Comparison

Spool vs block the feed

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Spool

This app helps you break free from excessive screen time by making you pause and justify your phone usage. It uses research-backed techniques to disrupt habit loops and offers instant blocking for apps and websites to help you reclaim focus and improve mental clarity.

Highlights
  • Justify phone usage before scrolling
  • AI-powered trigger insights
  • Identify peak phone usage times
  • Instant app and website blocking
  • Reclaim focus and mental clarity
Features
Read full description

Less scrolling, more living. Spool blocks doomscrolling, brainrot, and screen addiction at the source — by making you justify yourself before you scroll. Most screen time blockers don't work because they treat phone addiction like a discipline problem. It's not. It's a habit loop your brain is stuck in — a dopamine cycle reinforced every time you reach for your phone without thinking. Spool interrupts the cycle. Before any blocked app opens, you have to state your case to our AI. Use the same excuse too many times and Spool locks you out automatically. Built on cognitive behavioral techniques and behavioral research on attention and habit formation. WHY YOU'LL LOVE SPOOL - Understand your hidden triggers with daily AI insights - Track your phone addiction patterns over time - Discover when you reach for apps most (and why) - Instant app and website blocking that actually works - Schedule blocking windows for your weak hours - Lock in during deep work with custom focus sessions - Reflect on every excuse you've made and spot the loops - CBT-inspired techniques to break the dopamine cycle - Detox from doomscrolling, brainrot, and mindless scroll WHO IT'S FOR Spool is for anyone struggling with phone addiction, doomscrolling, or losing hours to TikTok, Instagram, Reels, YouTube Shorts, or X. Built for people who've tried Screen Time, willpower, and other app blockers — and want something that actually changes the habit, not just the limit. WHAT MAKES SPOOL DIFFERENT Other apps just block. Spool teaches you about yourself. Every excuse you make becomes data. Every reflection makes you more aware. Every blocked attempt strengthens the new habit. Reclaim your focus. Build a more intentional relationship with your phone. ————————————— Spool Full Access — Weekly Length: 1 week, auto-renewing Price: $4.99 USD / week Spool Full Access — Yearly Length: 1 year, auto-renewing Price: $44.99 USD / year Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://thespoolapp.com/#/privacy

About

block the feed

This app provides a focused browsing experience for social media platforms by removing distracting algorithmic feeds. It allows users to access essential features like messages and profiles without the endless scroll, offering a calmer way to stay connected.

Highlights
  • Removes Reels, Shorts, and algorithmic feeds
  • Access messages, search, and profiles
  • In-app browser for social platforms
  • No account deletion required
  • Per-app daily time limits (Pro)
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Pasting the whole thing avoids the partial-edit mangling that corrupted your notes. Keep the connection. Lose the scroll. snowscroll is a calm, focused browser for your social apps. It loads the sites you already use and quietly removes the endless feeds: Reels, Shorts, Explore, "For You". The parts you actually came for stay, like your messages, your search, and the people you follow. No willpower required. No deleting your accounts. You just stop seeing the surfaces designed to keep you scrolling. HOW IT WORKS snowscroll opens each platform's mobile site in a focused in-app browser and hides the feed surfaces on your device. You log in with your own account, exactly as you would in Safari. Your logins, messages, and activity stay on your device and never reach us. MAKE IT AUTOMATIC Turn on the shield and the actual Instagram app opens snowscroll instead. One setup, and the feed stays gone without you thinking about it. This uses Apple's Screen Time permission on your own device, for your own apps. WHAT YOU GET All six supported apps: Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, TikTok and LinkedIn Reels, Shorts, Explore and For You removed on every one of them Deeper cuts where each platform allows: the home feed itself, Stories, recommended videos, comment sections, notification tabs and more Per-app daily limits: a gentle cap on your time in each app within snowscroll Trends: the time you got back, and what it was worth snowscroll is a paid app with no free version and no trial you are buying before you pay, and cancel any time in your App Store settings. PRIVACY, SPELLED OUT We cannot see your accounts, your DMs, or anything you do o snowscroll account and no password to give us. Whatleaves your device is your subscription status, so Pro works across your devices, anonymous product analytics that tell us which onboarding step people leave on, and a purchase event sent to Meta so worth running. No advertising identifier is collected andno tracking permission is requested. Never a URL, never an account, never anything you read or type. No ads. WHAT TO EXPECT, HONESTLY snowscroll is an independent app and isn't affiliated with platform. Because it's a focused browser, a few thingswork differently than the native apps. Notifications come from the platforms' own apps, not snowscroll. We keep a plain-language list of limitations on our site, because you should know what you'for it. Pro is a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription. Payple Account at confirmation. It renews unless cancelled atleast 24 hours before the period ends, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the period ending. Manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://snowscroll.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://snowscroll.com/privacy

Screenshots

Spool4 screens
block the feed4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Spool at 4.5 against block the feed's 3.7. Spool also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). block the feed's advantage is monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Spool sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and block the feed sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spool holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spool has 171 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Spool's written reviews are positive against 50% of block the feed's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spool ships an update every 10 days, block the feed every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Spool versus block the feed: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpoolblock the feed
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (171 ratings) — better3.7 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings171 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size406 MB22 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperPrafull SharmaJuhyun Nam

Customer experience

Spool

All ratings171 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.7%

block the feed

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Spool

Subscriptions7
  • Spool Features Weekly Subscription$4.997 Days
  • Full Access: Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Spool Premium Annual$19.991 Year
Show 4 more
  • Full Access: Limited Time Offer7 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • Full Access: Yearly$34.991 Year
  • Full Access: Yearly7 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Full Access: Yearly$44.991 Year
3 purchases

block the feed

Subscriptions2
  • snowscroll Pro$9.991 Month
  • snowscroll Pro$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • snowscroll Pro$69.99

Questions

Is Spool free?
Spool is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is block the feed free?
block the feed is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spool or block the feed?
Spool is rated higher. Spool averages 4.5 out of 5 from 171 ratings, while block the feed averages 3.7 from 6 ratings.
Do Spool or block the feed have ads?
Spool shows ads; block the feed does not.
Which is updated more often, Spool or block the feed?
Spool ships an update every 10 days, and block the feed every 6 weeks. Most recently, Spool was updated on October 12, 2026 and block the feed on October 14, 2026.

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