Freedom: Screen Time Control Reviews

by TerryB.

I was a Premium user of a few years - simply let my subscription expire but the pp was basically 'as advertsed'. I recently suggested it to a pair of friends who then found out the ONLY app it blocks are individual website on Safari. None on Chrome. No apps. Not Facebook. Not Instagram. Not even Freedom store (which could be a nice workaround). Who is addicted to using Safari on their cell phone? I feel terrible that I suggested such a misleading app. I suppose that it doesn't promise to block apps, simply websites but really? Really? Really?

Edit - I've left another review for Freedom recently that is five stars. Not sure why it let me leave that instead of updating here but Freedom has improved much through the years (with customer service along with it). I probably will delete this review id possible.

by Happylittleclouds

In response to the developer’s response: No, the apps I tested were still fully functional. I guess it might work on an app that *must* connect to the internet to work, if that’s what you mean by refresh, but it certainly doesn’t stop me from using any apps that don’t need to be “refreshed” to work, like self-contained games or apps with previously downloaded content that I could still peruse. Suggestion: instead of saying it “blocks apps”, give a more accurate description of what your product actually does and which types of apps are likely to be affected.

There are scores of reviews on here saying Freedom blocking function doesn’t work on iPhones. The developers say “make sure you have the this app app open in the background.” Check! “Make sure you’ve installed Freedom blocker.” Check, vpn running! And yet I have an app blocking session running and I can still access all my apps. So what am I missing? If you want to claim you have good customer service then actually check out these complaints further. And if the complaints are due to people missing a step during installation then you should improve your user interface.

by Shhshshshsjs

I was doing the free trial of premium to try and figure out how to stop my smartphone addiction while still having access to my phone. I’m a Comp Sci student so I need access to tech and internet to do my work but Facebook and Reddit get in the way so I only need them blocked when I’m doing work at random hours.

I tried other things but the work arounds were so easy that I just always went with the work around. I thought this didn’t have that problem but apparently if you don’t leave Freedom open in the background it won’t block stuff. For apps like Facebook those launch with near infinite data so you can still go through a lot of the website when it’s blocked. I only have a couple phone games so I didn’t trouble shoot them but it looks like those distractions can’t be blocked since they don’t connect to the internet.

I have no idea if this is possible, but I was expecting something that once I set the timer, it made me physically incapable of starting apps I had put on a blocklist, and it’s was impossible to undo the timer. But if you’re looking for something like that this isn’t it

by Jgp1216492872

You can schedule sessions which seems great until you find out that if you’re on low power mode it doesn’t work. This is genuinely a big enough issue for me that I would give it 5 stars otherwise.

My phone battery doesn’t last long and it needs to be on low power mode when it’s not charging. I have Freedom because I struggle with self control regarding social media, like many other who use Freedom I assume. If I’m on social media and my scheduled session (I have one that’s meant to keep my off my phone before bed) is supposed to start but it doesn’t - I’m not going to open Freedom and turn off low power mode. If I could get myself to do that I wouldn’t need Freedom . I would be able to put my phone down. The scheduled session would ideally give you no choice. You make the choice far in advance, which makes it easier.

That, and sometimes when I’m not on low power mode it says my phone put Freedom to sleep. I don’t get why. It makes that feature near useless when it would’ve been the most useful. I do hope this improves.

by Beazaurus

Im embarrassed i bought this without trying it, rule number 1 is don’t pay until you know you are getting something good. I paid because the premium option allowed you to plan out “sessions “ or time blocked from apps. I scheduled 2 sessions for the morning afternoon of work every day, and was really excited to not be distracted. But when i woke up, my saved session set for mon - fri were gone - i found out when i accessed tiktok in bed realizing a few minutes later i had installed an app to prevent exactly this. I tried resetting both sessions multiple times only for them to disappear as soon as i hit the save button. Then i tried a single times session and it too did not block anything. Im disapointed i was drawn into the clean aesthetic, seeming ease of use, and the simplicity of the functionality i was interested in. I will continue to try for a few days but honestly the whole point i bought it was to save time, And I’m not sure that really going to happen at this point.

