Phones down, together. Start a break with your friends, roommates or family, and distracting apps go quiet on every phone that joins, all on the same clock. The time you get back is time with each other.
It is easier to put your phone down when the people around you do too. BreakOff makes that one tap. Real blocking powered by Apple's Screen Time API, not reminders you can swipe away. Everything you need to block apps is free, and no account is required to start.
BREAK TOGETHER
Start a break and share it. Your people join on their own phones, and everyone's chosen apps stay blocked until the break ends. Date night, dinner with friends, a quiet evening at the apartment, homework hour at home: one shared break, one shared clock.
BREAK ROOMS
Every shared break has a live room. See who is in, who paused and who left, get an alert when someone leaves, and finish on a recap of how everyone did. Rooms are free for you and 3 guests. Pro fits up to 20 and keeps every past room.
HOST A BREAK
Put up one QR poster and everyone who scans it starts the same break on their own phone. Hosting is part of BreakOff Pro and fits up to 20 people.
PUT THE OFF SWITCH IN ANOTHER ROOM
Leave a QR code or an NFC tag in the kitchen, by the front door or on the fridge. Start a QR or NFC break and it only ends when you walk over and scan it. The phone stays put, and so do you.
FOUR WAYS A BREAK CAN END
• Flexible: a timer you can end early. A gentle way to start.
• Locked: the break runs its full length, with an emergency escape if you truly need it.
• QR Code: the break ends only when you scan your QR code.
• NFC Tag: the break ends only when you tap your NFC tag.
HARDCORE
For when you mean it. Turn on Hardcore (Pro) and a Locked break has no emergency breaks and no way out until the timer ends. Add the free uninstall guard so BreakOff can't be deleted in the middle of a break.
RULES AND ROUTINES
Let breaks start on their own. Pick a Routine like Family Time, Better Sleep, Slow Morning, School Focus, Work Focus or Weekend Reset, or set your own Rules for any days and times.
ALSO IN THE APP
• App groups: choose the apps and categories to block, and save different sets for different moments.
• Always Allowed: pick the apps that stay open in every break, or block all apps at once.
• Circle: keep your people in one place so starting a break together takes seconds.
• Time you got back: see how much time you have taken back.
• Learn: 31 short stories on focus, attention and phone habits.
• Invite a friend: finish a break together and you both get a free week of Pro.
WHO IT'S FOR
• Couples who want dinner, date night or the last hour before bed back.
• Friends and roommates who would rather be at the table than in their feeds.
• Families who want everyone at home to put their phones down at the same time, parents included.
• Classrooms, teams, and you on your own: set a Routine or protect a focus block.
FREE AND PRO
Free: all four break modes, app blocking, joining any break, live rooms with alerts and a recap, rooms for you and 3 guests, the uninstall guard, 3 emergency breaks a month, 2 app groups, 2 recurring Rules of your own, up to 3 people in your Circle and 1 active Break Together invite.
Pro: Hardcore, break rooms and Host a Break for up to 20 people, every past room, full stats and group streaks, and unlimited app groups, Rules, Circle and Break Together invites.
PRIVACY
BreakOff blocks apps with Apple's Screen Time framework. See how we handle your data at breakoff.io/privacy.
SUBSCRIPTION
BreakOff Pro is $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings.
Terms of Use: breakoff.io/terms
Privacy Policy: breakoff.io/privacy
Put your phone down. Pick your people. Take a break together.
My toxic trait is that I ignore my app limits. They’re usually way too easy to bypass. BreakOff made it just difficult enough that I actually stopped myself from mindlessly opening social media every few minutes. I was able to sit down and focus for a change because I didn’t have the option to instantly cave to the urge. It’s simple, effective, and has been one of the few focus apps that’s actually changed my behavior instead of becoming another notification I ignore.
Developer Response
Just difficult enough is exactly what we were aiming for, so this means a lot.
Too easy to bypass
Roccaday
I got this app because it’s the only app blocker I’ve found so far that allows you to schedule a single (non-recurring) block in the future. I have a hectic schedule so rigid recurring blocks don’t work for me. I like the idea of scheduling my blocks when I schedule my day. But unfortunately with this app, there’s literally no barrier to deleting or editing the blocks. Even when it’s says the block is locked until the timer stops, it still gives you the option to delete the block entirely, or edit the times… which defeats the whole purpose of this app. I’m not spending $49 a year for something that’s barely any different from my free built-in phone blockers.
Developer Response
Thank you, this is fair feedback, and it shaped what we built next. Locked mode now has a Hardcore setting: once a Hardcore break starts, there are no emergency breaks and no way out until the timer ends. We also added an uninstall guard, so BreakOff can't be deleted during a break. Single scheduled blocks still work the way you liked. On price, blocking and scheduling are now free. Pro covers breaking with other people and Hardcore. If you give it another try, I'd love to hear how it goes at michael@breakoff.io.Michael, founder of BreakOff
Community BreakOff!
SixteenSlim
A few friends and I recently went out to dinner and we all decided to use this app to BreakOff together. It was super easy to do. One of them just sent out a request to everybody else and the rest of us accepted and it turns out having a dinner where you just chat and catch up and don’t look at your phones is actually an amazing experience 10 out of 10 recommend break off with your friends :)
Developer Response
A dinner with friends and no phones is exactly why we built breaking together. Love this, thank you!
Cuts the addiction!
Hannahlulu2
I love this app! I really love the flexibility of this app and how you can create specific schedules with specific apps and choose how intense you want your social media breaks to be. They recently released a new feature where you can share this with friends and “break off” together which has been really fun to use on vacations.
Developer Response
Taking breaks together on vacation is exactly what we hoped people would do with that feature.
Get started faster. Setup now walks you straight into your first break, so you can see BreakOff work in under a minute.
A cleaner Live Activity. Your BreakOff logo, time left and how many apps are blocked, with your streak right there. Share your break from the Lock Screen.
Fixes and polish. Smoother Host Break flow, more reliable streaks, and better translations in Spanish, German, French and Portuguese.
Version 1.4.2
The developer, BreakOff LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Purchases
Contact Info
User Content
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Other Data
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
BreakOff LLC
Size
77.5 MB
Category
Productivity
Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.4 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 16.4 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 16.4 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
