Taking a digital detox can involve things like app and website blocking or finding ways to focus without picking up your phone. These iPhone features and third-party apps can give you a head start.
Screen Time
Before turning to third-party apps, there are a few native features on your iPhone that you can use to limit the time you spend scrolling through apps. Screen Time is not only a good way to monitor your daily or weekly activity and most used apps. You can also set app limits which reset every midnight, use “Downtime” to only allow a few apps to be available, and set communication limits.
Another Screen Time feature that I like to use is “Screen Distance,” which helps you reduce eye strain by alerting you when you hold your iPhone too close to your face (less than about 12-inches or 30 cm away). While this is not really a digital detox feature, it certainly stops me from staring at my iPhone screen too closely, and its alerts make me conscious of my usage.
Use the “Set Up Screen Time for Family” button to roll out these features with your family’s devices, using Apple Family Sharing.
Focus Mode
Focus is another native feature that you can use for a digital detox, given that many third-party apps strive to do what Focus already does: tune out the noise and distractions. Notifications will be silenced except for apps or people that you select.
With Focus, you can pick a mode (like “Do Not Disturb” or “Work”), or create your own Focus. These modes can also be shared across devices, making it easy for you to set up a Focus while working on, say, your Mac.
To use a Focus mode, go to your iPhone’s Settings > Focus and select the mode you want to turn on. From here, you can allow notifications from certain people and apps and customize your Lock Screen and Home Screen to minimize distractions. You can also set a schedule to automatically trigger a Focus based on time, location, or a specific app being opened.
You can turn on a Focus by tapping and holding the crescent moon icon in your Control Center.
OffScreen
Committing to app blocking can seem daunting, but one thing that can help motivate you is a challenge. This is where OffScreen, a focus app, can come in handy. The app has challenges like Screen Time Challenge and Pickup Times Challenge to push you to reduce your screen time, which can be a catalyst in your goal if you are competitive.
You can use features like a Pomodoro timer and real-time screen time tracking to see your phone usage. Using a Focus session at a high difficulty level lets you block distracting apps. With a Pro subscription ($0.99/month or $4.49/year), you can use features like widgets, Apple Watch and Apple Health sync, iCloud backup, and access to more challenges and strict modes.
OffScreen measures your pickups (first and last), average usage, how long you have used your phone while stationary and walking, and continuous usage. This gives you more in-depth data than you can get from the built-in Screen Time feature.
Opal
Opal is a motivating way to focus on work and block distracting apps. With Opal, you can create custom block “sessions” that restrict access to your most distracting apps for a certain period. These focus sessions are tracked in the app, where you can also take a break from the block.
When you try to open an app that is blocked, you’ll see a screen with motivational quotes (usually telling you not to give up). Opal also lets you create scheduled focus sessions such as “Work Time,” which you can edit for timings, days of the week, and difficulty level. The “normal” level lets you take breaks and cancel the session, “timeout” leads to increasing delays before you can take a break, and “Deep Focus” does not let you take breaks or leave a session early.
What I find motivating about Opal, aside from the block screens, are the milestones that you achieve by being consistent with your sessions. You can unlock milestone gems for every achievement, and also view your weekly, monthly, and lifetime progress.
Opal can also be a group effort, with the option to invite friends and compare screen times for a more gamified experience. Opal Pro ($8.99/month or $99.99/year) gives you access to features like Focus Score and harder blocking difficulties.
Cleverest
Pomodoro timers, which are a time management trick with regular breaks, help you maintain a productive streak and focus on work. While there are many Pomodoro apps that you can use to get work done, I find Cleverest to be the most effective one for digital detox.
Cleverest is a free app that lets you choose from three types of focus sessions (work, relax, and social), and customize the time for each session. What makes Cleverest work is that the only way you can leave a session is by clicking a “Give Up” button, which leads to the timer avatar (a colored, cute ball) being disappointed. Completing sessions without leaving, however, makes your avatar thrive.
You can track your focus session progress over days, weeks, months, or years, with a detailed breakdown of each session.
Forest
Forest ($3.99) is a paid app that challenges you to a digital detox in an interesting way. With every focus session, you make progress towards growing a virtual tree. This withers when you exit the session early. The more you focus, the bigger your forest gets. Consistency fetches you rewards such as white noise options, seed variety, and new tree species.
Forest lets you create “Allow lists” for apps that you can use without blocking, and restricts the rest. Your focus sessions also have a real-life impact: the app partners with Trees for the Future to plant trees!
Freedom
Similar to other detox apps, Freedom is an app and website blocker that lets you create custom blocklists or choose from pre-made ones. You can use Freedom across your devices, and sync your progress. Blocks can be scheduled, and you can also make them recurring.
One interesting tool that Freedom provides to help you focus is background sounds, such as coffee shop and office sounds. “Locked Mode” is another feature that helps you in your digital detox journey so that you can fully commit. This disables the “Log Out” button and does not allow you to end a session after a minute.
Freedom uses a VPN profile to block websites and apps, which means it doesn’t necessarily work with other VPNs. With the Premium plan ($8.99/month or $39.99/year), you can unlock unlimited blocking and sync across devices.
While committing to a digital detox involves a lot of willpower and commitment, these options can help you take the first steps towards healthier phone usage and reduced screen time. One thing that I find can help is having company, and having someone take up the challenge with you. Good luck!