Brick alternatives
Brick works, and for many people it is the right buy. People usually look elsewhere for one of four reasons: the $59 price, the fact that any Brick unlocks any Brick user's phone, a wish for something the whole household takes part in, or wanting no hardware at all. These are the alternatives we could verify, including our own.
Checked 11 November 2026. We make moss, which is first on this list for that reason and no other. The rest are in no ranked order.
Why people look past Brick
- Any Brick ends any Brick session, so a spare or a friend's Brick is a way out.
- Emergency Unbricks do not refill by themselves. You ask Brick for a reset.
- Brick documents some schedule limits, such as schedules that run past midnight.
- There is nothing for a household to do together.
The full picture, including what Brick does well: moss vs Brick.
The alternatives
moss
moss is an iPhone app that comes with a small physical stone. You choose the apps that distract you, tap your phone on the stone, and those apps stay locked until you tap the stone again. People who live together can link their phones to share schedules and put their phones down at the same time, while each person keeps control of their own phone. Locking is free in the app, the stone is a one-time purchase, and the household features are a paid add-on.
Suits: people who want the key kept somewhere at home, and households who want to put phones down together.
Bloom
Bloom sells a wallet-sized stainless steel card for $39, a magnetic pod for $59 and a set of both for $69. The app is free with no subscription. You tap to block and tap to unblock, or use schedules. It has 5-minute breaks, a Strict Mode, a friends leaderboard for focus streaks and a Child Mode in which only a parent's card can change settings. It works on iPhone and Android.
Suits: You want a card you carry, you use Android, you want parental control over a child's phone.
Foqos
Foqos is a free, open source iPhone app (MIT licence) that turns any standard NFC tag, QR code or barcode into a lock for your apps. It has profiles, schedules, breaks, website blocking, a Hard Mode and Shortcuts support, and a profile can be bound to one specific tag so that no other tag stops it. There is no subscription. The App Store listing offers optional tips. It needs iOS 17.6 or later, and it has no emergency unlock.
Suits: You are comfortable buying a tag and setting it up yourself, and you only need to lock your own phone.
Blok
Blok starts and stops a block when you scan its $29 card or a product barcode you registered, such as the back of a shampoo bottle. It has modes, schedules, limited breaks, streaks and a way to compare progress with friends. There is an optional Blok Pro subscription, and emergency unlocks are sold in the app: $4.99 for one or $12.99 for three. It needs iOS 17 or later.
Suits: You want the lowest price to try the idea.
Locked
Locked (the app is called "Locked: Less Screen Time") is a magnetic NFC tag or card with a free app. On the day we checked, the tag was listed at $59.99 and on sale for $47.99. It has schedules, short breaks, streaks, a Strict Mode and website blocking, no subscription, and its site says it works on iPhone and Android. It is a small product: the App Store listing had 3 ratings when we looked.
Suits: You use Android, or you want a card as well as a tag.
Unpluq
Unpluq is a Dutch app with a yellow NFC keychain tag. Blocked apps sit behind a "distraction barrier": tapping the tag, or a digital task such as shaking the phone or tapping a pattern of buttons. The tag only works with Unpluq Premium. In Unpluq's store, a year of Premium with the tag is $80, and in the app Premium is $59.99 a year or $6.99 a month. A free tier blocks 2 apps on 1 schedule, without the tag. It works on iPhone and Android, and a separate Unpluq Family plan gives parents control of a child's phone.
Suits: You want friction, not a lock, you carry your keys everywhere, or you need to manage a child's phone.
ScreenZen
ScreenZen is free and supported by donations. It does not lock apps outright. It adds a pause before a chosen app opens, can lengthen the wait each time, limits how many times a day you open it and cuts sessions short. It runs on iOS, macOS, Windows and Android. ScreenZen also sells Halo, a $49 Bluetooth device with no subscription that blocks apps while your phone is within a set distance of it. Halo ships to the US only.
Suits: You want to open apps less without being locked out, or you want something free.
Opal
Opal is a screen time app with no hardware. It blocks apps in sessions and on schedules, sets time and open limits, scores your focus and lets you challenge friends on a leaderboard. There is a limited free tier. Opal Pro costs $19.99 a month, $99.99 a year or $399 for life, and the strictest mode, where a session cannot be ended early, is part of Pro. Its pricing page lists iOS, Android and Mac.
Suits: You want analytics, you want your Mac covered, or you are away from home most of the day.
kSafe
The kSafe is a plastic container with a timer built into the lid. You put the phone in, set a time and it will not open until the timer ends. It costs $59 ($69 for the XL), needs no app or subscription and works with any phone, or with anything else that fits. It locks away the whole phone, calls and maps included.
Suits: You want the phone gone completely for a fixed time and can live without calls.
moss is a stone that locks the apps you choose.
Tap to lock, tap to unlock. One price, and locking needs no subscription.
