# breakfree: screen time control — user reviews

> 37 indexed App Store user reviews of breakfree by Roshan Kattil, rated 4.50/5 from 114 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/breakfree-screen-time-control/id6755940453/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/breakfree-screen-time-control/id6755940453.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 85 · 4★ 15 · 3★ 7 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 6

## Newest reviews (11 of 37)

### 4/5 — Great concept , has some flaws

*2026-05-26*

The concept is amazing . However there are some kinks that could be worked out just in the smoothness of the app in general and etc

**Developer response:** We have upgraded our UI and added bug fixes~ let us know how you enjoy the new version!

### 4/5 — Love The App: However,

*2026-05-09*

Hi guys! I really love your idea and your app. Very smart and very intuitive, and very helpful! I had been trying to get off my phone for so long, and keeping my messages has been essential to my productivity and has made limiting my time on reels very difficult. After downloading this app, which has awesome features and layout, my screen time reduced dramatically. Here is why I got rid of it:

1. and this is a HUGE reason: instagram told me that they suspected that because my messages were being accessed from two separate apps, I was engaging in suspicious activity and I would be banned if i continued. I am aware that this is a difficult problem to fix, and I in no way am concerned that this app was trying to access or hack my account, and I honestly could not care less whether someone has my data. As long as you don't text my friends, I'm good. Due to my concern that my account would get banned, I needed to delete the app and move on to a different one.
2. Messaging people on the app is a bit glitchy. This reason was absolutely in no way a determining factor to me, just something I thought was a bit aggregating at times, with my messages taking a bit to load and WhatsApp numbers being sent when i send someone a numbers. just tiny things, just a small complaint.

Overall, I really liked your guys' idea and app. I really hope you can find a way to fix this issue, and i will be trying again with this app hopefully in a few years!!

**Developer response:** Hi! 

Thank you for this review. Instagram has those warnings to prevent people from utilizing their chats for spam services. We assure you that we are not taking/reading or storing your data.

Sorry we had to see you go, we are working everyday to find ways to improve our features.

breakfree team

### 4/5 — Great

*2026-05-01, version 2.10*

Great app , love it

### 4/5 — -

*2026-04-02*

I’ve been looking for something like this since my doomscrolling became an issue. I love the features, app quality & ad “payment” transaction should definitely be looked at. The app crashes every now & then when I’m mid conversation & its mad annoying, that & i cant see full long messages, & then i have to unblock the app & what not. I understand this might still be a beta phase tho. Other than that, I would definitely recommend it to someone with a scrolling habit.

**Developer response:** Thank you for the feedback, we will fix these issue so you can have a seamless experience!

### 4/5 — love the features and concept, super buggy tho

*2026-03-24*

i love that i dont have to open IG to see what my friends sent me, i can just download the video or photo in the post that was sent and view in-app!

i love the features and the concept, but it is rlly buggy! once it isnt so buggy def gets 5 stars. just crashes and has network problems a lot.

**Developer response:** Thank you for your ratings! We had to do a lot of fire putting the last couple of weeks that required server updates, which is why. I’m glad its working for you and hopefully you’ll have a better experience in our latest update we just dropped!

### 5/5 — Excellent

*2026-03-04, version 2.5*

Excellent app for blocking distracting apps. I use it to time block and communicate through Instagram DMs.

### 5/5 — Excellent

*2026-02-27*

Excellent app for blocking distracting apps. I use it to time block and communicate through Instagram DMs.

### 5/5 — Very good and free!

*2026-02-25, version 2.4*

This has helped me so much, excited for what’s to come

### 5/5 — Helped me quit instagram

*2026-02-24*

Love this app. My whole friend group uses it now. Download if you want to be freed from the algorithm

**Developer response:** Thank you, appreciate you. Let the great lock in begin🔥

### 5/5 — Broke my reels addiction fr

*2026-02-23*

i was opening instagram “just to reply” and waking up 2 hours later in reels jail. this app literally cuts off the feed but lets me keep my dms. no more accidental doomscroll marathons. my brain feels quieter

**Developer response:** Thank you, appreciate you. Let the great lock in begin🔥

### 5/5 — can we get a pro feature

*2026-02-21*

I’ve tried a bunch of focus apps, but this is honestly the only one that still lets me communicate through Instagram DMs without pulling me into a doomscroll spiral. I can answer messages and get out without getting sucked into reels.

