What is Auto Block?
Auto Block is Detox's automatic block for compulsive use. You pick a continuous-use threshold (for example, 5 minutes), and Detox blocks your monitored apps the moment you've been using one of them for that long without a break.
It's the doomscroll catcher: when you go past your threshold on Instagram, TikTok, or any app you've added to your monitored list, Detox steps in.
Auto Block is not the same as Block Now (which you start manually for a fixed duration) or a Scheduled Block (which runs on days and time windows you set). Auto Block runs continuously in the background, fires only when you cross your continuous-use threshold, and uses Snooze (not Pause) when you need to bypass it briefly.
How it works
Auto Block watches the apps in your Monitored Apps list. The moment continuous use of one of them passes your threshold, Detox applies a block. Apps unblock automatically after the configured block duration, and monitoring resumes from zero, so if you keep using the same app continuously, the next block fires after another full threshold.
Auto Block runs in the background. You don't need to keep Detox open for it to work.
Setting it up
Auto Block is enabled by default after onboarding. To customize it:
- Open Detox and go to the Blocks tab.
- Tap the Auto Block card.
- Adjust your settings:
Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Consecutive use limit | 5 minutes | How long continuous use is allowed before the block fires |
Block duration | 1 minute | How long apps stay blocked after the limit hits |
Max snooze duration | 5 minutes | When you snooze, you can pick a duration up to this number |
Monitored apps | (your choice) | The apps Auto Block watches |
You can only have one Auto Block configuration per device. The same threshold and duration apply to every app on your monitored list.
What you see when a block triggers
When a monitored app is blocked, Detox shows a block screen on top of that app. The block screen is a single iOS screen layered over the app you tried to open. It is not the full Detox app appearing on top: to do anything beyond closing the block screen, you need to open Detox itself.
The block screen shows:
- Title: "[App name] is Blocked by Detox"
- Message: "Auto block detected too much screen time."
- Close [App name] dismisses the block screen and returns you to your home screen.
- Manage Block sends you a notification you can tap to open Detox. iOS does not let the block screen launch Detox directly, so it goes through a notification. If notifications are off for Detox, close the block screen and open Detox manually from your home screen.
The block screen disappears automatically when the block duration ends.
Snoozing before a block fires
If you know you need a few minutes on a monitored app without getting blocked, you can snooze Auto Block from the home page widget. The snooze pauses monitoring for the duration you pick. It's only available before a block fires; once Auto Block has triggered, you can't snooze your way out (wait for the block to end, or use Urgent Unblock). See What is Snooze? for the full mechanic, where the action button lives, and the max-snooze-duration setting.
What Auto Block doesn't do
- It doesn't track total daily time on an app. Auto Block only counts a continuous session. If you put your phone down for a moment, the counter doesn't keep ticking. There's no "1 hour per day" limit feature in Detox.
- It doesn't tell apart different activities inside the same app. Apple's Screen Time API only reports total time on the app, so Detox can't allow messaging on Instagram while blocking the feed.
- It doesn't trigger on custom websites. Custom websites get blocked when any block is active, but they can't drive Auto Block on their own.
Related
- What is Snooze?
- Why are my apps still blocked after the schedule ended?
- What can't Detox do?
Updated on: 23/05/2026
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