by DanMan888

The idea of Freedom is a good one, but it has way too many frustrating flaws. For one, even though iI turned on background app refresh, I still have to open Freedom for the blocking to work. I also made my own blocklist in order to block apps that weren’t blocked automatically, but whenever I put those blocklists into my schedule, it never stays. For example, I have a blocklist called other Apps. I make a schedule for myself, and in the blocklist tab, I clicked on my custom blocklist, and there was a little checkmark that indicated that it was selected. After I saved it, I would reopen the schedule and that blocklist would no longer be part of it. This happened repeatedly. I’m upset to have spent money on an app that is so clearly glitchy and unfinished.

by Hello__dolly

Freedom is only good if you need to block websites. My problem is social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I enjoy using them on my iPhone but want to limit my time on them. I thought that Freedom could help me but unfortunately I can still easily get on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter during a session. Content refreshes, new content loads and I can interact with posts as normal. The developers need to figure out a way to block social media apps. Tech support is responsive and offers advice but nothing has solved this issue for me yet. Blocking apps during a session shouldn’t be this difficult. If blocking apps is not possible due to outside forces, then the sales team should be very upfront about that before people purchase.

by Richie Montes

Freedom is a great idea and I was so excited to try it, but it really needs some work. I have a distraction list which has the only websites they are supposed to block, but it started to block tons of other ones too. And i had to keep refreshing till it worked. Same thing with Freedom store, i saw another comment say it blocked them from using it and the developer replied that that isn’t possible, but It happened to me now. As soon as I uninstalled it i was able to open Freedom store immediately and my phone stopped randomly blocking websites that weren't on the list. Chrome stay focused has a timer for each website and its in the corner only letting you be on each website like 20 or 30 min a day and it works amazingly, wish this had that too

by Vgatz42

In general, I’m a big fan of Freedom. I’ve used it to successfully launch study habits and with its help I’ve developed better discipline overall.

That said, Freedom has always been inconsistent on iOS. Sometimes the content blocker doesn’t work at all, other times it blocks websites or apps that aren’t on your blocklist. As far as I know, it only works on Safari too which of course, is more problematic at most iOS power users won’t touch Safari with a 1000 foot pole.

I almost regret purchasing the lifetime membership however. In the past year there have been no meaningful changes to the iOS experience and as a result, I’ve had to turn to other methods to better enforce my discipline.

by A Seller And Occasional Buyer

Freedom has been very helpful when it comes to decreasing how much I aimlessly waste my time online. One problem I have is that there isn't an “allowed” list which would be very beneficial in narrowing down the priorities you need to focus on. I also found a way how to curb Freedom on my phone which was easy to figure out. I am going back to using screen time for these reasons.

Overall, Freedom is very useful if you get premium. You even get special discounts for other productivity tools. Even though Freedom has no use for me in terms of blocking distractions, I won’t be trying to get a refund for this reason.

by Abebro

(Disclaimer: I have the premium version).

Freedom works largely as intended: you can block out distracting websites and apps, and I haven’t figured a way around it once it’s in “locked” mode (although I haven’t tried super hard). You can even schedule recurring sessions ahead of time. Great.

However, those scheduled sessions don’t start until Freedom has been opened recently! So I can wake up in the a.m. and mess around on social media for a long time before realizing I’m supposed to be in a scheduled locked session. Freedom then HAS to be opened for the (pre-scheduled) session to begin. Even if the session started an hour or two prior. I know its just a small step, but if I had that much self-control I wouldn’t need the premium version of Freedom !

