Nudge is a free, open-source app blocker for Android that puts a pause between the impulse and the app.

Most blockers are all-or-nothing: you hard-block Instagram, then switch the blocker off the moment you actually want it. Nudge's core idea is friction instead of a wall. Open a blocked app and you sit through a countdown or a breathing exercise first. That is usually enough to break the autopilot loop, because your conscious self gets a say before the scroll starts.

What it does

• Delay-to-open: a countdown or breathing exercise before a blocked app launches
• Hard blocking and daily time budgets when you do want a firm limit
• In-app feed blocking: kill YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels/Explore and the TikTok For You feed while the rest of each app keeps working
• Schedule rules by day and time, including overnight schedules that cross midnight
• App groups, so one "Social media" config covers everything at once
• A floating scroll counter with escalating colours, plus auto-kick back to the home screen after a set number of scrolls
• Grayscale mode, motivational overlays, and "walked away" tracking that counts every time you chose to leave
• Dashboard with screen time, weekly charts, hourly heatmaps and streaks
• Export and import your rules

Why the privacy claim is different

App blockers need Accessibility Service, which can see everything on your screen. Nudge declares zero INTERNET permission in its manifest, so it physically cannot send any of that anywhere. Data stays on device in Room and DataStore. No analytics, no telemetry, no crash reporting, no third-party SDKs. The source is GPL-3.0 on GitHub, so you can read every line.

Free, no account, no sign-in, no subscription. Android 8.0 and up.