ReelBlock

Free. No account, no sign-up, no subscription, no server. You sign in to Instagram itself, inside Apple's own web view, exactly as you would in Safari. ReelBlock never sees your password. Your settings, your timer and your statistics are stored on this phone and are never uploaded anywhere, because there is nowhere to upload them to. Nothing is collected and nothing is sold. WHAT IT DOES ReelBlock opens Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook with the endless bits removed. Your friends, your DMs and your stories stay. The Reels tab, the For You page, Explore and the suggested posts do not. FIVE WAYS TO USE IT Most people know the scroll is bad for them and enjoy it anyway, so ReelBlock is a dial, not a light switch. - Full block. No reels. None. Anywhere. - Friends only. Posts from people you follow, nothing the algorithm picked. - Friends and interests. Plus a few posts a day on things you chose. - Capped. Reels allowed up to a number you set, then they stop. - Aware. Reels stay, and a card tells you what you have spent. A TIME BUDGET THAT STOPS YOU Set a daily budget. You get a nudge partway through, and at the limit the screen goes dark and asks if you are done. Time is counted only while you are actually looking, never while the app sits in your pocket. Keep one budget for each app, or one shared between all of them. THE AWARENESS CARD Every so often, between scrolls, ReelBlock states the number. "Forty reels, twenty-eight minutes." No lecture, no shame. Carry on, or stop. THE LONG VIEW Two hours a day, from twenty-one to eighty, is nearly five years of your life. ReelBlock does that sum with your own numbers. STUDY MODE Set a date. ReelBlock locks itself until you pass it, with a countdown on the screen. No breaks, no toggles, no talking yourself round at 1am the night before an exam. A COMMITMENT LOCK Lock your settings for an hour, a day or a week. PARENT MODE A PIN over the parent controls, approved topics, and bedtime and school-hour windows. Set up on the device, stored on the device. Free, like everything else. ONE REEL, THAT'S THE DEAL When a friend sends you a reel, you watch it. Try to scroll past it and ReelBlock says no. ALSO IN SAFARI ReelBlock ships a Safari extension, so the same rules apply when you browse these sites in Safari. Turn it on in Settings, Apps, Safari, Extensions. WHAT STAYS Posts from people you follow. Stories, unless you turn them off. Direct messages, in full. Search, profiles, saved posts and notifications. EVERY FEATURE IS FREE There is no paid tier. Hiding the home feed, hiding suggested posts, parent mode, study mode and the time budget are all included, because a focus tool that holds your focus to ransom is not a focus tool. ReelBlock is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Instagram, Meta, TikTok, YouTube or Google.