About Detox

Auto Block: for when you open an app and lose an hour in it

Auto Block watches for continuous use, not total use. Quick checks stay free, but once you have been scrolling an app for longer than your limit, Detox locks it for a cooldown you choose. It interrupts the session at the moment it turns into doomscrolling.

What the research says: In a controlled field study, interrupting people once they stayed on an app past their limit cut daily use by more than 20%, though the effect faded once the intervention was removed. (Okeke et al., MobileHCI 2018)

Schedules: for when you open apps without thinking

Schedules block the apps you pick during the hours you pick, such as at night or during work. You can still take a break, but only after a short wait. That friction breaks the automatic reflex and gives you a moment to decide if you really want to open the app.

What the research says: Adding a short delay with an option to back out before opening an app reduced actual app openings by 57% over six weeks (a study co-authored by the founder of one sec, without a control group). In another study, students who stopped screens after 9 pm fell asleep earlier and slept longer. (Grüning et al., PNAS 2023; Perrault et al., SLEEP 2019)

App Limits: for when you want a daily budget

App Limits cap the total time you spend on an app each day. When the budget is used up, the app stays blocked until the next day, so the number you set becomes a real ceiling instead of a suggestion.

What the research says: In a randomized trial with about 2,000 adults, letting people set their own app limits cut time on the most tempting apps by 22 minutes a day (16%) over 12 weeks, and 78% kept their limits in place. (Allcott, Gentzkow & Song, American Economic Review 2022)

Block Now: for when you need to start something

Block Now locks your distracting apps immediately for a set time, with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen. It is the one-tap way to start a study session, a workout or a dinner without your phone.

What the research says: In a randomized trial, two weeks without mobile internet improved sustained attention, mental health and well-being, although only a quarter of participants complied fully. (Castelo et al., PNAS Nexus 2025)

Strict Mode and Urgent Unblock: for when you try to undo your own rules

Strict Mode locks a block's settings, and even uninstalling Detox, until the block ends. For real emergencies, Urgent Unblock releases everything, but only once every 24 hours.

What the research says: In a four-week field experiment, lockouts reduced use more than warnings did, but caused more frustration, which is why Detox keeps a limited emergency exit. (Kim et al., IMWUT 2019)

One tool per habit, not one timer for everything

Apple Screen Time and most blockers give you a daily time budget. Detox starts from the behaviour instead. Getting stuck, opening on autopilot and overspending time each get their own mechanism, so you only restrict what is actually a problem for you.

It steps in mid-session, not only at the door

Apps like one sec and Clearspace add a pause before an app opens. Detox's Auto Block acts during use: quick checks pass, and the lock only arrives once a session runs past your limit, which is when doomscrolling actually happens.

Rules that are hard to talk yourself out of

Apple Screen Time's limits have historically been dismissible with one tap unless you set a passcode. Detox's Strict Mode locks a block's settings and prevents uninstalling the app until the block ends, and the emergency exit is limited to once every 24 hours.

No hardware to buy or carry

Brick blocks apps with a $59 physical device you have to tap to unblock, with 5 emergency unblocks in total. Detox is software only: nothing to buy, carry or lose.

Built on published research

The founders co-authored a peer-reviewed study of Detox users in JMIR Formative Research (2026), with researchers from EPFL, HES-SO and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). What we learned there, that tools should adapt to what people actually do rather than what they say, shapes how every feature works.

Private by design

Detox uses Apple's Screen Time framework, which hides app identities from us. We can't see which apps you block or what you do in them.

Léo Litrico · Co-founder, growth

Léo is based in Switzerland and holds a Master's in Computer Science (minor in Management) from EPFL. Léo runs growth at Detox, writes the guides on this site, and is a co-author of the Detox study in JMIR Formative Research. LinkedIn ↗

Awen Kidel Peña-Albert · Co-founder, product

Awen is based in France and holds a Master's from EPFL, with a background in computer science and cyber security. Awen leads product at Detox and is the first author of the Detox study in JMIR Formative Research. LinkedIn ↗

Install and answer a few questions

Download Detox from the App Store (iPhone and iPad, iOS 16 or later). A short onboarding asks about your habits and sets up a first Auto Block and a sleep schedule you can adjust.

Try it, then subscribe

Detox is paid, with a free trial. Subscriptions are billed and managed by Apple, and you can cancel at any time from your iPhone settings.

Adjust your blocks as you learn your habits

Add schedules, change limits and group apps into App Groups whenever you want. Weekly reports show how much time you have reclaimed.

Get help when you need it

Live chat is available from the Support page and inside the app: an AI assistant answers first, and our team takes over when needed. Step-by-step guides are in the Help Center at help.detox.so.

Is Detox free?

No. Detox is paid, with a free trial, so you can try every feature before you subscribe. Subscriptions are handled by Apple and can be cancelled at any time from your iPhone settings.

Is Detox available on Android?

Not yet. Detox runs on iPhone and iPad (iOS 16 or later). A Chrome extension for computers is in review.

How is Detox different from Apple Screen Time?

Screen Time mainly gives you daily time budgets, which have historically been easy to dismiss. Detox adds a limit on continuous use that interrupts long sessions, schedules with a waiting time before breaks, and a Strict Mode that stops you changing a block or uninstalling the app until it ends.

Can Detox see which apps I use?

No. Detox relies on Apple's Screen Time framework, which gives apps anonymous tokens instead of app names. We can't see which apps you block or what you do in them.

Who is behind Detox?

Detox was founded by Léo Litrico and Awen Kidel Peña-Albert, two computer science graduates from EPFL. The company, Detox SARL, is registered in France.

Is Detox based on science?

Yes. The founders published a peer-reviewed study of Detox users in JMIR Formative Research (2026), with researchers from EPFL, HES-SO and Lausanne University Hospital. We also draw on the wider research on friction, scheduling and self-control tools, which we summarize on our screen time statistics page.