Updated October 2026 · By the Myo team · We make Myo, one of the apps below. How we compared: each app's own website, checked October 2026.
Quick answer
The best dopamine detox apps fall into three types. Blockers stop the scroll: ScreenZen (free), Opal and Freedom. Friction apps slow it down: one sec and Forest. Habit and replacement apps fill the time you win back: Habit Doom, Routinery and Rewire. Myo does something different: it blocks nothing, and instead models what your whole day does to your reward baseline, then shows the one change likely to matter most. The evidence favours gentle, sustained friction over cold-turkey breaks. A Danish field experiment found a six-second delay cut teen social-media use by 31 to 36 percent, while a 21-day abstinence trial's gains had faded by two months. Most people do best pairing one blocker with one way to understand their pattern.
How we compared them
| Criterion | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Approach: block, friction, replace, or model | A blocker answers "stop me". A model answers "why is today flat?" They solve different problems. |
| Platforms | A detox only holds if it covers the device you actually reach for. |
| Free option | You should be able to test one detox window before paying. |
| Price (from each app's own site) | Listed only where the developer publishes it. |
| What it does during a detox window | Concrete behaviour, not marketing claims. |
| Honest limitation | Every tool has one, and we name it, including for Myo. |
Comparison table
| App | Approach | What it does | Platforms | Free option | Price (own site) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myo | Model | Turns plain-sentence logs (and WHOOP sleep/HRV/recovery) into one balance sheet of drains vs restores, plus one daily lever | Web | Yes, full Balance Sheet | Recovery tier $12.99/mo or $79/yr | myo.coach/pricing |
| ScreenZen | Block / delay | Blocks distracting apps and sites with daily limits and schedules | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Yes, donation-supported, no subscription | Free | screenzen.co |
| one sec | Friction | Interrupts an app or site with a short intervention (e.g. a breath) before it opens | iOS, Android, browser extensions (Windows/macOS/Linux) | Yes, essentials free | Paid tiers available | one-sec.app |
| Opal | Block | Automatic app blocking with focus rules, timers and a focus score | iPhone, Mac, Android | Check in-app | Subscription (price not shown on homepage) | opalapp.com |
| Freedom | Block (cross-device) | Blocks apps, sites or the whole internet, synced across devices | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook, Linux | Yes, limited | Premium $39.99/yr | freedom.to |
| Forest | Friction / gamified | Focus timer that grows a tree; leaving the app mid-session kills it | iOS, Android, Chrome & Firefox | Yes, free tier | Optional Plus (regional pricing) | forestapp.cc |
| Habit Doom | Block until habits done | Locks distracting apps until your daily habits are done | iPhone, iPad, Android 10+ | Yes, core features | $4.99/mo, $19.99/yr, $29.99 lifetime | habitdoom.com |
| Routinery | Replace | Timed, guided routines with checklists and audio prompts for the hours you free up | Mobile, tablet, smartwatch (iOS & Android) | Yes, 2 routines | $5.00/mo, $36.00/yr | routinery.app |
| Rewire | Replace / intervene | Urge logging, daily micro-interventions and a "Dopamine Score" | iOS | Yes | Optional Pro | rewirelabs.app |
The apps
1. Myo — best for understanding why your days feel flat
Disclosure: we make Myo. Myo is a self-tracking app, not a blocker. You log your day in plain sentences ("slept 6h, cold shower, then scrolled for an hour"), optionally connect WHOOP, and Myo places each activity on a single balance sheet, with drains on one side and restores on the other. It then shows one lever: the move that would shift your baseline most today. There are no streaks, XP or avatars.
- Free: Balance Sheet (logging, daily balance and five scores, 7/14/30-day trends, WHOOP sync, daily email check-in, general coach).
- Paid: Recovery, $12.99/mo or $79/yr, a structured layer for people working through a specific compulsion.
- Honest limitation: Myo will not stop you opening an app. Pair it with ScreenZen, one sec or Opal if you need a wall. It is web-based and models dopaminergic state from behaviour. It does not measure dopamine, and it is not medical advice.
- Why it's different: the model is public. Our science page labels each mechanism as either implementing published theory (opponent-process, allostasis, wanting vs liking) or as our own parameterization.
2. ScreenZen — best free blocker
Blocks distracting apps and websites with daily limits and simple schedules. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and its site describes it as donation-supported with no subscription. Limitation: like any blocker, it treats the symptom, not the pattern.
3. one sec — best gentle friction
Puts a short intervention, such as a deep breath, in front of the apps and sites you flag, to break the muscle-memory open. iOS, Android and browser extensions; essentials are free. Limitation: friction, not a lock, so it relies on you choosing at the pause.
