Alternatives
Products that do what Digital Detox does
Break Social Media Addiction with NFC-Powered Blocking
- 1IB
I wanted to find a way to use Instagram without ending up scrolling for two hours every time I open the app to see a friend's story. Most screen time apps I found focus on blocking the app itself instead of the addictive feed, so I created this app to allow me to keep using the "healthy" and "social" features and block the infinite scrolling (Reels) After implementing the block on Instagram Reels, I got addicted to YouTube Shorts and Reddit feed. So, I extended the app to cover these as well. To avoid replacing the scrolling for regular feeds, I also added a feature that shows a pop-up when…
2025 · scrollguard.app
- 2IM
Hi HN! Super proud to showcase Foqos! I wanted to create a way to physically block apps on my phone, always had a bunch of NFC tags, combined the 2 together over the holiday break and Foqos was born. You can create profiles, write them to NFC tags and track your weekly focus. Its completely open source and will always be free! There is an affiliate link in the app for nfc tags and donations are completely optional Link here: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/foqos/id6736793117
2025 · foqos.app
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- 4DI
Hi HN, It's super hard to quit addicting apps. Existing solutions are non-binding, and therefore, require constant self-discipline and vigilance to be effective. Which is ironic, considering the problem we are trying to solve, is a lack of self-discipline. There exists a physical solution to this problem, in the form of a time-locked safe[1]. It’s effective for reducing app usage, but it's cumbersome and inconvenient. Fundamentally, what these lock-boxes do is impose a real-world cost on breaking your commitment. It’s not impossible to break your commitment, but it would require destroying…
2023 · discipline.io
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Your calmer, digital detox experience on iPhone
Jan 2026 · minimalistphone.com
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I've been trying to minimize my compulsive browsing of social media for a while, and tried a bunch of extensions and apps to block websites and such, but always ended up disabling them even if they were supposed to be "hard to disable". The fact is that sometimes you need to visit reddit for some info, but you don't want to get caught in an addictive loop. Disabling entire hostnames or trying to configure intricate block lists is annoying, and the end result is annoying. Parental controls don't work on me, and I resent them. I remembered what Tristan Harris once said on ways to prevent…
2023
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Block distractions to eliminate wasteful browsing habits
2017
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- 21IB
I'm a solo dev. A few years ago, I got addicted to Reddit. Spent months in that loop. Being a programmer, I thought I'd be clever. Redirected Reddit's domain to nowhere in my DNS file. Worked great until I'd just... open the file and undo it 20 minutes later. So I made it irreversible. Locked the DNS file so it can't be edited unless I boot my Mac in safe mode. And if I do that, there's a script that instantly locks it again. Haven't used Reddit since last year. Problem solved, right? Wrong. I just replaced Reddit with Twitch and YouTube. Started keeping streams running in the background…
Nov 2025 · chromewebstore.google.com
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- 24IB
Hey HN, I'm a solo developer from Nigeria. I built Quran Unlock - an app that blocks distracting apps (TikTok, Instagram, etc.) until you complete your daily Quran reading. The idea came from my own struggle with phone addiction. I wanted to read Quran daily but kept getting distracted. So I built this for myself, then shared it. Some stats after 2 months: - 123K+ users - 64.9% returning user rate - 31M events tracked Tech stack: - React Native - Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Analytics, Cloud Messaging) - RevenueCat for subscriptions - iOS Screen Time API + Android UsageStats App Store:…
Jan 2026
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