AppBlock, made by MobileSort, is a profile-based blocker for iOS, Android and several browsers, and its "Strict Mode" is genuinely more detailed than most competitors' equivalent feature — it's built by people who clearly know the specific tricks users try, and it closes several of them deliberately rather than relying on one blanket setting that hopes for the best. It's also one of the few apps in this comparison set to offer a genuinely usable free tier without demanding a credit card up front, which matters if you just want to try the idea before committing to anything. MobileSort, the company behind AppBlock, has clearly iterated on Strict Mode based on real user reports of specific workarounds, which is a different kind of product development than simply shipping one generic "lock" toggle and calling it done.
What AppBlock actually does
AppBlock lets you build named profiles of blocked apps and sites, active on a schedule you set, so a work profile and a bedtime profile can run completely differently without you switching anything by hand. Strict Mode, once turned on, locks those settings, disables AppBlock's own uninstallation, blocks access to device settings, and — on supported Android devices — specifically blocks the recent-apps switcher and split-screen view, both common routes people use to sneak around a blocker without technically breaking any rule they set for themselves. Without Strict Mode enabled, a profile can be edited or turned off as easily as any other app setting, which means the strength of the block, much like Freedom's, is really a choice you make at the start. AppBlock also supports a "Focus Mode" separate from Strict Mode, giving users a lighter, easily-reversible option for casual use alongside the harder Strict Mode setting for when they know they'll need it.
Where AppBlock is honestly the better pick
The specificity of Strict Mode's anti-circumvention list — split-screen, recent apps, reinstalling a blocked app — is a genuine strength, and it reflects real attention to how people actually get around mobile blockers rather than a generic "lock it and hope" approach that assumes users won't look for the gaps. A usable free tier with no card required is also a fair point worth crediting, especially for anyone who's been burned before by an app that demands payment details just to try the basics. The emergency-unlock-via-support-code system, while it does mean Strict Mode isn't literally unbreakable, is also a genuinely thoughtful design choice — it means a real emergency doesn't leave you permanently locked out of your own phone, which a purely technical lock might. AppBlock's cross-browser extension support, covering Chrome, Brave and Edge alongside its mobile apps, also means the same profile logic can extend to a laptop, which not every mobile-first competitor in this comparison set attempts to offer at all.
| Feature | AppBlock | Mr. Grummel |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS, Android, plus browser extensions and a standalone Mac/Safari app | iOS & Android (in development) |
| Core mechanism | Profile-based blocking with an optional “Strict Mode” that closes several known workarounds | Answer a quiz question from the app's curriculum to unlock |
| Self-bypassable by the account holder? | Harder with Strict Mode fully engaged (official unlock via a support-issued emergency code); easy otherwise | Not yet released — can't be assessed |
| Physical hardware required? | No | No |
| Price | Free tier with limits; paid plans from roughly $4.99/mo up to a lifetime option | Not yet announced — join the waiting list |
The one mechanical difference that actually matters
AppBlock's approach is defensive engineering: identify the specific ways people cheat a blocker, then close each one individually inside a configurable Strict Mode that has to be found, understood, and switched on before it does any good. That's thorough, but it's also a settings menu — something to turn on, tune, and potentially forget to re-enable after an update or a phone reset. Mr. Grummel doesn't attempt that kind of defensive list at all; the quiz question is the only gate there is, on by default, with nothing to configure and nothing to accidentally leave off because you never went looking for it in the first place.
Who should pick which
If you specifically know you exploit workarounds like split-screen or the recent-apps switcher to get around a blocker, AppBlock's Strict Mode was built with exactly that behaviour in mind, and its free tier makes it easy to find out whether that level of detail actually matters to you. If you'd rather not manage a settings menu at all, and just want one consistent question standing in the way every time without needing to first discover and enable a stricter mode, that's the simpler trade Mr. Grummel is making. It's also worth trying AppBlock's free tier first regardless, since seeing exactly which workarounds Strict Mode closes, and noticing which ones you personally would have used, is a genuinely useful diagnostic before deciding how strict a tool you actually need. Either way, both approaches are ultimately trying to solve the same underlying problem from different directions — AppBlock by closing every technical loophole it can find, and Mr. Grummel by removing the loophole question entirely, since there's no settings menu governing the block to begin with.