A $59 device called Brick is gaining attention as an alternative to software-only screen-time limits, using a physical NFC tag to make distracting apps harder to reopen.
The magnetic, matchbox-sized device works with a mobile app that lets users select which applications and websites to block. Once a restriction mode is activated, the user must physically tap the phone against the Brick again to restore access.
Physical Device Makes Limits Harder to Dismiss
Tools such as Apple Screen Time and Android’s Digital Wellbeing allow users to set app limits, but those restrictions can often be extended or dismissed directly from the phone. Brick adds another step by separating the controls from the device being restricted.
Users can place the Brick in another room, at work, or elsewhere in the home. Reaching blocked apps then requires them to return to that location and tap the phone against the NFC-enabled device.
The company’s co-founders, Zach Nasgowitz and TJ Driver, said they created the product after finding that existing tools did not stop them from repeatedly checking their phones. They argue that adding physical inconvenience can interrupt automatic habits more effectively than another on-screen notification.
Brick works with iPhones running iOS 16.2 or later and Android devices using version 12 or later. Its subscription-free app allows users to create up to 10 personalised modes for activities such as work, sleep, exercise, or family time.
Users Can Keep Essential Apps Available
Each mode can leave selected apps accessible while blocking others. Someone using a sleep setting, for example, could continue receiving calls and messages or listening to podcasts while restricting social media and entertainment apps.
This flexibility gives users an alternative to replacing their smartphone with a basic device such as the Light Phone. Modern services including mobile payments, digital tickets, maps, workplace authentication, and messaging can remain available.
Brick also provides five emergency unbricks that restore access without the physical device. These are intended for situations where someone is away from home and urgently needs a blocked service.
Product Targets Intentional Phone Use
The company presents Brick as a tool for changing the environment around smartphone use rather than relying entirely on willpower. Users choose which functions remain useful for a particular activity and remove access to those they find distracting.
The approach does not make apps permanently inaccessible, and determined users may still find ways around the restrictions. Its main purpose is to introduce enough inconvenience for users to reconsider opening an app out of habit.
Brick’s founders say the wider screen-time movement is not necessarily about rejecting smartphones. Instead, they see it as an effort to retain useful digital services while giving users more control over when and how they engage with them.
Featured image credits: freepik.com
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