What is Block Now?

Block Now is Detox's on-demand block. You pick a duration, tap start, and Detox blocks your monitored apps for that fixed window. It's the tool for "I want to focus for the next 90 minutes" or "no phone until my dinner is over."

Unlike a Scheduled Block, Block Now is a one-off session. It doesn't recur, and it starts the moment you tap the start button.

Block Now is not the same as Auto Block (which runs continuously in the background and fires on continuous-use threshold) or a Scheduled Block (which runs on days and time windows you set). Block Now is a one-shot, on-demand session you start manually for a fixed duration. To pause a Block Now session that's actively running, use Pause (if Allow breaks is on); to end it early or release it, see the block's controls on the home page widget.

How it works

When you start a Block Now, Detox immediately blocks every app on your Monitored Apps list for the duration you chose. The block runs to completion, then apps unblock automatically (or stay blocked until you tap Unlock, depending on your Ending Action).

Block Now uses the same Monitored Apps list as Auto Block and your Scheduled Blocks. You can't pick a different set of apps for one Block Now session.

You can only have one block running at a time. If a Scheduled Block is currently active, Detox prevents you from starting a Block Now until the schedule ends. The same applies in reverse.

While a Block Now is active, Auto Block monitoring is suspended (the same apps are already being blocked, so there's nothing for Auto Block to do). The home screen's My current block widget shows the Block Now session with Pause as its action button. When the session ends, the widget returns to showing Auto Block.

Starting a session

To start a new Block Now:

1. Open Detox and go to the Blocks tab.
2. Tap Block Now.
3. Adjust the settings:

4. Tap Block for X minutes to start. The button label updates live to match the duration you picked.

Each new Block Now starts from these defaults. Your previous session's settings are not remembered, so adjust them every time if needed.

What you see when Block Now is active

When you try to open a monitored app during a Block Now session, 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 of what's on it (title, message, Close button, Manage Block button). The only difference for Block Now is the subtitle, which reads "Your block now session is currently active."

The block screen disappears automatically when the session ends, or when you take a break.

Taking a break

If you enabled Allow breaks when starting the session, you can pause it for a short window:

1. On the Detox home screen, tap your active Block Now's widget. (Alternatively: Blocks tab → Block Now.)
2. Tap Pause and pick a duration, up to the max break you configured.
3. Apps unblock for that duration. When the break ends, the session resumes.

If breaks were not enabled when you started the session, the Pause option is not available. Strict Mode does not disable breaks; those two settings are independent.

Ending a Block Now early

If a Block Now session is currently running and you want to stop it before the timer is up:

1. On the Detox home screen, tap the My current block widget to open the active session. (Or Blocks tab → Block Now.)
2. Tap Edit to enter edit mode.
3. Tap the trash icon and confirm.
4. Apps unblock immediately.

Deleting is the only way to end a Block Now early. (Scheduled Blocks have a separate Deactivate button that ends the current occurrence but keeps the schedule; Block Now doesn't have that, since each session is one-off and there's nothing to preserve for later.)

When Strict Mode is on, the trash icon is disabled until the session ends, as part of Strict Mode locking the block.

What Block Now doesn't do

• It doesn't recur. If you want the same block on a regular schedule (e.g., every weekday 9-17), use a Scheduled Block instead.
• It doesn't run alongside a Scheduled Block. Only one block of either type can be active at a time.
• It doesn't let you pick a different set of apps for this one session. Block Now uses your device-wide Monitored Apps list, same as Auto Block and Scheduled Blocks.
• It doesn't remember your previous session's settings. Each new Block Now starts from the defaults.

Related

• What is Auto Block?
• What are Scheduled Blocks?
• What is Strict Mode?
• What can't Detox do?

Updated on: 23/05/2026