one sec | screen time + focus Reviews

by Dudoiselle

First I got to say I am using the free version. It gives you one app to use the function for. Which is fine and I do not criticize.

However, my two star review is mainly made up of for one it more often than not asks you to upgrade to pro instead of giving you the one deep breath exercise which makes me more annoyed than helps me to be more mindful.

I didn’t know I could only have one app which is why I had a second app set up with it. onesecscreentimefocus then prompted me to either upgrade to pro or chose between the two apps. I chose and even deleted the action I said up in shortcuts but it will ask me now to choose between both apps or upgrade over and over again. Pretty annoying bug.

And then, money might not be a factor for you, but it is for me, so this last point might be irrelevant; I do not understand what justifies the price of onesecscreentimefocus for the full version. $50 for a perpetual license is just not realistic for the average person, neither adding yet another subscription of $4 per month ($18.5 if you pay for the whole year up front). I really wish app creators would realize this.

TL;DR I like the idea but it’s too buggy in general and too spammy with their subscription service which is also overpriced. I will just uninstall and go back to leaving my phone in a different room again.

by Headabovewaterx

The articles won’t load—under the instructions tab. I would really love to be able to read through them to be able to use onesecscreentimefocus better and be better at using social media, but every time I click on one of the articles, it says it can’t be loaded. I’m giving it 3/5 only for that reason, because if I could load these, it would be perfect. I would appreciate if these could be fixed. Thank you.

by Mat146

It really helps you eliminate that knee-jerk reaction to opening app mindlessly. My only issue with it is that it ends up creating lots of notifications.

I know it’s Apple’s fault, since they make it impossible to permanently disable Shortcuts notifications, but sadly it adds up to the overall app experience. Cluttering the Notification Center is an unwanted side-effect of onesecscreentimefocus (although FAR less important than the problem it solved).

Would love for Apple to solve this issue soon

PS. I’m aware of the option to hide notifications within Screen Time, but they get turned back on again each day when i turn on my phone in the morning

PPS. Don’t let this little bug prevent you from getting this life-changing app

by Personofinterest22222

This is a really great app, and I’m not a programmer so I don’t know how feasible this is, but removing the need to select an app from a pre-defined list would make it easier to use since some apps I’d like to use this for are not on the list. Overall though, this is a great tool and I highly recommend.

by Fraxtil

So few developers are investing in practical solutions for the problems created by social media, so I really appreciate onesecscreentimefocus's existence!

onesecscreentimefocus does about as good a job as the iOS platform will allow it to. There are some minor annoyances with how Shortcuts work (can't hide "Running your automation" notifications, can't duplicate / templatize automations, etc.) but I can't fault the author for any of this.

Some gripes that are within the author's control:

• I don't want a count of how many times I've tried to open onesecscreentimefocus . A huge part of my motivation for cutting down on social media is reducing the influence of numbers (likes, shares, metrics) on my behavior. And sure, this number is better aligned with my personal goals than any of the numbers Twitter shoves in my face, but if I could turn it off, I would.

• Please stop asking me to rate your app every time I choose the "don't open" option. Once is enough! This is the reason I docked a star.

by Christina__03

4.5/5 stars (so far!)
I saw this in a retweet on Twitter (ironically xD ). I thought the idea was really cool and I just tried it out. One thing that could be fixed- in the breathing animation, I don’t like the way it creates vibrations, as the changing rate gives quite an unpleasant experience when trying to calm down with a deep breath. Also, the continue breathing option should have a counter for every deep breath, as the never-ending breaths feels strange and unnatural. Will update review(or write a new one idk how this works) with any updates that happen :)

by Twerth5000

Beautiful design and effective app. But he warned it doesn’t work for all apps.

In my case I want it for GroupMe, but that app isn’t available in step 3, when you have to select the intended app a second time.

by Summer 📿

Download onesecscreentimefocus to make using Instagram take an extra step so I will use it less. The first few times I’ve used it there’s a message about how I should “share this moment of mindfulness to my IG story” are you kidding me? Really hope this doesn’t suggest this every time.

by Why Won't It Take Any Nickname

It’s not just theory, you are actively not doing the thing (i.e. opening FB). Plus who would not benefit from a brief moment of pause. And the more times you are tempted to scroll social media, the more you benefit from this repeated moment of pause.
Set up was little cumbersome but I got it done, and I’m looking forward to saving time, engaging in real life more and getting my sanity back.

