You Don’t Need to Pay for Distraction-Blocking Software

你不需要花钱购买防分心软件

Wish you looked at your phone less? Then you’ve probably heard of Brick, a $59 device that claims to help you block distractions. You tap your phone against the Brick when you want to avoid distractions—the bundled software stops you from opening whichever apps you’ve decided you need to stop doomscrolling. 你是否希望自己少看手机？那你可能听说过 Brick，这是一款售价 59 美元的设备，声称能帮你屏蔽干扰。当你想要远离干扰时，只需将手机轻触 Brick，配套的软件就会阻止你打开那些让你沉迷于“末日刷屏”（doomscrolling）的应用程序。

The idea is to add a physical barrier between you and apps like Instagram—if you want to scroll, you need to physically get up, find the Brick, and tap it. It’s a good idea, and implemented in a way that makes it easy to get started. But what if you don’t want to buy a chunk of plastic? 这个想法是在你和 Instagram 等应用之间增加一道物理屏障——如果你想刷手机，就必须起身找到 Brick 并进行感应。这是一个好主意，且实现方式简单易上手。但如果你不想花钱买这块塑料呢？

Good news: the Brick is basically just an NFC chip, not that different from the one in your credit card or passport. You can buy a blank NFC chip for a dollar. Even better, free applications can use these chips to block distractions, exactly like the Brick. Or, if you prefer, these apps also support QR codes, meaning all you need is a printer. Here are two free distraction-blocking apps—complete with physical barriers—for iPhone or Android. 好消息是：Brick 本质上就是一个 NFC 芯片，和你信用卡或护照里的芯片没什么两样。你花一美元就能买到一个空白的 NFC 芯片。更棒的是，免费的应用程序完全可以利用这些芯片来屏蔽干扰，效果和 Brick 一模一样。或者，如果你愿意，这些应用也支持二维码，这意味着你只需要一台打印机。以下是两款适用于 iPhone 或 Android 的免费防分心应用，它们同样具备物理屏障功能。

Best for iPhones: Foqos

iPhone 最佳选择：Foqos

The oddly named Foqos is a free, open source app for iOS by Canadian developer Ali Waseem. Many open source apps lack polish, but not this one—it’s easy to configure the necessary permissions, set up a profile, and start blocking distractions. 名字有些古怪的 Foqos 是一款由加拿大开发者 Ali Waseem 开发的免费开源 iOS 应用。许多开源应用往往缺乏打磨，但这款应用并非如此——配置必要的权限、设置个人资料并开始屏蔽干扰非常简单。

While creating a new profile, you first choose which physical object you want to use to start and stop your blocking sessions. The two most popular options are NFC tags (there’s a handy link to buy some in the app) or a QR code. But you can also block using a daily schedule, if you prefer, or by scanning any barcode. The barcode option is nice because you don’t need to buy or print anything—scan the code on your favorite book, beverage, or anything else you keep around the house. 在创建新配置时，你首先要选择使用哪种物理对象来开启或停止屏蔽会话。最流行的两种选择是 NFC 标签（应用内有购买链接）或二维码。如果你愿意，也可以使用每日计划进行屏蔽，或者扫描任何条形码。条形码选项非常方便，因为你无需购买或打印任何东西——只需扫描你最喜欢的书、饮料或家里随处可见的任何物品上的条形码即可。

Foqos can block you from managing apps while a profile is running. This means you can’t just delete Foqos to get around a block you set up, which is exactly what someone fighting against their own urges needs. You can allow a limited number of breaks, if you want. 当配置运行时，Foqos 可以阻止你管理应用程序。这意味着你无法通过删除 Foqos 来绕过自己设置的屏蔽，这正是那些试图克制冲动的人所需要的。如果你需要，也可以设置允许有限次数的休息。

I’ve been using this to break my Reddit habit and can report that it works. I keep a printed QR code inside a cabinet, far from the couch where I tend to scroll. It creates just enough friction that I can finish reading a book instead. The application has an excellent privacy policy—no data leaves your device. 我一直在用它来戒掉刷 Reddit 的习惯，效果确实不错。我把打印好的二维码放在柜子里，远离我平时刷手机的沙发。这创造了足够的“阻力”，让我能静下心来读完一本书。该应用的隐私政策非常出色——没有任何数据会离开你的设备。

Best for Android: Switchly

Android 最佳选择：Switchly

Foqos is sadly iOS-exclusive, and I couldn’t find an Android equivalent that’s quite as polished. But Switchly, by Vienna-based developer Saltyy, stands out as one of the more feature-complete apps I tested. You will need to spend some time fiddling to get it set up, granted, but once you do, you’ll find it every bit as flexible as Foqos. 遗憾的是，Foqos 仅限 iOS 使用，我没能找到同样精致的 Android 替代品。但由维也纳开发者 Saltyy 开发的 Switchly 在我测试过的应用中脱颖而出，功能相当完备。诚然，你需要花点时间摸索设置，但一旦设置完成，你会发现它和 Foqos 一样灵活。

To get started, open the app, which you can install from Google Play. A wizard will guide you through the relevant permissions, then talk you through setting up your first profile. You will need to read everything carefully, because it’s a little bit tough to navigate the first time. You can block apps and URLs. You can use an NFC chip or a QR code to trigger locking and unlocking. You can also block based on a schedule; Premium users can trigger when connected to a particular Wi-Fi network, or when a certain Bluetooth device is nearby. 开始使用前，请从 Google Play 下载并打开应用。向导会引导你完成相关权限设置，然后指导你创建第一个配置。你需要仔细阅读说明，因为初次使用时界面导航稍显复杂。你可以屏蔽应用和网址，也可以使用 NFC 芯片或二维码来触发锁定和解锁。你还可以根据时间表进行屏蔽；高级版用户甚至可以设置在连接到特定 Wi-Fi 或靠近特定蓝牙设备时自动触发。

If you’d rather not block Instagram entirely, but never want to see a Reel again, good news: there’s support for blocking particular features inside certain apps. The feature is labeled as experimental, but worked well in my testing. 如果你不想完全屏蔽 Instagram，但又不想再看到 Reels 短视频，好消息是：它支持屏蔽特定应用内的某些功能。该功能被标记为实验性，但在我的测试中表现良好。

There’s a lot of flexibility, but Android’s open nature means how well it works depends in part on your phone model. The developer acknowledges this. Also, you don’t need the Premium version—the free tier offers plenty of features for most people. 虽然灵活性很高，但 Android 的开放性意味着其效果在一定程度上取决于你的手机型号，开发者也承认了这一点。此外，你并不需要购买高级版——免费版提供的功能对大多数人来说已经足够了。

Another application Android users should check out is Lock. This app is more polished than Switchly, but only supports NFC chips. Give it a try if Switchly doesn’t quite work the way you like. Android 用户还可以尝试另一款应用 Lock。这款应用比 Switchly 更精致，但仅支持 NFC 芯片。如果 Switchly 不太符合你的使用习惯，不妨试试它。

Distractions don’t just live on your phone. We’ve written about how to block websites on your computer, with multiple free options. But let’s face it: the phone is the ultimate distraction machine. Learn to control your impulses there. 干扰不仅仅存在于手机上。我们之前写过关于如何在电脑上屏蔽网站的文章，其中有多种免费方案。但说实话：手机才是终极的“分心机器”。学会控制你在手机上的冲动吧。