Ochi: Block Websites & Apps

Name: Ochi: Block Websites & Apps
Rating: 4.5 (145 reviews)
Author: Michael Tigas

Limit Screen Time Control

Free · In‑App Purchases

145 Ratings
Ages

4+
Years
Category

Productivity
Developer

Michael Tigas
Language

EN
+ 6 More
Size

72.7
MB

“A great tool if you’re looking for a way to become more focused and less distracted.” - 9to5Mac, Chance Miller “The design of the iPhone & macOS app is appealing, both simple and colorful.” - TechRadar, Daryl Baxter “Ochi lets you create a more focused work environment.” - MacStories, John Voorhees “Great for maintaining productivity so you never accidentally find yourself on Twitter.” - Matthew Cassinelli “Ochi is great for when you want to focus on really specific tasks.” - Christopher Lawley Ochi helps you block distracting apps and website on your device, putting an end to excessively bad Social Media habits. Pick the apps and website you would like to block, set up the app & website blocking, and you're all good to go! And, if you'd like to block things during particular days, create a schedule to automatically restrict content. Features; • Block iOS apps (and Mac apps too with Ochi for Mac) • Block websites and categories of websites • Enable filters that run all day, or timed filters that cannot be stopped for a period of time • Temporarily pause filters if you need to urgently access particular apps • Schedule filters to block social media distractions during the day, and at bed time • Lock filters to prevent making changes during moments of impulse • Control Center widgets to control blocking from the Control Center or from the adjustable Lock Screen controls • Integrate with Shortcuts to automate your productivity workflow • Sync filters between iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Handy widgets to quickly enable filters If you have any questions, please reach out to ochi@michaeltigas.com.au Privacy Policy: https://ochithe.app/privacypolicy/ Terms of Use: https://ochithe.app/termsofuse/

Ratings & Reviews

4.5

out of 5

145 Ratings

Great App/Website Blocker Across Apple Devices
05/26/2022

apprev2021
I have been looking for a blocker for both apps and websites while I am at work. After quite some research, I settled on Ochi, which is really easy to set up and works on both macOS and iOS. Ochi has all the modern perks of a native Apple app, supporting Shortcuts and iCloud syncing among other things. The developer is very responsive to support questions. The free version is beyond generous, offering a single filter that can be configured to block an unlimited number of apps and websites together. The only major limitation on macOS so far is that website blocking does not work on Firefox (for which I use LeechBlock, an open-source extension). Web blocking works very well on Safari and Chrome-based browsers. On iOS there are more system limitations, but Ochi has managed to accomplish a lot within these limits. It is particularly clever to use the Focus mode for macOS control of Ochi filters across Apple devices.

Developer Response
This is a fantastic review for Ochi... thank you so much - I really appreciate it! 🙏🏻I'm really glad to hear you're enjoying its level of integration with the Apple ecosystem, sharing & applying filters across your devices is very important for maintaining focus! Shortcuts & iCloud were a no-brainer.Thanks for the feedback on Firefox, I'll try to work this out in a future update 🙂 It will be great to cover even more web browsers.
Great App/Website Blocker Across Apple Devices
05/26/2022

apprev2021

I have been looking for a blocker for both apps and websites while I am at work. After quite some research, I settled on Ochi, which is really easy to set up and works on both macOS and iOS. Ochi has all the modern perks of a native Apple app, supporting Shortcuts and iCloud syncing among other things. The developer is very responsive to support questions. The free version is beyond generous, offering a single filter that can be configured to block an unlimited number of apps and websites together. The only major limitation on macOS so far is that website blocking does not work on Firefox (for which I use LeechBlock, an open-source extension). Web blocking works very well on Safari and Chrome-based browsers. On iOS there are more system limitations, but Ochi has managed to accomplish a lot within these limits. It is particularly clever to use the Focus mode for macOS control of Ochi filters across Apple devices.
Developer Response 06/05/2022
This is a fantastic review for Ochi... thank you so much - I really appreciate it! 🙏🏻I'm really glad to hear you're enjoying its level of integration with the Apple ecosystem, sharing & applying filters across your devices is very important for maintaining focus! Shortcuts & iCloud were a no-brainer.Thanks for the feedback on Firefox, I'll try to work this out in a future update 🙂 It will be great to cover even more web browsers.
Just what I’ve been looking for
11/28/2022

Stephen Laswell
I’ve tried out a few other apps for content blocking/self control and this one’s the best I’ve found. Integration with the shortcuts app allows you to automate your settings (I linked the ‘suspend’ option with an NFC device). The only changes I’d request are to be able to block all apps instead of a predetermined list (the most common and distracting ones are on there but there are still a few I’d like to block, like the apple news app), and the ability to block websites on other browsers like chrome (I had to switch to using safari when I downloaded the app). But it keeps me off of distracting apps/sites like youtube/instagram, which is exactly what I wanted from it! Thank you

Developer Response
Thank you for the super kind review! Awesome to hear you're loving the shortcuts support, really cool to see somebody linking it with an NFC action too. Will keep a note of your suggestion to improve the blocking and cover all apps and more browsers - thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Just what I’ve been looking for
11/28/2022

