Full block
No reels. None. Anywhere. Set an end date and it locks itself until you pass it, with a countdown. Built for exam season.
iPhone app
Instagram + TikTok
no account
Instagram.Minus the Reels.TikTok.Minus the For You.
Your friends, your DMs, your stories, the people you actually chose. The algorithm's feed, gone. Plus a daily time budget that stops you like a mate would.
Also a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave and Firefox. Grab it below.
your call
Instagram and TikTok, minus the algorithm.
Most people know the scroll is bad for them and enjoy it anyway, so an on/off button gets deleted by Thursday. Start from a preset, then turn any dial underneath it: how many reels a day, which topics get through, who you see, when it locks.
Friends only
Posts from the people you follow. Nothing the algorithm picked for you. Your DMs and stories are untouched.
Friends + interests
Your friends, plus a few posts a day on the stuff you chose. Football, gym, cooking. Twenty a day, not two thousand.
Capped
Reels allowed, up to a number you set. Hit twenty and they stop until tomorrow. You decide the number when you're not mid-scroll.
Aware
Reels stay. Every so often a card slides in between them: "40 reels, 28 minutes." No lecture. It just puts the number in front of you.
binned
- Reels tab, in the bar and on every profile
- Scrolling past the reel a mate sent you
- Everything "suggested": reels, posts, accounts
- Explore grid (search still works)
- Sponsored posts and Threads promo cards
- TikTok For You, Explore, LIVE
- YouTube Shorts, everywhere
kept
- Posts from people you follow
- Stories (hide them if you want)
- DMs, all of them, properly
- Search, profiles, saved, notifications
- TikTok Following feed, messages, profiles
- Posting with music, editing, Close Friends: the Post button hands you to the real app for a moment, then pulls you back
- Your privacy. No account, no server, no analytics inside the app
new
45 minutes.
45 minutes.
Then it's a wall.
Pick a daily budget per app. At 15 minutes you get a nudge. At your limit the screen goes dark and asks if you're done. "5 more minutes" exists, because you're an adult. The commitment lock removes it, because you know yourself.
- Counts only while you're actually looking, not while the app sits in the background
- Separate budgets for Instagram and TikTok
- 5, 15 or 30 minute breaks that end themselves
- Resets at midnight, no streaks, no guilt
That's 45 minutes on Instagram today.
You set a 45 minute budget. You can have a bit longer, but you'll be asked again.
I'm done for today5 more minutes
15 minutes on Instagram today. Still here for a reason?
Built for people who tried the other apps and went back.
Most of them are a web browser wearing a costume: Instagram's mobile site inside their app with the Reels hidden. It works, until you try to post a video, reply to a DM, or use Close Friends. Then you're back in the real app and the Reels are back with you.
| Typical wrapper app | ReelBlock | |
|---|---|---|
| Posting with music, editing, Close Friends | Broken or limited | Hands off to the real app, pulls you back |
| TikTok | Beta, if at all | Friends-only mode or full block |
| Daily time budget with a hard stop | Rare | Yes, per app, with a nudge first |
| Commitment lock | Sometimes | Up to a week |
| Accuracy of the time it reports | Often keeps counting in the background | Stops the moment you look away |
| Desktop browser too | No | Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox |
| Account required | Often | Never |
| What runs the blocking | Closed app | One readable file |
iPhone · Android
Get ReelBlock
Get ReelBlock
on your phone.
The iPhone app is in final testing. Leave your email and you get the TestFlight link first, then the App Store version. Android follows.
desktop
Same engine, browser edition.
Chrome, Edge, Brave or Firefox. Download the zip, unzip it, open chrome://extensions, turn on Developer mode, Load unpacked, pick the folder. Chrome Web Store listing on the way.