Frictionº is not medical, diagnostic, or therapeutic software. ADHD is a clinical condition. This page is about digital guardrails, not treatment. Talk to a qualified professional about care.
The two-second override problem
A lot of people with ADHD already know which apps steal the afternoon. They set Screen Time. They set a reminder. Then a notification, a bored minute, or a hard task appears, and Ignore Limit is right there. The issue is not information. It is how cheap the escape is when attention has already moved.
That is why “app blocker for ADHD” is a real search. People want a wall that does not require a fresh burst of willpower every time a tab or icon lights up.
Slow the negotiation
Frictionº does not try to motivate you. It changes the cost of the next yes.
Button Hold asks for up to 90 seconds of continuous pressure before a rule can change. Text Copy asks you to reproduce a long random string. Both are dull on purpose. Dull is useful when the interesting thing is the thing you are trying not to open.
A PIN or Screen Time passcode is often the opposite: you already know it, so the negotiation is over before it starts. Friction’s challenges are not secrets. They are chores.
Rules that match a messy day
ADHD-friendly setup is less “never use the phone” and more “the dangerous apps are expensive during the hours that matter.”
- Block the two or three apps that actually derail you, or a whole category.
- Use multiple time windows so work blocks and evening blocks can differ.
- Turn on location rules for the office, library, or campus.
- Start a one-time focus session when you sit down to a task you keep bouncing off.
- Block websites if the browser is how you leak.
The shield screen can show a short priority list you wrote in a calmer hour. That is a cue, not a coach.
Build discipline without a fantasy of perfect control
You will still have days the challenge gets completed and the app opens. That is allowed. The win is fewer accidental spirals, not a personality transplant. Pair the blocker with whatever already helps you (body doubling, meds if prescribed, a boring default home screen) and treat Friction as the part that makes the old Ignore Limit habit expensive.
For the general “hard to bypass” story, see the strict app blocker page. For the Apple-specific habit, read why you keep bypassing Screen Time.