Leave a Review one sec | screen time + focus
Reduced Instagram from 1hr/day to 1hr/week
Instagram used to be my default time wasting app, to the point where I would go on it without even really being conscious of what I was doing. I tried screentime and the setting on Instagram to notify me if I spent more than ten minutes on the app, but neither really worked.
Within a couple weeks of downloading one sec, my usage went way down. One day my sister mentioned something she had posted the day before, and I realized I hadn’t seen it because I hadn’t been on Instagram for over 24 hours. And I’ve found that when I do go on it, I spend less time on it than I used to - it’s just not that interesting anymore. I’m so glad I downloaded this app as it was exactly what I needed!
PS if you are a student get the student discount!Show lessall-that-is-gold
Lifesaver of a time-saver
I’ve been trying a few things to make my phone more annoying to use, or helpful when I do, and not a boredom eraser. One Sec is something that I wish I had years ago. I finally feel like I have the opportunity to fill my downtime with something other than my phone screen! My adhd makes all of this harder than it might otherwise be, but with a little help from this app (and a lot of work on myself), I’ve started journaling, meditating, budgeting better, doing more real-world projects around the house… the Structured integration helps with that too. By the way, I’m not sure why people are complaining about the price. $20 for a whole year is practically nothing.
Something I’d like to be able to do with the app is set a time limit on how long you can use a particular app before the interventions start. That way (if I’m good) I don’t have to wait for the intervention while I’m out at the store and trying to look something up before buying it, for example.Show lessandrewcayer
Manipulative design choices try to annoy you into paying
I really want to love this app. In the free version, any time you leave an app that has One Sec applied, it re-triggers the animation, even if you’ve only had the app open for a fraction of a second, and will then notify you that “intentional app switching” is a paid feature. Essentially, the free tier is deliberately poorly designed with the express purpose of annoying and coercing its users to pay. Especially for an app like this where the developers seem fairly aware of the psychological effects possible through software design, I’m incredibly disappointed that this design choice was made. I understand having more premium features behind a paywall, but that is not what is happening here. With One Sec, after you’ve done a few minutes of work to install this app correctly, you discover that it will only actually half work unless you pay.Show lessshmushmoosh
No more scrolling!
Honestly, I cannot recommend this app enough. Today I open insta and the app showed me that the last time I used it was 39 hours ago and I didn’t even notice. It’s crazy how something that I used to do literally like 50 times a day is now like “oh let’s go on insta, but wait, why am I going on there”. And tbh I really like having the number of times you tried opening an app because I kinda want to do a little competition with myself. Like how many hours can I go without attempting to open the appShow less1648902986482973
Would be 5 stars if not for bug
To the developers
There seems to be an issue that after unlocking an app, videos won’t play. The internet is still connected, everything loads, even the frame of the video loads, but it won’t play. Quitting the app, quitting one sec, etc doesn’t resolve it. Normally it seems to require either the break time to expire so that the app can be unlocked again or a full restart of the phone.
It is a fantastic app that I find far more useful than straight blocks as inevitably there are ways around them/end up disabling them. The inconvenience is enough to break the cycle and is always less inconvenient than disabling would be.Show lessXiamonder
Works better if you pay
Not bad, it does the job but I also find it far more annoying than other screen blocker apps which are more effective. And to get rid of some annoying quirks you have to pay.
Also, I find it can sometimes heighten my doom scrolling. Because I personally find the breathe in feature irritating at times, sometimes once I do it and I’m in the app I don’t want to leave because the thought of briefly leaving and coming back means I have to wait again, so I just sit there for an hour as if it’s my reward! I have found a different app that prevents me from doing that, but I have kept this one for Pinterest haha.Show lessGxm28
Not great
I only have only had this app for a couple days and didn’t want to get the subscription without being sure it was useful. So I have just used the free version. I wanted it to block instagram snapchat and prime video but you are only able to block one app at a time with the non premium. Additionally every time I switch apps it makes do the breath thing again which is really annoying. It makes me want to scroll for longer just because I don’t want to go off the app or I will have to wait. But I am interested in trying the free trial as it has more features. So overall I would only recommend app if you are gunna buy the subscription (£20per year I think)Show lessjetblack69
Instant
I don’t usually leave reviews, but One Sec was very quick in delivering results. I was contemplating getting what people often call a “dumb phone” to prevent wasting too much time on what modern technology enticingly presents us; after using this in conjunction with other apps like Blank Spaces, I quickly realized that all I really needed were tools like these. It allows you to personalize a good amount of how you want the app to behave. Through no fault of their own, the app has to use Apple’s Shortcuts to be able to intervene at the most important moments. Severing the dopamine hit from the action of opening certain apps certainly seems to do the trick. You’ll feel a funny frustration that makes you love the app more each time; especially if you realize that this frustration comes from the part of yourself that you so badly need to leave behind. Phenomenal app! Let’s keep supporting those who truly support us!Show lessCriticEYE
The only app you need to regain control
I have been looking for different apps to help me curb my slight addiction to certain apps and websites. Nothing really worked because I’m not the type of person who likes to quit something cold turkey through the use of blockers. I am so happy to have found this app which covers all my needs. I like the fact that the apps are not blocked (unless I want to), but rather disincentivized through the use of mindful breathing exercises. I think mindfulness, intentionality, and presence of mind are so important, especially when the internet and social media can easily creep into our lives through all sorts of mediums. Also, to anyone reading, definitely check out the chrome extensions - they are also awesome. And to the devs, thank you for making this app!Show lessquolkka92
Good app however…
One of the apps that I spend the most time on out of all the apps, Character.AI, is not available to return to, but otherwise it’s a good app, and I suppose it would stop me from even using the app.thegtrreerhhgdethtghtt