4. Opal — best polished focus blocker
Automatic app blocking with focus rules, timers and a focus score, on iPhone, Mac and Android. Limitation: paid features sit behind a subscription. Check current pricing in-app.
5. Freedom — best for blocking every device at once
App, website and whole-internet blocking that syncs across macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook and Linux. Free with limits; Premium is $39.99/yr. Limitation: built for focus sessions, not for understanding what drains you.
6. Forest — best gamified focus timer
Every minute of focus grows a virtual tree, and leaving the app mid-session kills it. iOS, Android, plus Chrome and Firefox extensions; free tier with optional Plus. Limitation: protects a session, not the rest of the day.
7. Habit Doom — best "earn your screen time" lock
Locks distracting apps until your daily habits are done. iPhone, iPad and Android 10+. Free core; $4.99/mo, $19.99/yr or $29.99 lifetime. Limitation: the blocking is only as good as the habits you choose to gate it on.
8. Routinery — best for filling the hours you free up
Guided, timed routines with checklists and audio prompts across phone, tablet and watch. Free for 2 routines; $5.00/mo or $36.00/yr. Limitation: a routine app, not a blocker.
9. Rewire — best urge-logging app on iOS
Urge logging, daily micro-interventions and a "Dopamine Score". iOS only; free with optional Pro. Limitation: iOS-only. Like any app with a "dopamine" score, it is a behavioural proxy, not a measurement.
What the evidence actually says
- Small friction works, and it holds. In a six-week field experiment with 269 Danish teenagers aged 13–17, a six-second pause before an app opened reduced daily social-media activity by 31–36%, cut school-hours use by 40% and evening use by about 38%, and freed up to 16 extra minutes for sleep. (Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, Disrupting Social Media Habits, 19 June 2025: https://en.kfst.dk/analyses/2025/20250619-disrupting-social-media-habits-a-field-experiment-with-young-danish-consumers)
- Self-set limits reduce use. In a randomised study, giving people a tool to set their own future screen-time limits cut use of the targeted apps by 22 minutes a day (16%) over 12 weeks. The authors estimate self-control problems account for 31% of social media use. (Allcott, Gentzkow & Song, "Digital Addiction", American Economic Review 112(7), 2022: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20210867)
- Cold-turkey gains may not last. A University of York pilot trial with 82 adolescents found tentative improvements in sleep, stress and mood after 21 days of smartphone and social-media abstinence, but these were not maintained at a 2-month follow-up. (Sullivan, Cairney & Henderson, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 9 Aug 2026: https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.70118)
- Why "detox" is the wrong metaphor. From Myo's science page: "The reward system does not drain and refill — it moves a setpoint." That framing follows Koob & Le Moal's allostasis work (Science 278:52–58, 1997), cited at https://myo.coach/science.
How to choose
- "I need a wall right now": ScreenZen (free) or Freedom (all devices).
- "I want to notice before I open it": one sec or Forest.
- "I want to earn my screen time": Habit Doom.
- "I freed up hours and don't know what to do with them": Routinery.
- "I want to understand why some days feel flat": Myo, ideally paired with one of the above.
FAQ
What is a dopamine detox app? An app that helps you cut back on fast, easy rewards like scrolling, usually by blocking apps, adding friction before they open, or replacing them with routines. Myo takes a fourth approach: it models how your whole day affects your reward baseline, so you can see which change matters most.
Do dopamine detox apps actually work? Some approaches have evidence behind them. A Danish field experiment found a six-second delay cut teen social-media use by 31–36%, and a randomised study found self-set limits reduced use by 16% over 12 weeks. A 21-day total-abstinence pilot found benefits that faded by two months, which suggests sustained, gentle changes beat short breaks.
Can an app measure my dopamine? No. No consumer app or wearable measures dopamine. Apps like Myo model it from behaviour and, optionally, sleep and recovery data. Treat any "dopamine score" as a behavioural estimate, not a lab measurement.
What is the best free dopamine detox app? ScreenZen is free and donation-supported for blocking. one sec and Forest have free tiers for friction. Myo's full Balance Sheet tier is free if you want to track the pattern rather than block apps.
Is a dopamine detox a treatment for addiction? No. These are wellness and self-tracking tools, not medical treatment. If you are struggling with a compulsion that feels out of control, or you are in crisis, please speak to a clinician or a local support service.
Should I block apps or track my habits? Often both. A blocker removes the easiest trigger, and a tracker shows what else is draining you, such as short sleep or frictionless rewards. Pairing one of each is a common setup.
Myo models dopaminergic state from behaviour; it does not measure dopamine. Not medical advice. App details were checked on each developer's website in October 2026. Prices and features change, so check before you buy.