one sec is the screen time app that truly works – scientifically.
It helps you interrupt or block social media, apps, and websites in a way that fits your habits (and doesn't work against them). Whether you want to limit your social media use, stay away from YouTube, or stop doomscrolling news sites, one sec helps you take back control of your time.
one sec interrupts the instant dopamine hits from Instagram or TikTok – and puts you back in control.
Approved by science
one sec interrupts the toxic loop of social media dopamine hits – scroll, like, repeat.
- Multiple peer-reviewed studies with the Max-Planck Institute & Heidelberg University: proven impact on habit change.
- Validated by governments in Germany and Denmark: trusted for digital wellbeing at scale.
- Recommended by psychologists, therapists, and psychiatrists around the world.
Learn more →
Add friction to change your habits long-term
Interruptions: break your muscle memory
Our interruptions are developed by top psychologists around the world – to help you use apps intentionally.
Take a deep breath
Take a deep breath
Mirror
Mirror
Conversational Reflection
Conversational Reflection
Rotate Phone
Rotate Phone
Type random text
Type random text
4-7-8 breathing
4-7-8 breathing
Structured integration
Structured integration
Lengo integration
Lengo integration
Gain back 2 hours per day.
You just wanted to check that one message – and ended up scrolling on Instagram for 30 minutes?
Social media is designed to keep you hooked.
Time that could be spent so much better – with your family and friends, getting work done or for your hobbies and wellbeing.
With powerful tools, you are in control of your attention
Block apps to avoid distractions
When you need absolute focus, you can block distracting apps to your schedule.
Doomscroll emergency brake
Set a time limit for your most addictive apps. one sec helps you to not get lost.
Establish healthy habits, break bad ones
Healthy Alternatives
Replace bad habits with good ones: one sec can nudge you towards healthy behavior.
Journaling
Write down your thoughts and feelings to reflect and stay grounded.
Intention Tracking
Set an intention for opening apps. By thinking ahead, you spend less time fooling around.
Emotion Tracking
Check in with yourself to reflect how your app usage affects your state of mind.
Stop getting distracted from work with our browser extension
Distractions are everywhere. And all too often, disrupting your habits on your phone, makes you look for alternatives on the big screen.
Don't worry, we got you covered. Our browser extension keeps your attention where you really want it.
Check it out →
Integrate one sec into your workflow
Structured
With Structured connected, one sec will block you from opening distracting apps during uncompleted tasks.
LENGO
Our integration with Lengo helps you transform your toxic phone habits into productive language learning sessions.
Everything You Need to Break Up With Your Phone
↗I tried a new app that promised to cure my addiction to social media, and it actually worked
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Backed by university research
Proven to reduce app usage by 57%As we are striving to make one sec as effective as possible, we have a dedicated in-house scientist doing research with universities across the globe. Their findings are unanimous: one sec works.
View our research →Why one sec?
Tackle the problem.
Not just symptoms. Our app is designed to change your habits – and free you from social media distractions in the long term.
Your data is private.
Unlike other apps, we don‘t sell or analyze your data. Your usage data is yours, either offline or in a private cloud.
Essentials are free.
Convince yourself of one sec’s effect before spending a dime. It is not our goal to get rich over your phone addiction.
Still not convinced?
With over 100K 5-star reviews, we're confident that one sec helps.
This app works so well it is almost annoying. It blocks social media and if I need an extra boost, I use the strict block option. An amazing app.
I just graduated as a doctor and was burning out. Since getting rid of social media with this app, my focus is coming back. Maybe gave me my life back.
Strict blockers never worked: I just turned them off. The forced pause is critical to be able to consciously make the choice though.
I’ve struggled with serious addiction problems for years. After just one week, this app helped me with my unconscious scrolling. Forever grateful.
I have a dreadful phone addiction. Thanks to one sec, I reclaimed hours of my life for productivity and FUN. It made me happier and more productive.
Using this for 2 years. The developer really cares and keeps finding creative solutions to set you free from the addictive nature of your phone.
I'm 16 and phone addiction is normalized. I decided I didn't want to waste my life away anymore. This app helped me out significantly.
Premium is worth it considering how much 'time' I get. My average Instagram time dropped to just 8 mins a day. No more useless wasting of time.
I deleted other apps cold turkey, but YouTube felt different: I get value from it. one sec changed the dynamic. My screentime reduced by 45% in one week.
My screen time was over 19 hours a day. one sec cut it down by 17 HOURS. It breaks the muscle memory of unconsciously opening apps. It works.
Strict blocking doesn't work—social media is embedded in life. One Sec forces a pause to think. It makes me intentional rather than impulsive.
Frequently asked questions
Can I also interrupt websites?
Yes! With one sec's browser extension, you can set interventions for any website you like. By the way: There's an adult content filter to interrupt opening all kinds of adult websites.
Can I customize one sec's interruptions?
Yes, you have loads of possibilities to adapt one sec to your personal needs! - Schedule interruption timings: when and for how long should the intervention appear? - Choose from a variety of interruption types: what happens when an app or website is intervened?
Is one sec safe?
Absolutely. one sec focuses on building a high-quality product, not tracking or monetizing your data. All intervention logic runs locally on your device—there's no profiling, no data selling, and no investor pressure to push ads or analytics into the app.
Can I block an app or website completely?
Yes! You can set up blocks so that configured apps or sites can't be opened at all during a block session or scheduled time—giving you full focus with zero distractions.
Can I use sec across several devices?
Yes, one sec works cross-device. You can set up the app for iOS and Android devices, and use the browser extension on Windows, macOS and Linux computers. With the same account, you can log in to different smartphones, tablets and computers and use them simultaneously. Pay once, use on all your devices.
Can I buy one sec for my team / school?
Yes, you can! We offer team licenses for as low as 83ct per user per month (billed annually). Proceed to the checkout on our website, select "Multi-Seat Plan" and add as many licenses as you need.
The science behind one sec:
- Grüning D. J., Riedel F., & Lorenz-Spreen P. (2023). Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(8), Article e2213114120
- Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (2025, June 19). Disrupting social media habits — a field experiment with young Danish consumers. en.kfst.dk
- Haliburton L., Grüning D. J., Riedel F., Schmidt A., & Terzimehić N. (2024). A longitudinal in-the-wild investigation of design frictions to prevent smartphone overuse. Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '24) (Article 243, pp. 1–16), Association for Computing Machinery
Otherwise wasted to doom-scrolling and unwelcome distractions.
Regain control of your time, today.