ScrollBuddy vs one sec.
A pause before the app opens, against a door that stays shut until you finish a win. We make one of these, so every fact below links to where it came from.
The table scrolls sideways when it does not fit.
| ScrollBuddy | one sec | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | The apps you picked are shut from midnight. You name up to three wins and say what each is worth, up to thirty credits. Finish one and you earn its credits, to spend on screen time at one credit a minute, in passes of two to thirty, before the apps shut again. | A breath, a mirror or a short delay sits between you and the app. A full block is available, but the delay is the idea. |
| Price, US App Store | The app is free. SB on WhatsApp is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, first day free | Free tier, then $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year, or $99.99 once |
| Account needed | Phone number only, no email or password; works without one | Yes for syncing across devices, on the same account |
| Where your data sits | On the phone until you connect your number. Blocking runs on Apple's Screen Time, so it never sees which apps you open | Their site: usage data is yours, either offline or in a private cloud, and the intervention logic runs locally |
| Runs on | iPhone, iOS 26 and later | iPhone, Android, browser extension |
| Uses Apple Screen Time | Yes, stated | Not stated. Their listing names Shortcuts Automation |
Prices are US App Store prices in dollars, not converted, so your local price will differ. Checked 12 September 2026. Where an app publishes a fact itself we took it from there, otherwise from its App Store listing:ScrollBuddy, their App Store listing; one sec, their App Store listing.
Who one sec is right for
one sec is the lightest intervention in this category and, for a lot of people, the only one they need. It puts a breath, a mirror or a few seconds of nothing between the tap and the app. That gap is often enough, because most opens are not a decision, and interrupting the reflex is enough to end them.
It is also the cheapest paid option here, it has a free tier so you can test the mechanism before spending, and its browser extension covers desktop, which most phone blockers do not. Their site says usage data is yours, either offline or in a private cloud, and that the intervention logic runs locally. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/one-sec-focus-screen-time/id1532875441, because one sec does not publish consumer prices on its own site.
If a pause still works on you, buy one sec and stop reading. Nothing on this page improves on it, and a heavier tool for a problem a lighter one solves is money and attention spent for nothing.
Who ScrollBuddy is right for
The honest limit of a pause is that it wears out. The fortieth breath is not an interruption any more, it is part of opening the app. If you have reached that point, the question stops being how to slow the reach down and becomes what the app should cost you.
ScrollBuddy answers it with a price you set. The apps you picked are shut from midnight, and finishing one of the up to three wins you named earns the credits you said it was worth. You can still get in. You cannot get in for free, and what it costs is something you already said mattered.
No email and no password. Your phone number signs you in, and the app works on its own without it. Blocking runs on Apple’s Screen Time permission, so ScrollBuddy never sees which apps you open. It is iPhone only, so if you need the desktop covered, one sec does that and this does not. Connecting your agent, the dashboard and the phone app that locks your apps are free. SB on WhatsApp is the paid part: your first day with SB is free, then it is £4.99 a month, or £29.99 a year with the first week free.
The honest caveat
Neither app can stop you. You can turn it off: take back the Screen Time permission and nothing stays shut. ScrollBuddy only ever knows what you or your agent tell it. The difference is only in what the exit costs, a few seconds against a finished win, and which of those you need depends on how long you have already been fighting this. More on why the cheap exit is the part that fails in why app blockers fail.
Questions
Does one sec block apps or just delay them?
Both are available, but the delay is the idea. A breath or a short interruption sits between you and the app, and their own listing says the app delays access rather than blocking completely.
Is one sec cheaper than ScrollBuddy?
Both apps start free: one sec has a free tier and the ScrollBuddy app is free. Paid, one sec starts at $2.99 a month, and ScrollBuddy's paid part, SB on WhatsApp, is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. Prices are US App Store prices and are not converted.
Do I need an account for either?
ScrollBuddy asks for no email and no password: your phone number signs you in, and the app works on its own without it. one sec needs an account to sync across devices.