{"id":9586,"date":"2026-04-16T06:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techdaily.com.au\/b2\/?p=9586"},"modified":"2026-05-28T12:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T02:19:53","slug":"removing-phone-distractions-with-brick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techdaily.com.au\/b2\/removing-phone-distractions-with-brick\/","title":{"rendered":"Removing Phone Distractions with Brick"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Can a Tiny Plastic Cube Actually Cure Your Doomscrolling?<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s be honest with ourselves: native smartphone screen time limits are a bit of a joke. When the alert pops up telling you that you\u2019ve reached your daily Instagram allocation, it takes about 5 seconds to work around it and keep scrolling.<\/p>\n

Most apps are pretty much\u00a0 engineered to hijack our attention span, and relying on pure willpower to fight back is a losing battle.<\/p>\n

Enter <\/span>Brick<\/span><\/b><\/a>, physical device fdesigned to save you from yourself by replacing fragile digital boundaries with physical friction.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What is the Brick?<\/h3>\n

The Brick is a small, cube-shaped piece of plastic that fits snugly in the palm of your hand.<\/span> It features a grippy silicone base and a strong internal magnet so you can slap it onto your fridge.\u00a0 You can pretty much put it anywhere as long as you remember where you left it (You’ll see why in a moment).<\/span><\/p>\n

It contains no screen, no ports, and no internal battery to charge.<\/span> Instead, it utilizes built-in NFC technology to act as a physical “key” to lock and unlock your smartphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

How It Works<\/h3>\n

The magic is entirely in the pairing between the hardware and the free companion Brick app (available for iOS 17+ and Android 12+).<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Create Your Modes:<\/span><\/b> Inside the app, you set up custom profiles based on your day\u2014like <\/span>Deep Work<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Family Time<\/span><\/i>, or <\/span>Sleep<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> You can choose exactly which apps or websites to block, or conversely, whitelist only the absolute essentials (like Phone, Messages, and Maps).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Tap to Brick:<\/span><\/b> When you want to disconnect, you open the app and tap your phone to the physical Brick device, just like paying for a coffee by tapping your phone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Commit to the Friction:<\/span><\/b> Once “Bricked,” your chosen distraction apps are entirely disabled.<\/span> Their icons are blocked, and notifications are silenced.<\/span> To get them back, you have to physically walk back over to wherever you left the Brick and tap it again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, if you leave the physical Brick at home and then head out to dinner, you are locked out of those apps until you return.<\/span> There is no easy “Ignore Limit” button to bail you out.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Putting it to the Test: Dinner Time<\/h3>\n

    This is THE place that you might like to start.\u00a0 Think about how many times during the evening meal where you’ve been tempted to ‘check’ something or you hear a buzz or ping from your phone and immediately grab it to see if it’s something ‘important’.<\/p>\n

    Now consider how the dynamics change if you tap your phone to the BRICK before dinner, leaving the BRICK at the other end of the house.\u00a0 Distraction eliminated.<\/p>\n

    That said, it isn’t completely without flaws:<\/p>\n