Quiet Wall

Dopamine detox apps: what they actually do

Quiet Wall ·

No app changes anything about dopamine. What these apps change is how easy the phone is to reach. Six of them, grouped by how they do it.

One of the apps below is ours, and it is marked. Every price and platform comes from the app's own App Store page, with the date it was checked.

What a dopamine detox app actually does

"Dopamine detox" is a name for taking a break from the things you reach for without thinking, and phones are most of them. No app changes anything about dopamine. What these apps change is how easy the phone is to reach, and that is the useful part.

They fall into three kinds: apps that block, apps that add a pause, and one that takes the phone out of the room.

Apps that block

Opal · iPhone, Mac, Android · Free; subscriptions from $4.99 a week to $99.99 a year

Blocks chosen apps and websites on a schedule, in timed sessions or after daily limits, using Apple's Screen Time API. Shows usage stats, a score and a leaderboard with friends.

Blocks chosen apps on a schedule or for a session. The closest thing to a detox you set once and leave running.

opalapp.com · details as of 22 October 2026

BePresent · iPhone, Android · Free; subscriptions from $3.99 a month

Blocks apps during solo or group sessions, sets daily screen-time limits with an optional money stake, ranks users on weekly leaderboards and gives points for partner rewards.

Blocking with company: sessions with friends, leaderboards, and an optional money stake on your own limits.

bepresentapp.com · details as of 22 October 2026

Forest · iPhone, iPad, Android, Chrome · Free; subscriptions from $5.99 a month or $35.99 a year

A virtual tree grows while you stay off the phone and withers if you leave early. Can block apps outside an allow list during sessions and on a schedule, and logs the time.

A tree grows while you leave the phone alone and withers if you leave early. App blocking is there too, during sessions and on a schedule.

forestapp.cc · details as of 22 October 2026

Apps that add a pause

one sec · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Chrome · Free; one sec pro $6.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $99.99 once

Shows a short pause, such as a breathing animation, before a chosen app or website opens, then lets you decide whether to go on. Can end an app session after a set time.

A short pause before an app opens, then a question. The detox happens one opening at a time.

one-sec.app · details as of 22 October 2026

ScreenZen · iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows · Free; optional tips from $5 to $40

Adds a wait before a chosen app opens, which can grow with each open. Sets daily goals per app, and can block apps for set times, after a number of opens or past a Screen Time limit.

The same pause, growing each time, with strict blocking when the pause is not enough. Free, apart from optional tips.

screenzen.co · details as of 22 October 2026

An app that removes the input (ours)

Quiet Wall · iPhone · Free; Extras $4 a month, $25 a year or $50 once

A timer for doing nothing: a reminder arrives, the phone goes across the room, and a sound ends the session. Each session is logged as a brick on a wall. Extras can block other apps during a session.

Quiet Wall is the short version of a dopamine detox: ten minutes with no screen, no sound and no input at all. A reminder arrives, the phone goes across the room, and you look at a blank wall until a sound brings you back. There is more on what that is for, and what it is not, on [dopamine detox](/dopamine-detox).

apps.apple.com · details as of 22 October 2026

Which kind to pick

The free option is still worth trying first: the iPhone's own Screen Time can give apps a daily time allowance and a schedule, at no cost.

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