App Store, "ScreenZen- Screen Time Control" and ScreenZen site
- App Store, "Brick - Ditch Distractions" and Brick site
- App Store, "ClearSpace: Reduce Screen Time"
- Apple Developer Documentation, "Family Controls" — child users prevented from deleting the app
- Apple Developer Documentation, "DeviceActivityCenter.MonitoringError" — intervalTooShort
- KANAU WORKS device log, iPhone 14 on iOS 26.5, 2026-08-09: schedules of 5 and 10 minutes rejected with intervalTooShort, 15 and 20 minutes accepted.