ZDNET review: Brick device blocks iPhone apps and cut screen time 7% in review

ZDNET reviewed Brick, a $59 magnetic NFC device that blocks access to selected apps on an iPhone; the reviewer says they bricked their phone to curb doomscrolling and that their screen time fell by 7% in the first full week of use. The review explains how Brick works: a gray, magnetic square pairs with a companion app so users can select which apps to disable.

Tapping the Brick “bricks” the phone and blocks those apps until it’s tapped again. Brick also offers schedules and modes, and the product comes with five free emergency “unbricks,” the review says. The reviewer tested Brick primarily at home, naming Messages, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok and LinkedIn as the apps they blocked.

They describe using the device before bedtime, attaching it to the fridge and treating unbricking as a small earned reward, which helped them focus, journal for 90 minutes undisturbed and adopt a Pomodoro‑like pattern of work and short checks. ZDNET notes Brick’s positive reinforcement features: a widget shows how long a phone has been bricked and the app tracks daily bricking time, which the reviewer found more motivating than Screen Time’s admonitions.

In ZDNET’s buying advice the reviewer recommends Brick for people seeking a productivity boost, calling the $59 price worth it for the quality‑of‑life change they experienced.

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