Our phones are designed to keep us engaged, but that can make it difficult to stay focused when we need to work, study, rest, or spend time with people around us.
We wanted to build a simple way for people to create boundaries around the apps and websites that compete for their attention.
That idea became App Blocker - a productivity and digital wellbeing app designed to help people take control of when and where distractions are available.
App Blocker lets users block distracting apps and websites and create personalized focus routines.
Users can quickly activate a blocking setup, schedule blocking sessions, create custom block lists, and use Focus Sessions when they need uninterrupted time.
The app also includes a Pomodoro Timer, Strict Mode, Allowlist, and flexible blocking schedules so users can choose the level of control that works for them.
Whether someone is studying, working, trying to reduce social media usage, or simply wants some uninterrupted personal time, App Blocker provides a simple way to create those boundaries.
We focused heavily on making the experience simple despite the complexity behind app and website blocking.
The product combines blocking controls, schedules, focus sessions, and productivity tools into one streamlined experience.
One of the biggest challenges was working within Apple's platform capabilities and restrictions while keeping the user experience understandable. We had to carefully design the permission and blocking flows so that users could understand what was happening without being overwhelmed by technical details.
We also iterated heavily on the interface and interaction patterns to make starting a blocking session as quick as possible.
Building App Blocker taught us that digital wellbeing products need to be extremely simple at the moment of action.
When someone wants to focus, they shouldn't have to navigate through complicated settings before they can start.
We learned a lot about Apple's Screen Time-related capabilities, system restrictions, app and website blocking, scheduling, and designing experiences around sensitive device-level permissions.
We also learned that flexibility is important. Different people need different boundaries, so the product should provide control rather than impose a single productivity routine.
We're continuing to improve the focus experience and make digital wellbeing more engaging without making it complicated.
We recently added features such as Detox Mode, music during detox sessions, widgets, and Live Activities, and we plan to continue exploring ways to make focus sessions easier to start and more useful throughout the day.
Our goal is to keep building App Blocker into a practical everyday tool that helps people spend less time distracted and more time intentionally using their devices.
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