What are Scheduled Blocks?
A Scheduled Block is a recurring time-window block. You pick the days and the start and end time, and Detox blocks your monitored apps during that window automatically. Useful for things like "no Instagram between 9am and 5pm on weekdays" or "phone off after 22:00 every night."
You can have as many Scheduled Blocks as you want, with one rule: they can't overlap.
Scheduled Blocks are not the same as Auto Block (which runs continuously in the background and fires on continuous-use threshold) or Block Now (a one-shot manual session). A Scheduled Block runs on the days and time windows you set, recurring automatically. To pause a Scheduled Block that's actively running, use Pause (if Allow breaks is on).
How they work
A Scheduled Block runs on the days you pick, between the start and end time you set. When the start time hits on an active day, Detox blocks every app on your Monitored Apps list. At the end time, apps unblock automatically, unless you set the schedule's Ending Action to Manual Unlock, in which case they stay blocked until you tap Unlock on your home screen.
While a Scheduled Block is active, Auto Block monitoring is suspended (the same apps are already being blocked by the schedule). The Detox home screen has a widget called My current block that shifts to match: during an active Scheduled Block, the widget shows that schedule with Pause as its action button. Once the schedule ends, the widget returns to showing Auto Block with Snooze as its action button.
Setting one up
To create a new Scheduled Block:
- Open Detox and go to the Blocks tab.
- Tap Scheduled Blocks.
- Tap Create new.
- Configure the schedule:
Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
Name (optional) | A label for the schedule, like |
Active days | Tap each day of the week you want the block to run (Mon, Tue, ...) |
Start time | When the block kicks in |
End time | When the block releases (or shifts to manual unlock, depending on your Ending Action) |
Ending Action | |
Allow breaks | Optional. If on, you can pause the block during its active window |
Max break duration | When breaks are on. Default 15 minutes |
Strict Mode | Optional. When on, your schedule's settings, your Monitored Apps, and the ability to uninstall Detox are locked while the block is active |
- Tap save.
All your Scheduled Blocks use the same Monitored Apps list as your Auto Block. You can't block a different set of apps on each schedule today (this is on the roadmap).
If your new schedule overlaps with one you already have, the app will refuse to save it and name the conflicting schedule. Adjust the days or the time window to remove the overlap.
What you see when a Scheduled Block is active
When you try to open a monitored app during the schedule's window, Detox shows its block screen. The block screen anatomy is the same across all block types; see What is Auto Block? for the full breakdown (title, message, Close button, Manage Block button). The only difference for a Scheduled Block is the subtitle, which reads "Your scheduled block is currently active."
The block screen disappears automatically when the schedule ends, or when you take a break.
Taking a break
If you enabled Allow breaks when configuring the schedule, you can pause the active block to use your apps for a short time:
- On the Detox home screen, find the My current block widget showing your active Scheduled Block. Tap it to open the schedule's info sheet, then tap Pause. (Alternatively: Blocks tab → Scheduled Blocks → tap the active schedule to reach the same sheet.)
- Pick a duration, up to the max break you configured.
- Apps unblock for that duration. When the break ends, the schedule resumes.
If breaks were not enabled when you configured the schedule, the Pause option is not available.
Strict Mode does not disable breaks. If your schedule has both Strict Mode and Allow breaks on, you can still take a break during the active block; Strict Mode only locks the schedule's settings and prevents uninstalling Detox.
Ending a Scheduled Block early
If a Scheduled Block is currently blocking you and you want to end this occurrence early:
- On the Detox home screen, tap the My current block widget to open the active schedule. (Or Blocks tab → Scheduled Blocks → tap the relevant schedule to reach the same place.)
- Tap Edit to enter edit mode.
- Tap the blue Deactivate button at the bottom (to the left of Save) and confirm.
- Apps unblock immediately for this occurrence.
The schedule itself stays saved and activates again normally on its next scheduled day. Deactivating only ends the current occurrence; your settings persist for future ones.
If you want to remove the schedule entirely (so it never runs again), tap the trash icon in the same edit view and confirm. Deletion is permanent.
When Strict Mode is on and the schedule is currently blocking, both Deactivate and Delete are disabled until the block ends, as part of Strict Mode locking the schedule.
Overnight blocks
A Scheduled Block whose end time is earlier than its start time is treated as overnight. For example, start 22:00 and end 07:00 means the block runs from 10pm through 7am the next morning.
For overnight schedules, pick only the day(s) when the block should start. The hours that spill into the next morning are handled automatically. So Sunday 22:00 → Monday 07:00 means selecting Sunday as the active day.
What Scheduled Blocks don't do
- They don't let you block a different set of apps on each schedule. Every Scheduled Block uses your single device-wide Monitored Apps list. (App groups, where each schedule has its own apps, are on the roadmap.)
- They don't sync between devices. If you have Detox on iPhone and iPad, schedules are per-device. Your subscription syncs across devices on the same Apple ID; configurations don't.
- They can't overlap. If you need different rules at different times of day, create separate non-overlapping schedules.
Related
- What is Auto Block?
- What is Strict Mode?
- Why are my apps still blocked after the schedule ended?
- What can't Detox do?
Updated on: 23/05/2026
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