Stephen Laswell

I’ve tried out a few other apps for content blocking/self control and this one’s the best I’ve found. Integration with the shortcuts app allows you to automate your settings (I linked the ‘suspend’ option with an NFC device). The only changes I’d request are to be able to block all apps instead of a predetermined list (the most common and distracting ones are on there but there are still a few I’d like to block, like the apple news app), and the ability to block websites on other browsers like chrome (I had to switch to using safari when I downloaded the app). But it keeps me off of distracting apps/sites like youtube/instagram, which is exactly what I wanted from it! Thank you
Developer Response 05/28/2024
Thank you for the super kind review! Awesome to hear you're loving the shortcuts support, really cool to see somebody linking it with an NFC action too. Will keep a note of your suggestion to improve the blocking and cover all apps and more browsers - thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Great productivity tool
11/05/2022

alechemy
Note: After the latest update, I’ve updated my score to 5 stars. 🙃 The iOS 16 bug I experienced is fixed, it seems. 🎉I loved this app at launch, so it’s a bummer to see that development has slowed down considerably (especially since the app uses a subscription model). Lately on iOS I’ve been able to bypass the filter by simply clicking “reopen site”, which normally would refresh the page but still ultimately lock me out of the site. Maybe this is a new issue to iOS 16. Given the feature set overlap with Focused Work, which seems to be updated more frequently than Ochi, I’ve got to wonder if this app shouldn’t just be folded into Focused Work.

Developer Response
Hi there, appreciate the kind review! 🙏 In recent weeks an iOS 16-related bug popped up that was randomly causing the filtering to not apply correctly. A patch for this went out last week, so be sure to update and try it out!r.e. folding Ochi into FW; I created Ochi as a way to curb distractions during the day without the overhead of needing to run a focus session/do work (block social media at nights, emails in the morning, etc). So the overlap is there because they’re both backed by the same app/website filtering tech 🙂I’ve some great ideas planned for Ochi, which many people have shared feedback for - looking forward to adding them in soon!
Great productivity tool
11/05/2022

alechemy

Note: After the latest update, I’ve updated my score to 5 stars. 🙃 The iOS 16 bug I experienced is fixed, it seems. 🎉I loved this app at launch, so it’s a bummer to see that development has slowed down considerably (especially since the app uses a subscription model). Lately on iOS I’ve been able to bypass the filter by simply clicking “reopen site”, which normally would refresh the page but still ultimately lock me out of the site. Maybe this is a new issue to iOS 16. Given the feature set overlap with Focused Work, which seems to be updated more frequently than Ochi, I’ve got to wonder if this app shouldn’t just be folded into Focused Work.
Developer Response 11/05/2022
Hi there, appreciate the kind review! 🙏 In recent weeks an iOS 16-related bug popped up that was randomly causing the filtering to not apply correctly. A patch for this went out last week, so be sure to update and try it out!r.e. folding Ochi into FW; I created Ochi as a way to curb distractions during the day without the overhead of needing to run a focus session/do work (block social media at nights, emails in the morning, etc). So the overlap is there because they’re both backed by the same app/website filtering tech 🙂I’ve some great ideas planned for Ochi, which many people have shared feedback for - looking forward to adding them in soon!
Too difficult to disable when you've made a filter error
06/14/2022

ccc14313432
I made several filters but if you do not expressly allow activity monitor, there is no way to stop the filter. I have been basically locked out of doing essential tasks because of improperly built filters. There should be some ability to edit filters regardless of filter use.Additionally, if you start a filter but made an error and want to add an app to the filter, you cannot even if you force quit Ochi via activity monitor because, when you start Ochi up again, the filter does not reset after a force quit; the filter continues.

Developer Response
Appreciate the kind review and feedback! The ability to add more websites & apps to an active “blocking” filter is a great idea, especially for when you encounter distractions that you didn’t initially consider. Will consider this for a future update.Interesting point about Activity Monitor as well, however, this is partly by design to prevent loopholes with escaping active filters. Will keep a note on this one too!
Too difficult to disable when you've made a filter error
06/14/2022

ccc14313432

I made several filters but if you do not expressly allow activity monitor, there is no way to stop the filter. I have been basically locked out of doing essential tasks because of improperly built filters. There should be some ability to edit filters regardless of filter use.Additionally, if you start a filter but made an error and want to add an app to the filter, you cannot even if you force quit Ochi via activity monitor because, when you start Ochi up again, the filter does not reset after a force quit; the filter continues.
Developer Response 06/17/2022
Appreciate the kind review and feedback! The ability to add more websites & apps to an active “blocking” filter is a great idea, especially for when you encounter distractions that you didn’t initially consider. Will consider this for a future update.Interesting point about Activity Monitor as well, however, this is partly by design to prevent loopholes with escaping active filters. Will keep a note on this one too!

Thank you for using Ochi in 2025! This includes minor UI bug fixes on the main screen. We hope you find them super helpful for your productivity. Please leave a kind review if you do! :)