Friction Frog vs OpenAppLock
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
OpenAppLock
This app helps you regain control of your screen time by blocking specific applications. You can set schedules, time limits, or open limits for apps, and even create custom rules to prevent unwanted usage.
- Block apps on a schedule
- Set time or open limits
- Preset and custom rules
- Lock rule edits
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Block apps and reclaim your screen time! - Block apps on a schedule, or add a time/open limit - Choose from preset rules, or create your own - Lock rule edits to prevent changes while blocking
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: OpenAppLock at 6 against Friction Frog's 2. Friction Frog's advantage is iOS requirement (18.4 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Friction Frog against 5.0 for OpenAppLock. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Friction Frog ships an update every 3 days, OpenAppLock weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Friction Frog | OpenAppLock |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | William Hunt | Brendan Chen |
Customer experience
Friction Frog
OpenAppLock
In-app purchases
Friction Frog
No in-app purchases
OpenAppLock
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Friction Frog free?
Is OpenAppLock free?
Which has better reviews, Friction Frog or OpenAppLock?
Do Friction Frog or OpenAppLock have ads?
Which is updated more often, Friction Frog or OpenAppLock?
Other comparisons
