TLDR
Most people seek alternatives to One Sec for two reasons: it only interrupts the moment you open an app, not the endless scrolling once inside, and users become immune to the breathing exercise after a few days.
One Sec vs iOS Screen Time vs Brick vs Freedom: 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 One Sec
Deleting the apps cuts scrolling more than One Sec does
Why this is surprising Users assume a sophisticated paid app like One Sec would reduce screen time more than the simple free act of uninstalling apps, but the opposite is true.
Evidence One Sec averages 2.76/5 on reduction strength (42 users) vs Deleting the apps at 3.37/5 (137 users); One Sec averages 3.05/5 on gets in the way (19 users) vs 3.33/5 (67 users).
The real reasons people leave One Sec
Only blocks the initial launch
The breathing pause triggers only when you first tap an app icon. Once inside, you can scroll indefinitely without further interruption, leaving the core addictive loop untouched.
Quickly becomes ignorable
The same intervention loses its impact after repeated exposure. Users report ignoring or bypassing the screen within a week, returning to automatic use.
Is One Sec worth it, according to app store reviews?
Users say One Sec effectively reduces screen time, one person reported dropping from 6 hours to 2 or fewer per day, by breaking reflexive opening habits and inserting a mindful breathing pause that makes them reconsider launching an app.
Users report that One Sec's free version restricts blocking to a single app and requires payment for most features, including intentional app switching. The app frequently crashes, fails to work on the latest iOS, and has a complex setup process that demands manual automation configuration across two apps.
"Free version allows only one app to block"
"almost every single feature is paid"
"intentional app switching behind a paywall"
"Cut my screen time dramatically instantly"
"screen time went from 6 hours a day to an average of 2 or less"
"my Instagram is down to 1/3 of last week"
"it just does not work anymore"
"App keeps crashing, so no other apps work either"
"it doesn't work on the latest iOS"
"I realized I was navigating to Instagram without even thinking about it"
"This app effectively broke the muscle memory habit of opening up Instagram"
"it's really eye opening to see how many times I opened this app"
"Just giving me this few seconds to think about it helps save me so many hours"
"I love taking a deep breath, changes everything"
"makes you take a deep breath – most of the time this makes me put my phone down"
"Too complicated to set up, It takes 2 apps to set up"
"the fact that I have to memorise the steps and manually setup the automations was just an immediate huge hurdle"
What the research says about One Sec's mechanism
Research on friction-based interventions like One Sec's pre-launch pause is limited. Evidence supports the mechanism of adding effort to automatic habits, but reveals a key vulnerability: users can easily bypass the friction.
A PNAS field study of One Sec users (Grüning et al., 2023, 280 people, six weeks) found attempts to open target apps fell 37%, and 36% of opening attempts ended with the app closed after the pause. It was co-authored by the app's developer and hasn't been independently replicated.
User-dismissable friction, where a delay or limit can be overridden, as with One Sec's bypass option, tends to show poor adherence in studies; users routinely dismiss the intervention, and long-term effectiveness remains unknown.
Who does One Sec actually work for?
When One Sec works best
It fits people who automatically open social media or news apps dozens of times a day and want to curb that reflex, but have no critical need to stay inside those apps once launched.
- Opens apps habitually, not for specific tasks
- Willing to tolerate a brief delay each time
- Is open to changing the pause if it starts to feel automatic
Why does One Sec fail long term?
The mechanism: why One Sec works the way it does
One Sec introduces a breathing pause at app launch, applying friction to interrupt automatic habit execution, a mechanism with sound theoretical basis. However, the intervention only blocks the initial tap; once inside, scrolling proceeds uninterrupted, leaving the core reward loop untouched. Repeated exposure reduces impact: app-timer interventions show poor long-term adherence because users dismiss the limit. This reflects the tool's intentional design trade-off: it relies on the user's own intent rather than strict enforcement.
Best alternatives to One Sec that work differently
Abstinence
You lose the useful parts of the apps along with the scrolling, and nothing stops you reinstalling them or picking the phone back up.
By completely removing the app or phone, abstinence eliminates the possibility of launching and scrolling at all. There is no intervention to become ignorable because the stimulus is gone. This fully sidesteps both of One Sec's failure modes: no launch to block, and nothing to habituate to.
- Only blocks the initial launch
- Quickly becomes ignorable
- Reinstalling apps or switching the phone back on is trivial, and many users relapse after a detox period.
Deleting the apps
People ready to go cold turkey on specific apps, who can still use the browser version when they truly need it.
No study of deleting apps itself. The closest, a 4-week Facebook deactivation experiment (Allcott et al., 2020), found use stayed lower after it ended.
Temporary digital detox
People who want a set break, like a weekend or a week, rather than a permanent change.
Randomised trial, 467 people (Castelo et al., 2025): after a two-week block on all mobile internet, 91% improved on at least one of well-being, mental health or attention.
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.
Switching to a device without scroll-feed apps removes the temptation at the hardware level. This sidesteps One Sec's limits by removing feed access altogether, not just adding a pause at launch.
- Only blocks the initial launch
- Quickly becomes ignorable
- The ability to revert to a smartphone or access social media via a browser on the dumbphone; the lifestyle change is substantial and may not be sustainable.
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.
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.
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 intervenes during the scrolling session itself, not just at launch. It provides checkpoints every few minutes that require a deliberate action to continue, and uses random button placement to reduce habituation. This directly addresses One Sec's gap of no post-launch intervention and its vulnerability to becoming ignorable through repeated exposure.
- Only blocks the initial launch
- Quickly becomes ignorable
- Deleting the app or revoking Screen Time permissions removes the intervention entirely.
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).
Screen time blockers
A block is only as strong as its settings: most can be switched off or the app deleted, unless someone else holds the passcode.
Unlike One Sec's one-time pause, screen time blockers can enforce continuous restrictions, blocking the app entirely during scheduled times or after a usage limit. This prevents scrolling for extended periods, not just at launch. Hard-blocking tools like Freedom and Brick are less easily ignored because they require active bypass (deletion or settings change) rather than a quick dismiss.
- Only blocks the initial launch
- Quickly becomes ignorable
- Users can bypass by deleting the app, disabling restrictions in Settings, or using alternative channels like the browser. All app-based tools share the risk of deletion.
Freedom
People who want the same scheduled blocks on their phone and their computer.
Randomised trial, 467 people (Castelo et al., 2025): two weeks of blocking all mobile internet with Freedom improved well-being (effect size 0.45, moderate), mental health and attention.
Brick
People who want a physical tag they have to tap to unblock, so unblocking takes a deliberate trip.
No study of Brick specifically.
Small hacks
Free and quick to set up, but just as quick to switch off, and the effect is modest: it changes how the phone looks, not what you can open.
Grayscale mode continuously reduces the visual reward of the screen throughout the entire session, not just at launch. This dampens the dopaminergic pull of scrolling, making the behavior less compelling even after the user is already inside the app. It addresses the 'only blocks initial launch' failure by providing a constant, albeit passive, intervention.
- Only blocks the initial launch
- Users can turn off grayscale easily, and it primarily affects session depth (time per session) rather than reducing the number of pickups.
Grayscale mode
People who want a free setting that makes the phone less rewarding to look at.
Field study, 84 people (Dekker & Baumgartner, 2024): one week of grayscale cut phone time by about 20 minutes a day; how often people unlocked the phone didn't change.
About the author
Sources (79)
79 sources directly shaped the analysis above; 229 were reviewed in total during research.
Research & studies 35
App Store review data 1
Changelog & product docs 43
Additional sources reviewed 61
Reddit threads (22)
Web & press (38)
Other sources (1)
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