This App Brutally Shames You by Tracking How Many Hours You’ve Lost to Scrolling

One of the newer apps to tackle the issue of excessive phone use is Oh My Hours for iOS. Unlike most alternatives, it presents a user-friendly and minimalist approach by segmenting each day into blocks of hours, marking those lost to distracting apps with a black mark. This stark and straightforward visualization aims to effectively highlight how much time is squandered on social media and other apps.

To use Oh My Hours, you first designate which apps you deem distractions, either by category or individual selection. Spending a set amount of time on a designated app marks the corresponding hour as lost. The main interface showcases a series of circles representing hours, with black-filled circles indicating time spent on distracting apps.

One notable feature is the flexibility to customize the threshold for marking an hour as lost, and the option to designate quiet hours where phone use should be avoided. Users can also reset hours if they believe they were marked incorrectly. The app even offers an export tool for exporting stats as a CSV file.

For those seeking additional options, apps like One Sec, Forest, ScreenZen, and Roots provide various strategies to tackle phone addiction. One Sec encourages a brief breathing exercise before allowing app access, while Forest rewards extended periods of phone avoidance by growing a virtual forest. ScreenZen offers a range of barriers, including custom pauses and math challenges.

Roots takes a more comprehensive approach, allowing users to schedule phone-free periods, block specific apps, and join detox challenges with friends and family. Brick is a unique option that combines its app with a physical NFC device, enabling users to block or unblock distracting apps with a simple press of their phone.