Apple Screen Time still lets you tap Ignore Limit. Brick LLC’s answer is a $59 battery-free NFC puck that makes the unlock a walk across the room. One-time hardware, free companion app, no subscription.

How it actually works is simple. You pick apps (and some sites) in the Brick app, tap the phone to the puck, and those apps plus their notifications stay blocked until you physically tap again. NFC is the same tap-to-pay idea, used here to start a lock instead of a purchase. You can remotely start a session from the app. Unlock still wants the puck, or one of five Emergency Unbricks. The square never charges. It needs Android 12+ or iOS 17+.

Why the FOMO is real enough to notice: friends using the same ritual is social proof. “We’re Bricked” (NY Post) is easier to copy than another screen-time pie chart. Co-founders TJ Driver and Zach Nasgowitz (UW-Madison grads, mid-September 2023 launch) pitched that physical return on purpose. TechCrunch even quoted Driver on friction beating willpower.

$59 is a maybe, not a must: reviews from TechCrunch, Consumer Reports, USA Today, The Independent, Healthline, and Wirecutter/WSJ keep landing on the same point: a walk to the fridge beats “Ignore Limit.”

Independent’s tester even claimed daily screen time dropped from about 4.5 hours toward 2 hours while using it. Quite a dramatic drop.

That said, other screens (laptop, iPad) are not blocked. Without Strict Mode, Consumer Reports notes deleting the app can end a session. A shared household Brick is a shared key. Maps, calls, and whatever you leave unblocked still work.

We expect this to help people who already failed free Screen Time and mainly doomscroll on the phone. If your rabbit hole is a laptop, save the $59. Leave the puck outside the bedroom. The walk is the product. You can buy it at getbrick.com/products/grey-brick (also getbrick.app).

Filed in . Read more about Android, iOS and NFC.