Lock - NFC App Blocker

Lock-app

About this app

Take back control of your attention.

Lock is a focus tool that blocks distracting apps on your phone using a physical NFC tag. Tap the tag to lock, tap again to unlock. That's it.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Choose the apps that distract you. Pick from a list of your installed apps, by category or search.
2. Tap your NFC tag to lock. Place your phone on the tag to activate blocking.
3. Apps are blocked. The selected apps become inaccessible until you unlock.
4. Tap the tag again to unlock. A new scan deactivates blocking.

WHY LOCK IS DIFFERENT

Most focus apps live on your screen, one tap away from being disabled. Lock lives off your screen, on a physical tag you have to reach for.

A physical gesture, not a tap. You have to get up and scan the tag. Friction creates intention.

Impossible to bypass. No hidden button, no cheating. The tag is the only key.

Not another screen time app. Lock doesn't track your time. It makes scrolling impossible.

FEATURES

• NFC-based blocking with up to 5 paired tags (home, office, wallet)
• Granular app picker by category (Social, Games, Tools) or search
• Manual mode to try Lock without a tag
• Configurable grace period (15s, 30s, 1m, 2m) to cancel accidental blocks
• Emergency unlocks with adjustable duration (2, 5 or 10 min) and number (0 to 3)
• Session timeout (2h to 8h, or unlimited) as a safety net
• Statistics: streak, total sessions, weekly focus chart, session history
• Light, Dark, and System themes

SAFETY

Lock is not a prison. You always stay in control.

• Emergency unlocks give temporary access when you really need it
• Automatic timeout deactivates blocking after a set duration if you lose your tag
• Grace period lets you cancel an accidental block

ACCESSIBILITY SERVICE

Lock uses Android's Accessibility Service API to detect when a blocked app is opened, so it can return you to the home screen. This is the only reliable way to block apps on Android, and it is the core functionality of Lock.

The Accessibility Service is used exclusively for app-blocking detection. Lock only reads the package name of the foreground app. It never reads screen content, never captures input, never records audio, and never sends any data off the device.

You enable this permission yourself during onboarding, with a clear explanation of why it is needed. You can disable it at any time in Android Settings > Accessibility.

PRIVACY

Lock is 100% private. No analytics. No tracking. No account. No ads. No internet connection of any kind.

Your profiles, tags, and statistics stay on your phone. Export them yourself if you want to switch devices.

REQUIREMENTS

• Android 14 or later, with NFC
• Any standard NFC tag

100% free. No account. No ads. No in-app purchases.

Privacy: https://lock-app.fr/privacy

Ratings and reviews

I’ve only had this for a day and it’s already been really eye opening. I got a cheap NFC cards off Amazon after seeing all the ads for Brick. The cost was insane to me so I did some research. The NFC cards were less than $6 and was so easy to set up. I plan to hide it upstairs to make unlocking more inconvenient. In just my first session with Facebook, TikTok and Instagram blocked, I’ve seen how nearly reflexive it is to reach for them. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you!

So far loving the app as good alternative to foqos and like that its very easy to setup. I have a few ideas for improvements though. Currently you cant have the phone locked for more than 8 hours without having it infinitely long. I would like if 16hrs was an option so that my phone is locked before and after sleep. I know I can schedule it but my sleep schedule isn't always consistent. I also would want like an alarm feature of some sort so that I have to unlock phone first to stop it.

Looks nice, works fine (So far. I'm on MI, and it's been a nightmare to find something as simple and useful as this, Xiaomi kills everything that works on this premise) My only complaint is that it doesn't have access to system apps like settings. If one wants to disable it; they can go to settings and disable accessibility, and kill the app. Well, you can uninstall it too if you feel like cheating, but then again, having access to system apps would be nice.

What’s new

New: a custom maximum session duration, from 1 to 24 hours, in Settings > Session. Fix: blocking is more reliable in an edge case where a blocked app could stay open. Also in 1.4: block websites in your browser, like youtube.com or reddit.com, profile by profile. It's optional and uses a separate permission.