ScreenBreak helps you cut off app addiction by adding effort at the exact moment you try to open a distracting app. Instead of simple blocking, it asks you to complete a quick challenge—tap fast, shake your phone, or draw a circle. Win, and you get a short access window; fail, and the urge breaks. ScreenBreak also provides detailed hourly and weekly screen-time insights to help you understand and improve your habits.
Hi everyone! 👋
I built ScreenBreak because traditional app blockers never worked well for me. Hard blocks felt too rigid — either I locked myself out completely, or I tapped Ignore Limit and kept scrolling. There was no middle ground.
But in real life, we do sometimes need to open addictive apps — to search something, reply to someone, check updates. The problem isn’t the intentional use; it’s the unconscious, endless scrolling that follows. Soft blocking creates a balance: you can still access the app when needed, but you must put in effort, which naturally filters out mindless usage.
After nearly a year of iteration, I designed multiple flexible ways for ScreenBreak to activate:
- Schedule Block – block during certain hours
- App Launch Limit – block after too many opens
- Usage Budget Limit – block after hitting time caps (daily or hourly)
When a block triggers, you must complete a quick challenge — tapping fast, shaking your phone, drawing a circle, etc. Win for a short access window; fail, and the urge usually fades.
I’d love your feedback on challenge design and which blocking rules fit your habits best. Thanks for checking it out! 🚀
Great Release! The app looks nice. I'm going to try it. Did you test if it actually helps to reduce screentime with a user group? If yes, what are the results?
Need more gamification and completely block the app without continue button
I'm interested in digital detox, I even tried using a flip phone but nothing really worked for me. Curious how this will hold up to my impulsive scrolling 👀
Looks so pretty. I think the analytics can be such a huge help if done right. Is that a premium feature?
Excellent launch, ScreenBreak team. From a clarity & onboarding lens: when a user tries to open a blocked app for the first time, what’s the one belief you want them to walk away with after the mini-game unlock? Is it: • “I opened this intentionally—not out of habit.” Or: • “I now control this device—it doesn’t control me.” Because in habit-breaking tools, the win isn’t just blocking usage—it’s changing a moment of unconscious behavior into a moment of conscious choice.
I am a huge fan of these digital detox apps and as someone who damaged eyesight by staring to the screen most of time, find this pretty helpful :)
This is a really smart approach to the scrolling problem. 🧠 Hard blockers usually just make me angry (and I end up disabling them), but adding 'Friction Cost' via physical effort is a much better psychological hack to break the dopamine loop. Congrats on the launch!
About ScreenBreak on Product Hunt
“Stop mindless scrolling and earn app access through effort”
ScreenBreak launched on Product Hunt on December 3rd, 2025 and earned 125 upvotes and 10 comments, placing #11 on the daily leaderboard. ScreenBreak helps you cut off app addiction by adding effort at the exact moment you try to open a distracting app. Instead of simple blocking, it asks you to complete a quick challenge—tap fast, shake your phone, or draw a circle. Win, and you get a short access window; fail, and the urge breaks. ScreenBreak also provides detailed hourly and weekly screen-time insights to help you understand and improve your habits.
ScreenBreak was featured in Productivity (651.9k followers) and Health (6.5k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 139.1k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted ScreenBreak?
ScreenBreak was hunted by Greg Zeng. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how ScreenBreak stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Greg Zeng