It’s been a huge time saver for me, especially with my ADHD. My screen time has noticeably dropped, and I feel way less scattered during the day. I did see some people mention the Instagram warning pop-up. I got it once too, but after skipping it, it hasn’t come back for me.

I do wish there was a premium option, though. I’m personally not a huge fan of the ads idea. I’d honestly pay for a clean, ad-free experience. It would be nice if they rolled out a paid tier for people who just want to focus without any distractions at all.

Lowkey feels like magic, but really it’s just doing exactly what I needed.

**Developer response:** Thank you so much for sharing this! that truly means a lot. Our goal has always been simple: keep the messages, lose the distraction. We’re really glad it’s helping you stay focused and save time. 💛

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Might hack your account

*2026-05-05, version 2.11*

Got a warning on insta about some security things after downloading it. Scared that it’s gonna do something

### 1/5 — Scam- breaks into account

*2026-04-09, version 2.9*

Tried it- immediately had decal reports of attempts to break into my account. Do not recommend. They’re using “mental health” talk to try and scam you.

### 1/5 — wont even let me make an acc

*2026-03-22, version 2.8*

downloaded it cuz i thought it was exactly what i needed, then when it gets to the part ot ask for a user i type it in and it just stops working lol.. says unable to make acc when i close and open the app like bro

### 1/5 — Got me banned from insta

*2026-02-18, version 2.4*

Insta banned me for suspicious activity after I shared with this lol

### 2/5 — Good concept

*2026-06-23*

I really like the apps concept but when I connected Instagram it gives me the messages 1-2 minutes after they’re sent on both apps. It’s very frustrating and I tried to disconnect Instagram so my messages would show up sooner and there was no change, I hope it isn’t like this indefinitely becouse it makes it difficult to hold conversations.

### 3/5 — Does the job, could be much better

*2026-07-08*

I really love the concept of this app, I deleted instagram off my phone and only use this now.

But the app is really slow sometimes, number of unread messages is often inaccurate, and videos have no sound when i download them. ux could be much better

### 3/5 — its good but one big issue

*2026-06-22, version 2.13*

good app for keeping me off social media
but the ui is too big for my screen so i cant use the chat feature when my apps r blcoked

### 3/5 — Almost there

*2026-05-15*

Worked well at first but then I kept getting a server error bad gateway when trying to connect my messages, so now I’m unable to read DMs through the app

**Developer response:** Hey there!

Sorry we had a server outage recently due to sudden increase in downloads, everything is now back up and running! If it doesn’t work still, try logging out of instagram and log in again. 

let us know if you still have trouble logging in at an@breakfree.you

breakfree team.

### 3/5 — awesome! however

*2026-04-01*

ive been waiting for an app like this! i hate blocking insta bc then i dont get important notifications from my friends, but this is awesome!

however, i have a few problems:

1. i have the option selected for requiring 4 ads to take a break, and im fine with doing that, but my issue is that 90% of the time they wont work properly: they wont load, X’s wont appear, i wont get proper credit for ads i DID watch, the list goes on. so to take one break i end up having to watch eight ads, reload the app twice and possibly turn my vpn off. it ends up being three times the endeavor it needs to be, and while one could argue that its an even better deterrent for accessing the reels part of instagram, it pisses me off severely when things wont work how i expect them to. i hope this gets fixed soon. 
2. it seems that spontaneously ill get notified that i have an unread message from someone, but it just flags previous messages from like, days ago that i definitely already saw. not a terrible issue but its annoying. 
3. if possible, can we change our double-tap emoji for reacting to things?
4. i would like to be able to listen to and send voicenotes. 
5. id also like to be able to see all the images of a post— sometimes my friends will send me a post with multiple pictures, and im only able to see the one that they send directly to me. I understand that it might be difficult to translate coding-wise or whatever, but i hope you can find a workaround like how we can download reels we’re sent. 
6. loading issues going back too far in message history— i try to scroll back a bunch, and then the app just gives me some kind of error. i dont know how that works, but it makes me sad not being able to look at older messages 

if youre able to fix all of these, thats worth more than five stars in my book. i adore what this app is trying to do and i will keep using it, but i really would like it if these things were addressed.

