The short version
- LeadMeNot: our pick when the problem is every evening, not just work hours.
- Apple Screen Time: Free.
- Opal: pick it for focus sessions with reports.
- Freedom: pick it for sessions across many devices.
- BePresent: pick it for a game-like approach on iPhone.
Try the free one first. Apple's Screen Time (and Android's Digital Wellbeing) can set App Limits and Downtime on the apps that take your evenings.1 For many people, with notifications off and the apps off the home screen, that's enough. The doomscrolling guide has the full list of free settings.
If you've tried that and keep tapping Ignore Limit for Today, you've learned the real lesson: a limit with a private, one-tap exit isn't a limit. The apps below fix that in two different ways. Focus apps (Opal, Freedom, BePresent) lock you out for a session or until a timer ends. LeadMeNot keeps the boundary all day and puts a person where the timer is.
At a glance
A dash means we couldn't verify it from the app's own site or a named review, not that the app lacks it. Scroll sideways to see every app. Checked November 6, 2026.
| Feature | LeadMeNot | Apple Screen Time | Opal | Freedom | BePresent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time limits and schedules | Daily limits on iPhone, Windows and Mac; schedules there and on Android | App Limits and Downtime1 | Schedules, daily caps and open limits2 | Sessions, including scheduled and recurring ones on Premium3 | Scheduled sessions, daily time limits and open limits4 |
| Blocks the apps you choose | iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac | App Limits and Downtime1 | Websites and apps on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android7 | On iPhone8 | |
| Just part of a site, like youtube.com/shorts | In browsers and inside apps on Android, Windows and Mac; Safari on iPhone; Chrome on Chromebook | —Not compared | —Not compared | —Not compared | —Not compared |
| Someone you trust is told | Alerted when a rule is broken, plus evening reflections | Only a child in Family Sharing, who asks a parent for more time1 | Friends can see your daily Screen Time total (iPhone)9 | —Not compared | Partners are texted if you miss your daily goals4 |
| Hard to undo in a weak moment | Safe Wall: your partner's OK or a waiting period | One More Minute, Ignore Limit for Today, or the passcode1 | Deep Focus sessions can't be cancelled; others can, some after a delay2 | Locked Mode: you can't end a session early7 | Beast Mode can't be ended early; other sessions can4 |
| If it's switched off | —Not compared | —Not compared | A 2026 review notes it can be turned off in iPhone's Screen Time settings2 | —Not compared | —Not compared |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook | Apple devices only | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chromebook, Linux and Chrome3 | iPhone only, with an Android waitlist4 |
Time limits and schedules
Blocks the apps you choose
Just part of a site, like youtube.com/shorts
- LeadMeNotIn browsers and inside apps on Android, Windows and Mac; Safari on iPhone; Chrome on Chromebook
- Apple Screen TimeNot compared
- OpalNot compared
- FreedomNot compared
- BePresentNot compared
Someone you trust is told
Hard to undo in a weak moment
- LeadMeNotSafe Wall: your partner's OK or a waiting period
- Apple Screen TimeOne More Minute, Ignore Limit for Today, or the passcode1
- OpalDeep Focus sessions can't be cancelled; others can, some after a delay2
- FreedomLocked Mode: you can't end a session early7
- BePresentBeast Mode can't be ended early; other sessions can4
If it's switched off
- LeadMeNotNot compared
- Apple Screen TimeNot compared
- OpalA 2026 review notes it can be turned off in iPhone's Screen Time settings2
- FreedomNot compared
- BePresentNot compared
Devices
The picks, one by one
Our pick when the problem is every evening, not just work hours
LeadMeNot
Daily limits and schedules that live all the time, not only in a session. Block just youtube.com/shorts or instagram.com/reels and keep the rest (in browsers everywhere, and inside the apps on Android, Windows and Mac). Your partner is emailed when a rule is broken, Safe Wall means loosening a limit needs their OK or a waiting period, and they're told if it's switched off.
Where it falls short: Not built for focus sessions or productivity reports. On iPhone, inside another app, it can limit the whole app but not one tab of it.
Free
Apple Screen Time
App Limits and Downtime, built in, with a Screen Time passcode. Good for seeing where your time goes and for a gentle nudge.1
Pick something else if: One More Minute, Ignore Limit for Today, or the passcode. Nobody is told unless you're a child in Family Sharing.
Pick this for focus sessions with reports
Opal
Blocks apps and websites on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android with schedules, daily caps and open limits; Deep Focus sessions can't be cancelled; friends can see your daily Screen Time total on iPhone.2,5,9
Pick something else if: Other sessions can be cancelled, some after a delay; a 2026 review notes it can be turned off in iPhone's Screen Time settings; its help pages describe no alert to anyone when a limit is broken.
Pick this for sessions across many devices
Freedom
Blocks websites and apps in sessions synced across Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with scheduled and recurring sessions on Premium and Locked Mode so you can't end a session early. Linux and Chromebook too.3,7
Pick something else if: Session-based; we couldn't verify any partner or alert feature.
Pick this for a game-like approach on iPhone
BePresent
Blocks the apps you choose with scheduled sessions, daily and open limits, streaks, XP and a leaderboard; partners are texted if you miss your daily goals; Beast Mode can't be ended early.4,8
Pick something else if: iPhone only (Android waitlist), and other sessions can be ended early.
How we chose
LeadMeNot wrote this guide, so our own app is in it. To keep it fair: every fact about another app links to its source (the app's own site where possible), each one gets a plain line on who should pick it instead, and the table only shows what we could verify. A dash means we couldn't confirm it, not that the app lacks it.
We looked at the three things that decide whether a blocker still works a month later: what you can block (not just a list of adult sites, but the apps, places and words that are the problem for you), whether anyone is told when a line is crossed, and whether a weak moment can undo it. Free built-in tools are listed first wherever they exist, because a lot of people need nothing more.
LeadMeNot
Try it with someone in your corner
LeadMeNot blocks what you choose, tells someone you trust when a rule is broken, and makes a weak moment wait. Free to try on every device you own.
Questions
Is Opal or Freedom better for doomscrolling?
Both are focus apps built around sessions. Opal runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android with Deep Focus sessions that can't be cancelled; Freedom runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chromebook and Linux with Locked Mode. Neither, as far as their own sites describe, tells another person when you break a limit.
Which app can block just YouTube Shorts?
LeadMeNot, with a website rule for youtube.com/shorts: in browsers on every device, and inside the YouTube app on Android, Windows and Mac. Screen Time and the focus apps limit or block whole apps and sites.
Why do I keep ignoring my Screen Time limit?
Because the override is one tap and private. A limit that someone else hears about, and that needs their OK or a waiting period to loosen, behaves very differently. That's the difference an accountability app makes.
Sources
Checked November 7, 2026. Statements about other products and system features link to the page they come from.
- AirDroid: Screen Time's Ignore Limit option (updated May 15, 2026) (independent)
- Headway: Opal app review (Jul 29, 2026) (independent)
- MakerStack: Freedom review (Jul 20, 2026) (independent)
- Plugged In: BePresent review (Apr 10, 2026) (independent)
- Opal help: Opal's Mac app (official)
- Opal help: using Opal on iPad (official)
- Freedom blog: block websites and apps on all your devices (official)
- BePresent: app blocker and screen time control (official)
- Opal help: inviting friends or family to Opal (official)