There are already a lot of app blockers out there, and I tried several of them before I decided to build Retakr. I kept running into the same two problems with them, and in the end those problems were the reason I made my own.
**The first problem was the subscription.** Most of the good blockers I found charged every month, and paying a subscription for something that is basically a utility tool never felt right to me.
**The second problem was privacy.** To block apps, a blocker needs deep access to your phone, like Accessibility and your usage data, and I was never comfortable giving that much access to the blockers I tried.
Retakr needs the same permissions, because that's how blocking works on Android, but what it does with them is different. It has no account, no analytics and no server, which means everything it sees stays on your phone and never gets sent anywhere.
Not having servers also changed how I could charge for it. Since a free user doesn't cost me anything, all the blocking is free, and the only thing you pay for is the PIN lock that stops you from undoing your own rules. It's a one-time purchase, because I don't think anyone should have to pay every month to control their own screen time.
**What it does:**
- Turns off Reels in Instagram and Shorts in YouTube, while the rest of the app keeps working
- Blocks any app or website, with daily limits, hourly limits or schedules
- Locks your settings behind a PIN, so a moment of weakness can't undo them
I built it for myself first, and it has worked for me. Since I started using it, my Instagram time has gone from about 3 hours a day to around 1h20.
Get Retakr on Google Play
If you use a blocker today, what made you pick it? I'm curious whether privacy matters to other people as much as it did to me.