I’ve been itching to make use of the Brick since earlier than I knew it existed, and that’s as a result of nothing else actually labored to curb my cellphone dependancy. As a lot as I like testing the best smartphones, my overexposure to them has led me to too many situations the place audio from auto-playing Instagram movies mainly shouts “this guy is looking at his phone!” to everybody round me. Yes, I’ve tried limiting my app utilization with built-in options, comparable to iOS’ Screen Time and Android’s Digital Wellbeing part, however these choices provide you with an excessive amount of leeway to fiddle. That’s why I made a decision to see how nicely this much-hyped sq. may deal with the combat.
The finest information I can say up entrance is that the Brick truly works, and never only for me. To get one of the best sense of how the Brick may assist a large viewers, I spent over a month testing it and likewise obtained 10 of my coworkers to affix in, since all of our cellphone addictions differ. Here’s what we found.
This little grey sq. helps you disable the apps you’ll be able to’t cease utilizing with out intervention.
How the Brick works, and find out how to profit from it
William Shakespeare couldn’t have imagined the Brick when he wrote “though she be but little, she is fierce,” however he would have been proper. The Brick could also be not than my thumb, and seemingly simply made from plastic, rubber and magnets, nevertheless it’s obtained the ability to do what little else may: cease me from opening Instagram all of the rattling time. It’s easy to get began with, as you simply open the field, scan the QR code to obtain the Brick app, observe the setup directions, choose the apps you need to disable, then faucet the Brick gadget button within the app’s essential tab and faucet the highest of your cellphone to the Brick itself.
From this level, your focused apps are disabled till you open the app, faucet Unbrick and faucet the Brick to the cellphone once more. You get the choice for emergency Unbricking in case you actually need it, however I by no means did. I simply set the Brick to take away the stickier apps from my entry, throwing Instagram, Facebook, Discord and different social networks into the abyss.
I’m lucky that on the primary evening I Bricked my cellphone I additionally realized the largest Brick trick from my pal Sara. Her personal mom had been utilizing it for a similar want, and in order that’s how I realized it’s best to depart the Brick at dwelling. Simply put, if certainly one of your targets is to be extra within the second round family and friends, you then merely shouldn’t be capable to Unbrick if you’re out and about. To me, that is why the Brick has a magnetic design, so I may slap it onto a floor comparable to my house door, fridge, hearth alarm field or shoe rack and simply come again to it later.
I initially thought the Brick labored due to how foolish you’d look utilizing it in public, nevertheless it all made sense as soon as I left dwelling with out it. At that second, I simply accepted that my Instagram DMs and varied social media timelines have been one thing that might anticipate later. And after a couple of nights and days out in a row, I realized that was true. I didn’t have to know what was happening, although I have to apologize to my barber Alexia: sure, I ought to pay attention to your outfits of the day.
I used to be not alone in utilizing Brick to cover social media that I used to be too weak to keep away from, as NCS Underscored vice chairman Mike Bruno confided he “was spending ridiculous amounts of time scrolling through Instagram and TikTok. Just obscene, especially in bed.”
He wound up utilizing the Brick’s schedule performance loads, solely permitting the music, cellphone, texting and distant apps at evening, and blocking “all social media” in the course of the day. The latter turned out to be an issue for his work, as he manages our social staff and wishes to take a look at what’s happening on-line. This is an actual drawback many face, since our telephones may be so crucial to our precise work, however Bruno discovered a compromise, including a scheduled hour-long window every day the place he may examine the staff’s posts.
The Brick helped me severely defang my cellphone in my every day life, nevertheless it all relied on what a particular week demanded from me. The week earlier than I began, I had a mean of 6 hours and 56 minutes per day of display screen time, and that was what I’d name a traditional week. Back in January I relied on my cellphone to get round Las Vegas as NCS Underscored lined the CES 2026 conference, an exhausting week the place I averaged 7 hours and 37 minutes a day and was sick of the glow of my iPhone 17 Pro Max. I felt highly effective, although, after I noticed my lowest every day common of three hours and 44 minutes for my first full week of utilizing the Brick — almost half of the time I spent on my cellphone throughout my common week at dwelling. Still loads, however an enormous win.
Remarkably related outcomes got here from NCS Underscored affiliate testing author Carolina Gazal, who informed me that she “seriously needed the Brick,” phrases that rang true with me. She went from 6 hours and 41 minutes pre-Brick to as little as 3 hours and 52 minutes after she began Bricking. Gazal informed me that the Brick gave her an elevated consciousness of her personal cellphone dependancy, as she “thought (she) was a much stronger person,” after which she used her emergency Unbrick on the primary day of testing. “It really made me realize how reliant I am on checking social media, not even for anything useful — just out of (bad) habit.”