Devs could make Freedom perfect if it auto-locked whenever a scheduled session began without the need of “activating” it by opening Freedom . Because once I realized I could be on social media all day as long as I never open Freedom it rendered the thing almost useless.

by Kaliyah #9

The one thing missing from this app is the tool that allows blocking SPECIFIC apps. I wish there was some way for this app to assess what apps I have and I could choose from my apps which ones to block and which ones to allow. If I want to set a time for working or studying, I want to allow certain apps that I need focus like OneNote or Word and block other apps that are games. Or if I want to have time to relax, I should be able to choose apps that I deem the work and study apps and allow certain games and entertainment apps. And I don’t mean the url because you can’t get url of apps on your phone. I mean apps from the AppStore. I get little use out of blocking all apps. I really hope this changes because I would really like to continue using this app.

by TheEighthJenn

I like Freedom. It helps me stay mindful of my life, and encourages me to do things that are more fulfilling than scrolling Facebook for hours. However, it’s annoying that I can’t block the Facebook app without also blocking the Facebook Messenger app. Messenger is the primary way I stay in contact with my friends, and I already don’t spend a ton of time with that. App developers, is there any way you guys can fix this? I have a work-around (I block the website itself and have Freedom deleted) but it would be a lot more convenient if that were fixed. Thanks!!

by New Freedom User

I just recently got Freedom, and I like the idea and also the multi platform option. Although there is some room for improvement like the vpn can be turned off on ios stopping Freedom from doing its job. I like the focus sounds on the desktop version really wish they were on the mobile version. Also the this app mobile interface has some useless things like the block apps section which if you tap on it does not let you choose any apps to block. this app can be the best productivity app for sure, just needs some fixes.

by Projectmanagermom

Freedom has been such a huge help for me. I use it for a few weeks, think I’ve got the impulses under control, and before I know I’m “just checking Twitter one more time before I get to work” again. And then I start the process over. ;-)

I’ve got news, stocks, & social media scheduled to be blocked from 9pm to 7am, and it’s been very helpful for making sure I get to bed on time and don’t get sucked into the news before meditating in the morning.

It’s well-worth the price to make sure you’ve got it on all platforms…before I had installed it on my iPad, I’d inevitably sneak in some Twitter-time even though it was blocked on my iPhone & PC.

by Lucky Lotus

This is the only app I have found that allows you to lock yourself out of distracting apps and websites. Others that lock down are aimed at parents or they are aimed at adults but don’t actually lock things down.

A feature I would love to see is the ability to set a time limit on use regardless of the time of day. For example, I could allow myself a total of 30 mins a day on social media and get locked out after 30mins is up, whether that was 15 mins in the morning and 15 mins in the evening, or 30mins all at one time.

A step component could be an interesting feature as well. Walk a certain number of steps and ‘earn’ access to blocked sites and apps.

by Hmcdds

I have been a Facebook addict since 2008. In the past, I have not been able to stay off of FB unless I actually deactivate my account. Logging in and scrolling for way too much time was completely automatic and unintentional. Like breathing.

Freedom broke me of my Facebook addiction in about a week. Not only am I a million percent more productive, I don’t even have the urge to look at Facebook at all. I don’t use other social media aside from Snapchat for quick communication with certain people, so I can’t really comment on other SM.

I ABSOLUTELY recommend Freedom for those who have trouble managing their social media time. Facebook, in particular, was a major problem for me. No more!

by Tarloq

Freedom is like a bodyguard for my brain and my focus. it protects me from myself and let's me turn off social when i normally otherwise would not be able to have the self control to turn it off. i feel more free in just a few days of using it. I'm confident life going forward will be more productive for me and less draining on my mental health now that I'm not constantly at the mercy of my compulsions to keep up with the trivial information overload of social media and the desire to overshare every minutia of my day and personal thoughts

by Weertyitwpq

Freedom has done wonders for helping with my productivity. It blocks websites efficiently, comes with several pre-built block lists, has a strong notification system, and while it may not block apps effectively, I understand this to be a fault with the AppStore generally, as opposed to this app specifically.

Blocking websites is a core feature, and is very simple to implement. You can either choose from the aforementioned prebuilt block lists or create your own by typing in the website address. Once that’s done, you select a length of time, a block list, and the device/s you want Freedom to run on. Once you set it, it goes until it’s done with no exceptions. The caveat here being, of course, that this app can be disabled via deleting Freedom from your phone, or killing the functionality on a laptop. That said, it’s a simple, effective system that will work as long as you do.

by Carrottomato

I’m happy to find an app that blocks Internet use on my phone. I wish that feature was more obvious. It is the main reason I bought this app.

