5 Verified Ways to Stop Doomscrolling in 2026
There are lots of ways to get your scrolling under control. Find the method that finally works for you.
James Neville
8/23/20263 min read
Given how addictive social media is, will power along often simply isn't enough. If "just use it less" worked, you'd have stopped years ago. Social media apps are built to hold your attention, and you are one tired person at 11pm. It was never a fair fight.
That's not to say that willpower is useless. In fact, you'll still need willpower unless you plan on burying a deep hole and leaving your phone at the bottom of it. What these apps do is they create a little bit of extra friction. They act as your partner who tags in when your willpower begins to falter.
1. YourScroll (Free)
When, in a moment of weakness, you reach for my Instagram Reels or TikTok, YourScroll stops you. It challenges you to take a breath and answer a short question, before letting me decide whether you actually want to use social media.
What I've found with YourScroll is, most the time I don't, and I actually put the phone down. It isn't a silver bullet, because nothing is. But it works because it challenge your subconscious, instincutal desire for a dopamine hit, by turning on the logical side of your brain. In the split second between boredom or anxiety and doomscrolling, YourScroll steps in and makes you slow down and switch on. Over time, you also build a record of your answers to read back later.
Pricing: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Efficacy: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Overall: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Best for: People who keep relapsing at the automatic reach and want to change the habit, not just wall off the app.
2. Brick ($59)
Brick was a small NFC puck, no battery, around $59. I tapped my phone to it to lock the apps I'd chosen, and I couldn't get back in until I tapped it again. When I left it on the fridge or in the car, it genuinely worked.
As a solution it's pretty good, if a little expensive. My problem with it is sustainability. The Brick does the work for you by walling the apps off, but it never asks you to change the behaviour underneath, so the day the puck isn't there, the habit is exactly where you left it.
Pricing: ★★½☆☆ (2.5/5)
Efficacy: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Overall: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Best for: Deep work blocks and working from home, when you can actually leave it in another room.
3. Greyscale (free)
Greyscale was the free one, and the most studied. Turning my screen black and white stripped out the bright, saturated colours the apps use to trigger that small reward hit, and for a week or two it worked. The research backs it up: Holte and Ferraro's 2020 study found college students on greyscale cut around 38 minutes a day, a 2026 trial with medical students found 28 minutes, and across studies the reduction sits somewhere around 20 to 50 minutes a day.
The catch is that the off switch is two taps away. Colour makes photos and maps genuinely easier to use, so I kept flipping back for a "quick" reason and then never flipping to grey again. In the studies, plenty of people did the same and quit mid-experiment. If you want to try it: Settings, Accessibility, Display and Text Size, Color Filters, then Grayscale, with a triple-click shortcut mapped to the side button. On Android it lives under Digital Wellbeing or Accessibility, depending on the phone.
Because it's free, Greyscale is one you can use in tandem with a different method. On its own though, it's a tough one to keep up.
Pricing: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Efficacy: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Overall: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Best for: A free, instant first step with real evidence behind it.
4. Pay for your scroll in pushups ($59.99 per year)
The pushup/screentime blocker apps are some of my favourite that have come out in this space. Pushscroll and its rivals block your apps until you do push ups in front of the camera.
While I love the idea, two things killed it. The rep detection often missed one or two reps, which was frustrating. What's more, I'm not in the business of doing pushups in public, so I eventually deleted it. Clearspace pioneered the mode, and Fit to Scroll and PushUp Time do versions with squats and situps if you want to give one of these apps a go!
5. Give your Screen Time password to a friend (free)
The cheapest commitment device there is, and it costs nothing. Set app limits on iOS Screen Time or Android Digital Wellbeing, then have a friend or partner type in the passcode and refuse to tell you what it is.
Now the limit is real, not a 5-second break to type in your passcode when scrolling. Remove your own access to the override and the limit finally has teeth. Now when you want more screentime, you have to ask your friend. Choose someone slightly unreasonable who will enjoy telling you no for added efficacy. It's the same principle as the Brick, arguably more effective, and $59 cheaper: you separate yourself from the key.
Pricing: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Efficacy: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Overall: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Best for: Home users happy to trade scroll time for a fitness habit.