Two of my colleagues began from my finest week, as copy editor Rena Behar and trend and sweetness editor Sophie Shaw each informed me their every day common display screen time earlier than Bricking was round 3.5 hours. Their makes use of of the Brick have been diametrically opposed, as Behar solely threw Facebook and Instagram to the pyre, whereas Shaw used the Brick to knock off all apps apart from eight necessities that included Chrome, Gmail and Spotify, in addition to Apple’s Messages and Podcasts. And whereas Behar minimize as much as 40 minutes from her every day display screen routine, Shaw posted probably the most spectacular time to date with solely 59 minutes per day. I’m going to speak to her the subsequent time I need to learn to be devoted to a activity. She’s nonetheless human, although, as she did have a tough week that introduced her again into the 3-hour common.
NCS Underscored managing editor Rachel Quigley additionally pulled off a critical time-shed, going from a mean 4.5 hours a day to round 2.75 hours. She additionally had to make use of the emergency Unbricking as soon as to open a messaging app for an necessary code, so contemplate that your reminder to assume intently about which apps you shouldn’t Brick. Bruno had the identical concern when he used an emergency Unbricking to get his boarding move from an airline app. At the top of Quigley’s 30-day testing window, she felt nice about the way it went, saying she’s going to maintain it in her life for Bricking “social media apps in the evening so I can better use my time and hopefully unwind before bed much more efficiently.” Bruno managed to shave 90 minutes of display screen time from his every day common.
Their various outcomes might have one thing to do with the place they stored their Bricks. Quigley usually stored it on her in her purse, whereas Gazal and duplicate editor Sophie Herron positioned it on their desks. Shaw discovered the doorway door hack I’ve cherished, and Behar positioned hers within the least-used room of her dwelling. Bruno stored his Brick on his bed room dresser, which is a good suggestion when you’ve kicked your cellphone out of your bed room like I’ve. He additionally purchased a second Brick, which he retains on the workplace.
Not everybody on employees feels that very same response to my square-shaped savior. Behar observed that whereas she’s not reducing screen time as a lot anymore, she’s utilizing her cellphone in methods she’s much less involved about, primarily studying and deep dives on wikis. Hilariously, Instagram has been sending her emails concerning the DMs and story posts she’s lacking out on, because the platform tries to FOMO its method again into her habits.
My colleague Joe Bloss, a author on our Testing staff, was halfway by means of his first month of Bricking after I reached him for remark. He’s nonetheless at round six hours of display screen time, however proud of how this mission has made him extra self-aware, letting him see how a lot he can nonetheless minimize down on and what number of notifications and apps aren’t as pressing as their notifications make them appear.
The Brick doesn’t insist on itself, which is why NCS Underscored author Ellen McAlpine had a comparatively inconsistent expertise.
“When I remembered to use it, it worked so well and genuinely helped me focus/keep a positive mindset around social apps,” mentioned McAlpine. “When I didn’t use it, I quickly fell back into old habits and sometimes I opted for the convenience of not using it but using sheer willpower to not open up apps and stay focused.”
Similarly, senior digital content material strategist Hannah Lauson informed me that whereas “it was hard to get myself to start using the Brick, after a few days of trying it I found myself wanting to have my phone Bricked for longer.” She’s going to attempt the scheduling characteristic, and set it to start at 8 p.m. each evening.
Maybe it’s the tester in me, however identical to when I discovered a bizarre camera problem with the iPhone Air, I discovered the Brick’s weak point. If you flip off your cellphone whereas utilizing the Brick, you run the chance of it being Unbricked if you energy it again on. This isn’t a giant drawback by itself, as you’ll be able to re-Brick your cellphone with out the precise accent by simply holding your finger down on the “Tap or hold to Brick” button.
Soon after the primary time I unintentionally Unbricked my cellphone with the ability button loophole, I observed that the icons for Apple’s Maps and Notes app on my dwelling display screen mainly broke, turning into unclickable white blueprint buttons. I’m not the one particular person on my staff who had this concern, as the very same factor occurred for Quigley with WhatsApp.
