Comparison

Friction Frog vs Focus Blocks

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

Head to head
About

Friction Frog

This app introduces intentional friction to your phone usage by incorporating breathing exercises before opening distracting apps. It also offers customizable grayscale options to reduce stimulation from addictive applications, helping you reclaim your time.

Highlights
  • Breathing exercises before app launch
  • App blocking with time limits
  • Whole phone grayscale option
  • Selective app grayscale
  • Customizable time windows per app
  • Reliable and easy to use
Features
Read full description

Your phone, but boring on purpose. Friction Frog puts one slow breath between you and the apps that waste your day, then turns the addicting ones black & white so they're less stimulating. The blocking and grayscale are free forever. -How it works- Breathe before you scroll: - Pick the apps you want to slow down (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.). Try to open one and Friction Frog asks you to pause for a short breathing exercise first. You get a few minutes, then it locks again. Just enough friction to break the autopilot. Grayscale, your way: Color is what makes the scroll so hard to put down. Friction Frog walks you through two setups: - Whole phone in grayscale, with color exceptions for the apps you need (Photos, Camera, Maps). - Or keep your phone in color and gray out only the addicting apps. No more triple-tapping the side button and forgetting to switch it back. Limits that fit you: - Set your own time window per app, one app's "quick check" might be 1 minute, another's 30. You decide. Why Friction Frog: - Truly free. Multi-app blocking and every grayscale feature are free forever. - Reliable. Built to just work, every time. No mystery failures, no easy bypasses. - On your side. No ads, no exploitation. The business isn't built on keeping you hooked. Built for: - People trying to get better Made by one person who had the same problem and used this system to fix it for himself (Hi. That's me, Will.). Download the app, take a breath, and get a little of your day back.

About

Focus Blocks

Read full description

Focus Blocks is an app blocker for iPhone and iPad that puts distracting apps out of reach during the time you set aside to focus. Choose the apps. Choose the rule. Block during focus hours, allow only inside chosen windows, or set a daily app budget. When a rule applies, selected apps are hidden system-wide until they are allowed again. No willpower games, no streaks, no social layer — just one clear setting that gives you your attention back. Built on Apple's Screen Time APIs, Focus Blocks works entirely on your device. It has no backend and no account. Your rules sync between your own devices through iCloud, under your own Apple ID. Screen Time app selections are private device-local tokens, so each device asks you to confirm the apps it should block before enabling a synced rule there. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Create as many focus blocks as you want — mornings, weekdays, deep-work afternoons • Pick specific apps and whole categories in one tap • Block during a schedule, allow only during a schedule, or set a daily limit • Enable synced rules separately on each device after confirming local app selections • Add a weekly setup window so blocks cannot be edited on impulse • Enable or disable any inactive block from one screen PRIVACY BY DEFAULT • No sign-up, no account • No analytics, no ads, no third-party SDKs • Uses Apple's Screen Time framework — selections and usage stay on-device • iCloud Key-Value Store is the only remote storage, and it lives in your own Apple ID Focus Blocks is self-directed. It is not a parental-control product and does not monitor or manage other people's devices. Requires iOS 18 or later.

Screenshots

Friction Frog4 screens
Focus Blocks4 screens

Verdict

The call

Friction Frog and Focus Blocks are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Friction Frog ships an update every 3 days, Focus Blocks every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Friction Frog versus Focus Blocks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFriction FrogFocus Blocks
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.418.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWilliam HuntMikhail Nemilov

In-app purchases

None

Friction Frog

No in-app purchases

None

Focus Blocks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Friction Frog free?
Friction Frog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Focus Blocks free?
Focus Blocks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Friction Frog or Focus Blocks have ads?
Neither Friction Frog nor Focus Blocks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Friction Frog or Focus Blocks?
Friction Frog ships an update every 3 days, and Focus Blocks every 4 days. Most recently, Friction Frog was updated on October 28, 2026 and Focus Blocks on October 28, 2026.

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