Do app blockers and screen time apps actually work?

They work while they're switched on. Keeping them on is the hard part.

We compared six of them, Opal, Brick, one sec, Cold Turkey, ScreenZen and Forest, in best app blockers compared. The tools are fine. A blocker takes away the fight in the moment, which helps. It doesn't build the habit that replaces the check, and over time the override button becomes part of the routine.

The best trial so far backs this up. When 467 adults blocked mobile internet on their phones for two weeks, daily screen time roughly halved and most improved on at least one measure of well-being. Only about a quarter kept the block on as asked, and use climbed back once it ended (Castelo and colleagues, 2025).

So use a blocker for one window with an end date, like the hour before bed, and pair it with a habit you're building anyway. Blocking everything forever is the version that fails.

If you're not sure which window to start with: Find Your Starting Place.