You can simply delete these blueprint buttons and re-add the apps to your private home display screen, however I observed these app icons repeatedly breaking into blueprint mode after I turned Brick mode on (which is how I noticed there could also be a correlation). Thankfully, I finally found a solution to cease this from taking place: I deleted the Maps and Notes apps from the cellphone altogether, restarted my cellphone and reinstalled them.
All that mentioned, know that Brick isn’t your solely choice for bodily equipment that put a barrier between your face and probably the most addictive apps in your cellphone. I additionally referred to as within the Bloom, a metallic card that appears prefer it belongs in a Las Vegas magic present and works identical to the Brick. It affords the identical tap-to-restrict performance, and that labored nicely in my testing. It additionally throws in social parts so that you and a pal can observe your utilization collectively, and it’s all about encouragement, with streaks that followers of Duolingo and Snapchat already know one thing about.
That mentioned, I’m not as a lot of a fan of the Bloom, principally due to its bodily design. It affords equally sturdy building and anti-slip supplies, however its dimension and weight are virtually too slight. I like that the Brick is just a bit tougher to hold all over the place, whereas the Bloom’s card-shaped design is simply too straightforward for me to misplace, and I missed the magnetic component of the Brick that permit me snap it to a floor. I can think about this design is nice for storage in a pockets or desk drawer, however I actually love placing the Brick on my door.
The finest motive to get a Bloom is its lower cost, as this $39 card is $20 lower than a Brick whereas providing the identical methods like emergency exits and scheduled blocking. When evaluating their options and design, you’ll see that they’re extra alike in software program than dissimilar in form.
The smartest thing I can inform you about utilizing the Brick is the way it doesn’t simply assist scale back display screen time, however has additionally led a few of us to make use of our time in additional productive methods. One month into my testing, I restarted my private e-newsletter, and managed to maintain to a weekly publishing schedule for the primary time ever. Shaw informed me it “really helped” her make progress together with her knitting initiatives, and Bruno mentioned he’s been studying books for longer intervals of time since he began Bricking, in addition to the sort of long-form articles that you just won’t end when you maintain getting distracted by the infinite scroll. Gazal, although, discovered that the Brick gave her one thing I consider is much more invaluable than productiveness: higher sleep. Since she’s began utilizing it, she’s been capable of cease utilizing social media earlier than bedtime and have a neater time getting shut-eye.
Some of probably the most fascinating information comes from Kai Burkhardt, NCS Underscored editor for outdoor, sustainable residing and pets, who’s had his Brick for seven months now. He describes his “on-again off-again relationship” as a seesawing course of that ultimately led him to solely Brick when he felt the urge to scroll, and now he doesn’t use it in any respect. Instead, he simply places his cellphone in one other room now, which is an effective first step for anybody attempting to interrupt the small-screen stranglehold. I feel I’d already be at his stage of cellphone dependancy restoration, and although my heaviest Brick utilization might have simply been a section, it was an necessary step alongside the way in which. Heck, I’d simply hand my Brick to my mother and father as soon as I really feel like I’m able to half methods with it. Pay it ahead, you already know?
After putting in the Brick’s Android or iOS app in your cellphone, you add the functions and web sites you need to block to a Mode. You could make a number of modes for various units of apps and websites you need to cease opening. Then, if you need to begin app-blocking, open the Brick app, choose a mode, faucet the “Brick device” button and faucet your cellphone to the precise Brick or maintain the affirmation button down till it activates. Then, if you attempt to open these blocked apps and websites, you’ll get a full-screen message saying that you just turned that program or web site off, with a button that claims “Back to living.” To Unbrick your cellphone, you’ll need to open the Brick app, faucet “Unbrick device” and maintain the highest of your cellphone as much as the Brick.
No, you do not want to pay for any subscription plan to make use of the Brick. You purchase it as soon as and it simply works.
Yes, each Apple iPhones and Android telephones work with the Brick.
NCS Underscored has a staff of expert writers and editors who’ve a few years of expertise testing, researching and recommending merchandise, and we guarantee every article is rigorously edited and merchandise are correctly vetted. We discuss to prime consultants when related to make sure our product testing is correct as we converse to the professionals and cons of every merchandise.
NCS Underscored tech author Henry T. Casey has been utilizing his cellphone a bit an excessive amount of since he first obtained the iPhone 3GS when he was in school. He’s been masking tech products for greater than a decade, and he’s fairly certain that work hasn’t helped his cellphone dependancy, nevertheless it has made him extra conscious of how units influence our lives. His buddies are very glad he retains his cellphone in a bag once they’re all out collectively.