Screen time
How to block an app on Android, with or without a timer
Blocking an app on Android doesn't have to mean deleting it. You can cut it off after a certain time, at certain hours, or only when you need to focus. Here are four methods, from the simplest to the most solid.
1. The Digital Wellbeing timer
In Settings › Digital Wellbeing & parental controls, tap the dashboard, choose the app, then App timer. Once the time is reached, the app is blocked until midnight. Free, but easy to remove in two taps. The details: Digital Wellbeing on Android.
2. Focus mode
Also in Digital Wellbeing, Focus mode pauses the apps of your choice, on demand or on a schedule. Handy for studying or working, but it can be paused with one tap.
3. A blocking app
Opal, AppBlock or ScreenZen block apps by schedule or quota, sometimes with a strict mode you can't stop before it ends. It's sturdier, but the blocking app itself can be uninstalled, and the home screen stays full of icons calling you. Our test: Opal review.
4. Blocking from the home screen
A block holds better when it sits where everything starts: the home screen. With Livetime, which replaces Android's, each app can be:
- compulsive: a wait before opening it, which grows with every opening of the day;
- addictive: a number of minutes decided before going in, then the app closes;
- left out of a mode: in Sleep or Focus mode it disappears from the screen, and at Hard difficulty there's no way to cheat.
Nothing is deleted: all your apps stay available by typing their name.
And to block a website?
The sites that eat up your time can be blocked in the browser too. With Livetime, unblocking a site only takes effect the next day: enough to avoid late-night relapses.
Block without deleting. Livetime puts the pause, the limit and the modes in your Android home screen, where every opening begins. See all the features.
Frequently asked questions
How do I block an app without uninstalling it?
With the Digital Wellbeing timer or Focus mode, a blocking app, or a home screen like Livetime that limits the time before you go in.
How do I block an app at certain hours?
Android's Focus mode can run on a schedule. With Livetime, a Sleep mode can start on its own at 10 pm and keep only your evening apps.
Can I lock an app with a password?
Some phones offer an app lock in their security settings. It protects your data, but doesn't limit your time: you know the code.
Written by Emile Clement, a student and the creator of Livetime, after two years of testing almost every screen-time solution out there.
