{"slug": "screenzen", "name": "ScreenZen", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 7, "warners": 2, "score": 2.711, "rising": 1.02, "first": "2025-11-09", "latest": "2026-10-31", "why": "I use ScreenZen to enforce limited short session for a short list of harmful apps and websites", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 2}, "spark": [1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I use ScreenZen to enforce limited short session for a short list of harmful apps and websites", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.screenzen.co", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["ScreenZen", "Screenzen"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 805049824, "item_id": 50315614, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315614", "by": "liorgrossman", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use ScreenZen to enforce limited short session for a short list of harmful apps and websites", "excerpt": "For me it's less about the tools I use, and more about building health habits (or reducing the bad habits). I use ScreenZen to enforce limited short session for a short list of harmful apps and websites (socials & news), and I configured it to allow a few 5-min-long sessions per day. The short sessions being cut in the middle help me stay informed but break the addictive nature of socials/news. I also use Android's D", "context": "Android user practicing digital minimalism", "use_case": "limiting social/news app time", "switched_from": "", "story": "Digital minimalism"}, {"id": 792697648, "item_id": 49543603, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49543603", "by": "academic_84572", "date": "2026-09-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "ScreenZen is great at this", "excerpt": "For me, adaptive friction has been very helpful - allow access to distracting apps/sites, but make them progressively harder to use. For phones, ScreenZen is great at this. Makes you pause before visiting an app or site, and you can configure the pause to grow each time you use it. You can also set a timeout on the app. Very flexible settings. For desktop, I recently built a free browser extension called MooBlock - i", "context": "", "use_case": "Phone app friction", "switched_from": "", "story": "Making the Internet Boring"}, {"id": 773761185, "item_id": 48360074, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360074", "by": "shiba-inu", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I personally prefer ScreenZen.", "excerpt": "I personally prefer ScreenZen. It is a lot less restrictive on the free version and you can just tip once to get full access instead of a subscription. It also has a system where you can \u201cearn back\u201d app unlocks if you don\u2019t use the app for the full allotted time, which encourages using your apps even less rather than feeling like having to make the most of your unlock. App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sc", "context": "", "use_case": "Screen time control", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 755694960, "item_id": 47230935, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47230935", "by": "TheCapeGreek", "date": "2026-03-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use ScreenZen for mobile - it can block specifically short form content", "excerpt": "I use ScreenZen for mobile - it can block specifically short form content so you can stick to the actual social parts.", "context": "", "use_case": "block short-form video on mobile", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: uBlock filter list to blur all Instagram Reels"}, {"id": 733895312, "item_id": 45868457, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45868457", "by": "Emma_Goldman", "date": "2025-11-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "A perfect balance.", "excerpt": "I use the app screenzen. It rations distracting apps and retrains you to use your phone as a functional device again. I now only use my phone for messaging, emails, maps and spotify, but can still access Chrome when I need. A perfect balance.", "context": "", "use_case": "Limiting distracting apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Study finds memory decline surge in young people"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 773906576, "item_id": 48369161, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48369161", "by": "articsputnik", "date": "2026-06-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "And it works a little, but it will not fully prevent you from using any social media", "excerpt": "I also tried to convert my \"smart\" phone to a \"dumb\" phone with ScreenZen and Minimal apps that show no icons. And it works a little, but it will not fully prevent you from using any social media, still. As the article says, it's hard to overcome. Great to read another way. I am also thinking about GrapheneOS to control more of the apps, to make social media, which are most addictive, less collect data, and maybe tur", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 773763952, "item_id": 48360247, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360247", "by": "kccqzy", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it\u2019s buggy: failing to unlock", "excerpt": "I used it a bit but it\u2019s buggy: failing to unlock, or just tapping the button once for unlimited use. Eventually it completely stopped working.", "context": "", "use_case": "App blocker", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}]}], "who": [{"by": "liorgrossman", "context": "Android user practicing digital