I also use screen time for iOS and the Cold Turkey app. Neither of these are able to block Internet on my phone. Cold Turkey does have a more full featured scheduler and list capabilities.

Some points of feedback
- It would be nice to have a whitelist of websites. For instance, I do a lot of my writing in Google docs, and there’s no way to unblock that.
- It would be nice to have more information on how exactly this app works upfront. I had to dig for that info by searching the help desk and reading App Store reviews. This would help me understand what I can or can’t rely on this app to do. It looks like this app uses VPN technology to block network requests. This is why you can open apps but the API requests fail and the apps don’t work. It also looks like this doesn’t quite work for some social media apps like Facebook or Instagram.
- The credit card payment form is not optimized for mobile. The number and CVV fields should have input type number. Otherwise, on mobile, it will show the default alphabetical keyboard, which is harder to fill out.
- As a minor note, configuring the block list could be slightly easier. I had to click multiple times to block all of the options. A select all button would be great.

by Gracers91

Minus one HUGE star for their customer service rep Daniel not refunding me a couple hours after I purchased this product once I figured out Freedom didn’t have the functions I needed. Minus another star for the trial version not giving you access to all of Freedom features so that you can verify if it’s what you’re looking for. Minus another star for Freedom not having a pomodoro function like FocusMe. Minus another star for Freedom being glitchy and not always blocking websites/apps on each device. Minus another star for Freedom blocking all apps instead of allowing you choose specific apps in the way that you can choose specific websites. Plus one star for Freedom be accessible on iPhones, iPads, and Apple laptops. All in all, 1/5 star rating.

by A. Butterfly

I would like to give this a higher rating, but I got it to block Facebook and it only works about 1/3 of the time for that. It’s been great for blocking online shopping though! I just wish it were better at blocking Facebook on mobile. I’d give anything to quit my Facebook addiction.

EDIT: The developer responded that they are working on stability, I have noticed an improvement with every upgrade! In fairness to this app, I’m pretty sure Facebook works to actively keep people from using productivity apps against it. I definitely think Freedom is worth the money, especially for blocking mindless online shopping!

by Ferrarofotos

Sure, I've experienced some glitches with Freedom from time to time over the last two years - but, it's mainly been due to iOS updates, to which Freedom updates solve any problems I may be facing in time good enough for me.

After I learned I had adult ADHD, I went searching for strategies to help me stay on task; especially since I run my own business.

Freedom has it's place as the first app on my desktop dock and on my iPhone dock. It's the first app I turn on when I get to my desk. It's worked well for me and it continues to be a resource that keeps me focused everyday.

by AMoore0000

I found Freedom after trying to use Apple’s Screen Time features to block myself from Instagram. I felt it was an unhealthy addiction after a bad breakup and wanted to cut myself off from checking in. While it took 3-4 tries to understand how Freedom worked and properly set up the blocks, I finally decided to purchase the premium version. I appreciate Freedom developers making this type of block for adults, not just kids.

by Jsbgixiej

I tried Freedom a while ago when it only blocked your browser and stopped using it. With the new improvements and app blocking it’s exactly what I wanted and 100% effective. I have had zero problems with it and am soooooo glad it’s available! I use my phone for work so having black out times is extremely helpful! It also doesn’t have a lot of the drawback that other app blocking tools have, like having to reset your notifications every time you block them. So pleased with Freedom!

by Milkmaid2662

Freedom was wonderful for the first few months I had it: I could delete distracting apps and block access to Freedom Store, which made it impossible to reinstall them. Also could block any website I wanted in Chrome, my preferred browser. But I after I installed the latest iOS update, this app ceased to work entirely. Even when a session is supposedly running, I can still access my list of blocked sites in Chrome and Safari, and it seems impossible to block Freedom Store as well. So disappointing.

by Rand(10)

I use it to block distracting websites during work. I really like the desktop version where it blocks apps and any type of distraction during work. But this version only blocks websites. I learned that it used to block apps on iOS. But Apple removed that version from Freedom store. As a work around I deleted distracting apps (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) and Safari now is my only option to check these websites and Freedom simply blocks them during the day. I’m still waiting for the blocking feature on iOS.