**Developer response:** Thank you for this detailed feedback. Appreciate it. We’ll work on it and get it done asap boss 💪👨‍🔧. Watch out for our new updates.

### 3/5 — Good concept but unable to get into apps

*2026-02-23, version 2.4*

When I’m trying to take a break the ads don’t play so there is no way for me to get back on the apps a

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Very good and cheap

*2026-07-10*

I use the free services offered on the app. They help so I can keep in contact with close friends all while avoiding the media content effectively!!!

### 5/5 — Access to messages but still like screen time on steroids

*2026-06-15*

I justified not deleting instagram bc I still needed to see my messages and this solved my main problem. I hate ads so this actually made it unbearable for me to try and use the apps I banned for myself. I got so much time back to watch shows and take care of myself whereas previously I made excuses and would be “too tired” so I would scroll forever instead of doing LITERALLY anything else. At least now I can be productive while on my phone again.

**Developer response:** So so glad this work out for you! your review made our day :-)

### 5/5 — best app ever

*2026-05-27*

i’ve been looking for an app to  help me get off instagram and this is the only one that works. the message feature is so great and i love that you have to watch ads if you want to use instagram because it really deters me from doing so. i did initially have an issue signing up i had to try like 4 times but once i signed up… BEST DECISION EVER

**Developer response:** Music to our ears, please let us know more about the bug either through our ig or hi@breakfree.you! We'd love to use the feedback to improve our app.

cheers!
breakfree team

### 5/5 — The best distraction free app out there

*2026-05-09*

Sometimes there’s glitches here and there like for example the app has to be locked and sometimes it isn’t but then it gets fixed right away. Or sometimes I’ll watch an ad to unlock the break and it wouldn’t go thru so I would have to do it again. Besides that this is the best app ever. As a content creator who tries to find balance with being present but also making content it can be hard getting addicted but this app helped me build discipline and honestly it’s everything I ever wished for. I love that I can still text people but I don’t have to get stuck on reels and it made me more self conscious on when I want to use the app. This app is amazing please stay free🫶🏼

**Developer response:** thank you so much! your review made our day. Let the great lock in begin

### 5/5 — Good for locking in

*2026-05-08*

My biggest gripe with a lot of these apps is that they outright block the apps, meaning I can’t message anyone or anything. This app solves that by synching to your Instagram or Facebook messages and it works so well.

**Developer response:** appreciate it! let the great lock in begin

### 5/5 — exactly what i was looking for

*2026-05-07*

I’ve been saying that I need an only messaging version of Instagram because so many people’s only way to reach them is *through Instagram* and I wanted to keep in touch but reels were just way too addicting! So I’m glad someone finally made this app! it doesn’t look exactly like Instagram but it works!

**Developer response:** We're glad it works for you! Thank you for this review

### 5/5 — Pretty good so far!

*2026-04-16*

Very good so far, unlike other apps it actually wants you to work with it. It make you watch ads (a custom amount you can set) in order to get your apps back, this process is so boring it makes you rethink wanting the doom scrolling apps you were clicking out of habit. 

Any time I’ve had problems with the app the developers have had it fixed within 24 hours. Very sweet, I hope to see other implementations such as messenger integration, snap integration (which I know is basically impossible), and more! 

I highly recommend to anyone wanting to do a dopamine detox

**Developer response:** We're glad it works, thank you! :-)

### 5/5 — best app ever

*2026-04-09, version 2.9*

the problem for me personally was scrolling so I’m glad this app exists

### 5/5 — Beautiful

*2026-03-30, version 2.9*

Love the pet and the freeness fr

### 5/5 — Rating

*2026-03-10*

Good app, very simple and easy to use plus helpful. Please keep it free, I don’t mind watching an ad to start my focus session

**Developer response:** Thank you, appreciate you. Let the great lock in begin🔥

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*