Allow App Limit less than 15 minutes/Blocking Apps Entirely

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#1

Hello, it would be great if you could set a time limit thatā€™s less than 15 minutes. I would also like to have the ability to block an app 24/7. For example, I donā€™t want to have access to the twitter app or website on my phone ever. I wish I could set the time limit to 0 hours 0 minutes and deep focus

9 Likes
Why canā€™t limit under 10min?
#2

Just curious, if you want to block an app 24/7, why donā€™t you uninstall the app ?

1 Like
#3

Iā€™m mainly talking about websites like mobile twitter. Canā€™t delete safari. Iā€™m not even sure that Id want to block them 24/7 but my id definitely like the ability to set the time limit below 15 minutes

4 Likes
#4

Please can the lower limit on apps be reduced to less than 15 mins.

I have some apps that I would like to limit to a shorter time, like 10 or even 6 mins. 15 is actually quite long!

6 Likes
#5

Hello!

Not sure if this is a bug or feature request.

Currently Opal does not let me start itself to block apps after 5 min. The minimum increment seems to be 15min (I canā€™t scroll to 5min - see video attached)
However the website opal.so states that it is possible to do increments of 5,10,60 minutes. So I assume this is a bug and not a missing feature?

However, If it is a missing feature, I would love to lobby for Opal go add blocking to start at any time increment (not min 15min) - hereā€™s why:

Currently my settings possible are:

  • after 15min
  • block for 1 hour

This is why it isnā€™t ideal:

  • when I am doomscrolling on a distracting app like IG, I would like to be cut off within <5min, and not be allowed to scroll for up to 15min
  • also, sometimes I will use a distracting app like IG for 14 min (doesnā€™t trigger the 15 min). But later I will pick it up for 1 min and suddenly get blocked when I actually need to use the app to msg people. This is annoying and the workaround is that I have to use skippable cooldown and I canā€™t set the ā€œunskippable cooldownā€ feature

The problem I would like to solve:

  • stop my doomscrolling as early as possible and cut the loop (ie be able to block apps in <5 min after a single usage)
  • cooldown time can be short also, just 30min is ok for me. Would prefer unskippable but I canā€™t use that feature bc the blocking timer accumulates over 1 day
  • [bonus] blocking timer restarts every time I pick up my phone (and not every day).

TLDR - perfect settings for me right now (which I canā€™t do - see video attached)

  • 5 min block app, starting every time I pick up my phone (not daily cumulative)
  • 30min cooldown // unskippable
5 Likes
#6

I want to set individual limits for certain apps but if i were to select 15min for each, they still add up to more than an hour of screen time each day. If I could limit each individual app to between 1-5min I could keep the overall screen time down to less than 20min instead.

3 Likes
#7

Definitely need to be able to lower that time limit to stop doom scrolling is 99% of the thing Iā€™m searching for in an app like this Iā€™m good with my phone if I can air myself get off it after a few mins itā€™s the getting stuck on it that kills me

1 Like
#8

Thank you for sharing your requests here.

The short answer is: there are technical limitations with Screen Time API which make short limits (under 15min) more risky (it risks the API crashing and Opal freezing).

However ajj1807_jsr have you tried this:
Create an all-day recurring schedule for the entire day, blocking your apps 24/7. Then, use breaks to use the apps?

TLDR - perfect settings for me right now (which I canā€™t do - see video attached)

  • 5 min block app, starting every time I pick up my phone (not daily cumulative)
  • 30min cooldown // unskippable
2 Likes
Minimum app limit and focus score
#9

Please make time limit available for less than 15minutes. I would like to be able to take a break every five minutes spent on apps.

1 Like
#10

Hi guys,

I am new to Opal here. I was trying to add an ā€˜App Limitā€™, but found out it allows us to use an app for ā€˜minimum 15 minutesā€™.

However, I just wanted to use my app for 5 minutes each day so I can do other things.

Can we have the option to adjust the app usage time limit down to 5 minutes, so users have more freedom in creating their unique blocking session? Many thanks to the Opal team!

2 Likes
#11

I wish i could recommend Opal to friends. But the best thing about it, the app limit, has a 15 minute minimum, which kneecaps its functionality.

I bought this app subscription in order to help control my social media scrolling - but not to make it important for me to communicate.

It would be perfect if I could check my Instagram, for example (which unfortunately has a lot of professional messages), but limit my time there to say 2 minutes per hour. To check my messages fast - and not get caught up in the feed.

But because opal forces you to use at least 15 minutes in a session, it self-defeats the purpose of being able to use the app to control any social media addiction that is tied to (necessary) messaging function.

I would like help being able to check my messages - and not waste an extra 13 minutes looking at social media Bs. I realize I could control myselfā€¦ but I bought the app for help with this!

Why the 15 minute minimum??

#12

It would be great to have the ability to put smaller limits on certain app (e.g. 1 minute). I have blocks on my phone to help keep me organised which I work on with my wife. I love Opal as I have some flexibility of creating my own blocks without overwriting other ScreenTime settings. It would be great to have the ability to limits distracting apps without having to ask my wife to put in the ScreenTime password.

#13

The problem with the break feature is the fact that u need self control not to cancel the whole session.

If you could add another option, with the ability to break but we can adjust the time limit of how long but it still be hard mode in that we get breaks but after x amount of time it is blocked from ability to cancel the whole session

#14

We should have the option to set app limits to time periods less than 15 minutes because 15 minutes is still a long time to be scrolling.

For example, I have an app limit for 15 minutes that then blocks them for 15 minutes. The purpose of this is to block the apps for just long enough to get me to stop scrolling and pivot to another task, but the apps will still be available shortly so I likely wonā€™t miss important notifications from them.
This isnā€™t going great because 15 minutes is a still long time if I am constantly hitting that limit tens of times per day. I would like to instead be able to have the limit be just 5 minutes so that I wonā€™t be able to scroll for more than 5 minutes at a time

#15

Have you used App Locks to permanently block apps? Opal FAQ | How to use App Lock

#16

I want to set a limit on an app to 5 minutes but your app will only let me do 15 mins. Please can you take this restriction off?

#17

Hey there,

Sorry for the frustration. Iā€™m afraid there are technical limitations with Screen Time API which make short limits (under 15min) more risky (it risks the API crashing and Opal freezing). That said, other Gems have requested the same, and Iā€™ve merged your request into the existing thread on the topic. Stay tuned!

All the best,
Team Opal

#18

I still understand why i canā€™t limit under 10min?i need that please modify