by Tsarai

I've never written an app review but this one significantly improved my day to day. After just 2 attempts of trying to open Twitter and it redirecting to the breathing exercise, I got to the point of immediately closing both apps once the one sec app opens and not opening Twitter at all for the whole day. Amazing idea and use of the shortcuts feature!

by Alternatefan29

I’ve never written a review for an app in my life- but I feel so passionately we need to do everything in our power to stop Facebook from commodifying our attention with its addictive, for-profit design. onesecscreentimefocus is an empowering breakthrough. We can discipline our minds or let them do it for us.. I’ve been looking for a way to do the former and this is it! I’m full of gratitude.

by DontgetmadgetVlad

It walks you through setting up an automation that every time you open instagram it opens their app, has you take a second, and THEN decide if you wanna open it. Oftentimes i just clicked it out of habit. This is the little push i need to keep me from scrolling for way too long way too often.

by New Concept Gaming

Setting this up took a minute as it’s involved within the system settings and it’s really a very intuitive way to use the features on iOS imho….I’ve only been using it for a little over a day and I’m so annoyed with opening the apps (I put in every block possible including forcing a note on why) I’ve went from 4 hours of mindless scrolling yesterday to only 36 minutes today. it’s made opening Instagram and Facebook the most annoying part of my day. Nothing else has worked to help curb my usage of these mind numbing apps until I found this. Thank you so far! I’ll update in a month or so of how my habits have changed

by SchemeViller

If you’re like me, reaching for your phone is second nature & a hard habit to break. One sec gives you a much needed moment of clarity before opening an app & in that moment, you have the power to make a purposeful decision. Simple, but brilliant. Thank you to the developers, I saw on Reddit & had to try. Could not be happier!

by Ozexpat

It’s exactly what I needed. A forced break from repetitive, mindless social media.

Absolute pure genius.

It takes a few minutes to set up but it is completely worth it. I only wish it worked for websites too!

by Princessleah7x

I truly appreciate onesecscreentimefocus. It’s helping me immensely by curbing my habit to subconsciously open certain apps I spend too much time on. I also appreciate how it has me breathe and I do follow along to try and help my mental health. It’s been great!

by Jsjoeio

It really makes me think twice before opening Twitter for the 100th time. Would highly recommend!

by Colder Climates

This is the screen time app I have been looking for. I strongly suggest you turn on the “always type reason” so that you are encouraged even more to remain mindful of your habits when opening an app. Combined with meditation and some good books on phone use and attention, I really feel like I’ve got this one in the bag, in no small part thanks to One Sec. Thank you, sincerely.

by Cpincognito

I needed a way to stop the mindless social media check that was better than the built in locking features on iPhone or any other app. It’s brilliant because instead of trying to force you to not go on the apps, which makes me rebel just because I can, it instead makes you really think about WHY you’re doing it. And it makes it easier (big button, no need to add a reason) to decide not to go on than to go on. Now if I’m going on a distracting social media app I have to be intentional about it. Not only that, but if I close and try to reopen, i have to do the exercise all over again. My screen time is down 40% since I started using onesecscreentimefocus and I am so thankful for it!

by Slerdahl

I invested in this 1$ app to see if it would be better than “screen time” and it is amazing.
It’s so much more annoying and the haptic + breath really drives you away from that “quick” social media check. Thanks for making such an annoying but helpful app :)

Also, would love the ability to use with more apps, there a few other habits I need to break!

by Punkpal666

I truly appreciate onesecscreentimefocus. It’s helping me immensely by curbing my habit to subconsciously open certain apps I spend too much time on. I also appreciate how it has me breathe and I do follow along to try and help my mental health. It’s been great!

by Hibeatriz

So thankful for onesecscreentimefocus, I was no expecting how much of a huge difference it would make on my screen time. This has been a great happy medium from completely removing apps or putting very low screentime limits and also having unlimited access to spend hours mindlessly scrolling. Can’t thank the developers enough!

by Happywaffle

What a nice idea! It’s saved me from a lot of doomscrolling. I’m hoping that an updated version of onesecscreentimefocus will let me take social-media breaks (greenlighting all my apps for a period of time). I’d also like a one-second-pause option since sometimes I just need a short reminder to stop me from opening an app. Even in its current form it’s such a valuable gift to my productivity.

by Logan6766

Only feature that’s missing is being able to set a different schedule for different days