A free app blocker for studying: the setup that costs nothing

Students do not need another subscription. This is the free setup, combined for exam preparation rather than listed product by product — for the general list of subscription-free blockers, there is a separate guide.

The free study stack

Layer one: the block, on a schedule

Set your phone's built-in block to your study hours — the same hours every day, decided once. On Android, Digital Wellbeing's Focus mode pauses the apps you pick on a schedule. On iPhone, Screen Time's Downtime does the same — renamed Screen Time Schedule on iOS 27 — with Always Allowed for the apps you need: notes, calculator, dictionary, your lecture app. Calls always get through on both.

Layer two: the YouTube feed

If you learn from YouTube you cannot block the whole app, so deal with the feed instead. In the YouTube app, go to You → Settings → Time management → Shorts feed limit, and set it to zero. YouTube shows a message you can dismiss when you hit it, so it is a reminder rather than a lock — but it is free, takes ten seconds, and turns an automatic swipe into a decision.

Layer three: a study timer with blocking

Stay Focused, built by an Indian developer in Noida and priced in rupees, has a Pomodoro-style study timer and per-app limits by time, launches or unlock count, with a free tier that is genuinely usable and shows ads. Check which timer features the free tier includes before relying on it — the vendor does not publish a feature-by-tier list. If you study in fixed sessions, it is the most useful addition to the stack.

Layer four: when you need it stricter

• <b>On Android, AppBlock's free tier</b> has the most determined Strict Mode on the platform — it can block the Settings app itself — capped at 24 hours on the free version.
• <b>On iPhone, Foqos</b> is free, open source and lets you end a block by scanning an NFC tag or QR code you have hidden elsewhere. Hide it in another room and the unlock costs a walk.

What free cannot do

Every free layer above keeps its off switch on the phone. Focus mode has a Take a break button; Downtime can be ignored without a passcode someone else holds; a timer can be deleted. For most students that is fine for the first week and fatal by the third, because the moment you most want to switch it off is exactly when you are least able to resist.

There are two ways to fix that. The free one: have a parent or friend set your Screen Time passcode. The one that costs a single purchase: move the unlock to a physical key in another room. Spark's app is free with no subscription; the key is bought once, and ending a study session early means walking to it. Calls always get through, and five emergency unlocks exist for life.