A free app blocker for Android, with a whitelist mode
Lock In Squad is a free app blocker for Android. You pick the apps to block, or switch to whitelist mode, which the app calls Allow only these apps, and block everything except the apps you pick. Start a timer or stopwatch, and those apps stay blocked until you hold the Lock Out button for 1 to 10 seconds.
On Google Play the app is listed as Lock In, by Eli Young, until the next update renames it.
Block list or whitelist
The top of the Block tab has two choices, Block these apps and Allow only these apps. With Block these apps, you tap the apps you want blocked, such as Instagram or a game, and everything else stays open. Allow only these apps is the whitelist mode. You tap the apps you want to keep, and every other app on the list is blocked while you are locked in.
At the top of the app list, the Websites row holds the websites you want blocked. Type an address or pick from ten suggestions, such as youtube.com and reddit.com. A website's subdomains are blocked too, so youtube.com covers m.youtube.com. While you're locked in, Lock In Squad reads the address bar of Chrome, Samsung Internet, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Opera, DuckDuckGo and Vivaldi. When it shows a website on your list, the browser goes back a page and Lock In Squad opens with an alert that names the site, such as "youtube.com is blocked while you're locked in." In Allow only these apps, every website is blocked in those browsers.
Below it, the Browsers row blocks every browser on your phone in one tap. It counts the Google app as a browser, since search results open inside it. Tap the row again to allow them all, or change one browser on its own row. In Allow only these apps, every browser you don't keep is blocked. A browser you keep is marked Websites open in this app when website blocking is off or doesn't cover that browser.
If you allow only a few apps, keep your phone and messages apps among them so people can still reach you. The app also warns you not to block overlay apps such as launchers and music players, because they would set off constant alerts.
On iPhone, Lock In Squad blocks through Apple's Screen Time picker, where you choose the apps and categories to block. Allow only these apps works on iPhone too, keeping up to 50 apps you pick open.
The two permissions, and why each is needed
Android asks you to grant two permissions before Lock In Squad can block apps. The first screen you see, Choose apps to block, asks for both. The Block tab asks too until both are on. Tapping each one opens Android Settings, where you find Lock In Squad and switch it on.
- Usage access
- The app describes it as "Detects which apps are running so they can be blocked." It lets Lock In Squad see which app you have open, so it knows when you open one that you blocked.
- Display over other apps
- The app describes it as "Shows a blocking screen when you open a blocked app." When you open a blocked app, Lock In Squad comes to the front with an alert titled "App blocked" that names the app, such as "Instagram is blocked while you're locked in."
Blocking websites takes one more, Android's Accessibility service. Lock In Squad asks for it when you tap the Websites row, on a screen that says what it reads. Agree opens Android's Accessibility settings, where you turn on Lock In Squad website blocking. It reads the address bar of the browsers above only while you're locked in. The address is checked on your phone and never saved or sent.
While a session runs, Android shows an ongoing notification titled "Locked in" with your session clock. You can start as a guest without an account. Adding friends takes a free one.
The hold to quit
Once a session starts, the Lock In button turns into Lock Out (Hold). To end the session you press and hold it for the delay you picked in Settings, anywhere from 1 to 10 seconds. If you let go before the countdown finishes, the session keeps running.
A stopwatch session runs until you hold Lock Out. When a timer reaches zero, the app shows "Goal completed" and keeps counting, and you end that session with the same hold. The free version shows an ad when you end a stopwatch session or leave a timer early, and a $4.99 purchase, paid once, removes ads.
How it differs from Digital Wellbeing Focus mode
Some Android phones include Digital Wellbeing in the Settings app. Its Focus mode pauses the apps you choose, and Google's help page says that while it is on, "you can't use these apps and won't get notifications from them." Here is how the two compare.
| Digital Wellbeing Focus mode | Lock In Squad | |
|---|---|---|
| What gets blocked | The apps you choose to pause | The apps and websites you choose, or everything except the apps you allow |
| How it starts | Turn on now, or on a schedule you set | You tap Lock In to start a timer or stopwatch |
| How you get back in | Tap Turn off now, or tap Take a break and choose how long apps unpause | Hold Lock Out for 1 to 10 seconds, a delay you set |
| What it tracks | Screen time, times opened and notifications, per app | Your focus sessions, a streak on the work days you choose, and a heatmap of your history |
| Cost | Comes with phones that include Digital Wellbeing | Free to download, and $4.99 paid once removes ads |
If your phone has Digital Wellbeing, Focus mode costs nothing to try, so start there if a single tap to turn it off is enough of a pause for you. For step by step instructions for both, read how to block apps on Android.
Lock in with friends
Add friends by name or user ID, lock in together in a group session with live standings, and keep a friend streak that grows when you both lock in. A weekly leaderboard ranks you and your friends by time locked in. Home screen widgets show your own lock with your streak and today's minutes. With your streak on the line, the lock on the widget gets worried at 6 PM, sweats at 9 PM and cries from 10:30 PM.
Questions
Is there a free app blocker for Android?
Yes. Lock In Squad is free on Android and blocks the apps you pick during a timer or stopwatch session, with an optional whitelist mode. The free version shows an ad when you end a stopwatch session or leave a timer early, and a $4.99 purchase, paid once, removes the ads for good.
Why does an Android app blocker need Usage access?
Usage access lets the blocker see which app you have open, which is how it knows you opened a blocked one. Lock In Squad also needs Display over other apps, so it can come to the front and tell you the app is blocked. You grant both in Android Settings, with no root access.
What is the difference between a blacklist and a whitelist?
A blacklist, or block list, names the apps to block and leaves the rest open. A whitelist, or allow list, names the apps to keep and blocks everything else. Lock In Squad's Block tab offers both, as Block these apps and Allow only these apps. A whitelist suits sessions when you need only a few apps, such as a dictionary and your messages.
Can Lock In Squad block websites on Android?
Yes. On the Block tab, the Websites row holds the websites to block. Type one in or pick a suggestion such as youtube.com. A website's subdomains are blocked too. While you're locked in, Lock In Squad blocks them in Chrome, Samsung Internet, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Opera, DuckDuckGo and Vivaldi, through Android's Accessibility service, which you turn on once. Websites that open inside another app, such as Instagram, TikTok or the Google app, can't be blocked. The Browsers row still blocks whole browsers, the Google app included.
Can I schedule app blocking on Android?
Yes, with Digital Wellbeing. In Focus mode, tap Set a schedule and Focus mode turns on by itself at the times you set. Lock In Squad has no schedules, so each session starts when you tap Lock In. If you want blocks to start on their own, Focus mode is the better fit.
Block distracting apps on Android
Free, with a whitelist mode and no subscription. Google Play lists it as Lock In until the next update.