minimalism", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315614", "date": "2026-10-31"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["limiting social/news app time", "phone app friction", "app blocker", "screen time control", "block short-form video on mobile", "limiting distracting apps"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48312443", "title": "I made my phone slow on purpose", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50313661", "title": "Digital minimalism", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49502367", "title": "Making the Internet Boring", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47223147", "title": "Show HN: uBlock filter list to blur all Instagram Reels", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45863057", "title": "Study finds memory decline surge in young people", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 2}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 805049824, "item_id": 50315614, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315614", "by": "liorgrossman", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use ScreenZen to enforce limited short session for a short list of harmful apps and websites", "excerpt": "For me it's less about the tools I use, and more about building health habits (or reducing the bad habits). I use ScreenZen to enforce limited short session for a short list of harmful apps and websites (socials & news), and I configured it to allow a few 5-min-long sessions per day. The short sessions being cut in the middle help me stay informed but break the addictive nature of socials/news. I also use Android's D", "context": "Android user practicing digital minimalism", "use_case": "limiting social/news app time", "switched_from": "", "story": "Digital minimalism"}, {"id": 792697648, "item_id": 49543603, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49543603", "by": "academic_84572", "date": "2026-09-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "ScreenZen is great at this", "excerpt": "For me, adaptive friction has been very helpful - allow access to distracting apps/sites, but make them progressively harder to use. For phones, ScreenZen is great at this. Makes you pause before visiting an app or site, and you can configure the pause to grow each time you use it. You can also set a timeout on the app. Very flexible settings. For desktop, I recently built a free browser extension called MooBlock - i", "context": "", "use_case": "Phone app friction", "switched_from": "", "story": "Making the Internet Boring"}, {"id": 773906576, "item_id": 48369161, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48369161", "by": "articsputnik", "date": "2026-06-02", "stance": "warn", "quote": "And it works a little, but it will not fully prevent you from using any social media", "excerpt": "I also tried to convert my \"smart\" phone to a \"dumb\" phone with ScreenZen and Minimal apps that show no icons. And it works a little, but it will not fully prevent you from using any social media, still. As the article says, it's hard to overcome. Great to read another way. I am also thinking about GrapheneOS to control more of the apps, to make social media, which are most addictive, less collect data, and maybe tur", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 773763952, "item_id": 48360247, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360247", "by": "kccqzy", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it\u2019s buggy: failing to unlock", "excerpt": "I used it a bit but it\u2019s buggy: failing to unlock, or just tapping the button once for unlimited use. Eventually it completely stopped working.", "context": "", "use_case": "App blocker", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 773761185, "item_id": 48360074, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360074", "by": "shiba-inu", "date": "2026-06-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I personally prefer ScreenZen.", "excerpt": "I personally prefer ScreenZen. It is a lot less restrictive on the free version and you can just tip once to get full access instead of a subscription. It also has a system where you can \u201cearn back\u201d app unlocks if you don\u2019t use the app for the full allotted time, which encourages using your apps even less rather than feeling like having to make the most of your unlock. App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sc", "context": "", "use_case": "Screen time control", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 755694960, "item_id": 47230935, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47230935", "by": "TheCapeGreek", "date": "2026-03-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use ScreenZen for mobile - it can block specifically short form content", "excerpt": "I use ScreenZen for mobile - it can block specifically short form content so you can stick to the actual social parts.", "context": "", "use_case": "block short-form video on mobile", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: uBlock filter list to blur all Instagram Reels"}, {"id": 733895312, "item_id": 45868457, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45868457", "by": "Emma_Goldman", "date": "2025-11-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "A perfect balance.", "excerpt": "I use the app screenzen. It rations distracting apps and retrains you to use your phone as a functional device again. I now only use my phone for messaging, emails, maps and spotify, but can still access Chrome when I need. A perfect balance.", "context": "", "use_case": "Limiting distracting apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Study finds memory decline surge in young people"}]}