How to block social media and stop doomscrolling

Social apps are built to be opened without thinking. The fix is not more willpower — it is making them harder to open at the moments you lose time.

1. Find your real problem times

Notice when you scroll the most: first thing in the morning, during work, after dinner, in bed. Block those windows, not the whole day, so the rule is easy to live with.

2. Block the app and the website

If you only block the app, the same feed is one tap away in a browser. In AppTimeOut you can add apps and websites to the same block list (on iPhone, turn on the Safari extension so websites are covered too).

3. Pick the right lock

• Timer Lock for focus sessions: 25 minutes of study or work, then the apps return on their own.
• Schedule Lock for habits: for example 9–5 on weekdays and after 10 p.m. every night.

Details: focus timer and schedule lock.

4. Add a person

Blockers fail when you can switch them off the second you want to scroll. Buddy Lock sends the unlock code to a friend, so ending the lock early means asking them. That pause is often enough to let the urge pass.

5. Replace the habit, not just remove it

Keep a book, a podcast or a call to a friend within reach for the moments you would have scrolled. Blocking creates the gap; something else has to fill it.

Start small

Begin with one 25-minute lock a day and one weekday schedule. Once that feels normal, extend it. Works on iPhone and Android.