How to Block Distracting Apps While You Work

Which apps actually distract you at work?

Guessing tends to block too much or the wrong thing. Check first.

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then See All App & Website Activity.
2. Tap Day and look at a recent workday.
3. Note the apps you used during working hours that had nothing to do with work, and which ones sent you the most notifications.

Usually it is three to five apps. Those are the ones to block.

How do you block apps during work hours with Downtime?

Downtime is built into iOS and blocks every app except the ones you allow, on a schedule.

1. In Settings, tap Screen Time, then Downtime.
2. Turn on Scheduled. Choose Customize Days if you only want weekdays, and set your working hours.
3. Go back to Screen Time and open Always Allowed. Add the apps you need for work, such as Mail, Calendar, or your team chat.
4. Turn on a Screen Time passcode so Downtime cannot be switched off with a tap. It works best when someone else chooses the code.

The trade-off: Downtime is blunt. It blocks everything you have not allowed, which can get in the way if you need many apps for work.

How do you stop work-time notifications with a Focus?

A Focus does not block apps, but it stops them from interrupting you, which is often how the distraction starts.

1. Open Settings, tap Focus, then add or choose Work.
2. Choose which people and apps are allowed to notify you. Leave the distracting ones off.
3. Add a schedule so it turns on at the start of your workday.
4. Optionally, choose a Home Screen page for this Focus that shows only work apps.

What else helps without an app?

• Put the phone out of reach. Another room, a drawer, or a bag. Distance is the simplest block there is.
• Log out of the worst app. Having to sign back in is a small but real step.
• Work in timed blocks. Set a timer for a focused stretch, then allow a short break. Knowing a break is coming makes it easier to leave the phone alone.
• Keep work tools off the phone if you can. If you need a social app for work, using it on a computer keeps the phone free of the habit loop.

How do you block only specific apps on a schedule?

Disclosure: we make AppBlocker. Unlike Downtime, it blocks only the apps you pick, so your work apps keep working. Choose the distracting apps, set your working hours, and reaching for one of them during that window shows a block screen instead of the feed.

• Scheduled blocks. Pick the apps and the hours they stay shut. AppBlocker uses Apple's own Screen Time controls to keep them closed.
• Manual Block. A firm wall for the apps you are done with. You turn it off deliberately, not mid-craving.
• Doomscroll Protection. Pick the apps that are time sinks, and AppBlocker stops you after 15 minutes of use to break the dopamine cycle.
• Screen-time stats. See where the time actually went.

There is no sign-up, and your app choices and screen-time data stay on your iPhone. This describes the iOS app. The Android app's data practices are described in its Google Play listing. It is free with no subscription and supported by ads. Where it is the wrong tool: it is a phone app for iPhone and Android, it does not block across a laptop or other devices, and it is not a parental-controls suite for managing someone else's phone. The honest comparison of screen time apps covers the alternatives, and the AppBlocker page has the full feature list.

Which option should you use?

Many people combine them: a Work Focus for notifications, plus a block on the two or three apps that still win.

What else do people ask?