Difference between an app blocker, a dumbphone and Saalo
"I want to use my phone less, but I have no idea where to start. Do I block some apps? Ditch my phone? Something else?"
If that sounds familiar, you're far from alone. Almost everyone owns one now: 91% of U.S. adults have a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center (Pew Research Center, 2026). And a growing number of us are looking for a way to put it down more often.
Most people end up choosing between three approaches. You can limit the phone, replace the phone, or put the phone down. Here's what each one really asks of you, and who each one suits.
What an app blocker is
An app blocker is software on your smartphone that limits the apps you choose. Apple's Screen Time is the one most people start with, and there are dozens of others: timers, pauses before an app opens, schedules, even a physical tag you tap to unlock.
You keep everything useful about your phone and fence off the parts that pull you in. For one app that keeps pulling you back, a blocker can genuinely help. We go through the main options in our guide to the best app blockers for iPhone.
The catch is that the phone stays in your hand. The way out lives on the same screen as the problem, and blocking one app rarely changes the habit of reaching for the phone. Block Instagram and the reach usually finds email, the news or the weather instead.
What a dumbphone is
A dumbphone is a basic phone that does calls and texts, and not much else. Think flip phones, or the newer minimalist phones with a black-and-white screen.
It's the cleanest break you can make. There's nothing to scroll, so there's nothing to resist.
The catch is everything you lose along the way. Maps, banking, boarding passes, the parking app, two-factor codes, the group chat with your kids' school. For a lot of people, that's where the experiment ends after a week or two.
What Saalo is
Saalo takes a third route. You keep your smartphone and every app on it. You just put the whole phone down for a while and go do something else.
There are two ways to use it, and you can start with either:
- The free Saalo app. Put your phone down and start a saalo. The app counts your time away, against a daily intention you choose. You can schedule clearings for the windows that matter to you, like mornings, dinner or the hour before bed. If you wear an Oura ring, it shows how your sleep and stress respond on the days you step away.
- The Saalo Box. A home for your phone. Place your phone inside and close the lid, and your session starts on its own. No buttons, no timers, no negotiating. Take the phone out and it ends.
Saalo doesn't block anything or lock you out. We're not anti-phone. We just believe the habit changes when the phone is somewhere else for a while, and that seeing the time add up is what makes it stick.
Main differences between them
The easiest way to see it is side by side.
| App blocker | Dumbphone | Saalo (free app or Box) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Limits the apps you choose | Replaces your smartphone | Counts the time you put the whole phone down |
| What you give up | Only the apps you block, while the block is on | Almost all apps, including the useful ones | Nothing, while the phone is put away |
| How easy to undo | Very easy. Usually a tap or two | Hard. You'd have to switch phones back | You pick the phone up when you need it |
| What it changes | Which apps you open | Everything your phone can do | How much of your day is phone-free |
| Cost | Free (Screen Time) to a yearly subscription | A second phone | The app is free. The Box is by waitlist |
| Best for | One or two apps that keep pulling you back | A full reset, or weekends away | Protecting the parts of the day that matter, and seeing what changes |
A few things stand out:
- An app blocker changes what you do on the phone. Saalo changes how often you're on it at all.
- A dumbphone changes your whole life. Saalo changes the parts of the day you choose.
- Saalo is the only one that counts the time you get back. For a lot of people, watching that number grow is what keeps them going.
Which one suits each type of person best
There's no right answer for everyone, and they work fine together. You could block one app and use Saalo for the rest of the day.
- If one or two apps are the whole problem: start with an app blocker. If you keep catching yourself reaching for the phone anyway, read why we pick up our phones without meaning to before you choose.
- If you want a complete reset: try a dumbphone for a weekend before committing. You'll quickly learn which apps you truly need.
- If your phone runs your work and family life: keep the smartphone and put it down for set parts of the day. That's what we built Saalo for. The app is free, so it costs nothing to try.
- If you'd like it to be effortless at home: the Saalo Box gives the phone a place to go, and starts a session the moment the lid closes. If you're weighing other boxes, here are five phone boxes for the home.
Still deciding? Here's an honest look at whether Saalo is worth it, including who it isn't for.
Limiting the phone helps. Replacing it is a big step. Putting it down, a little every day, is where most of the change happens.