Compared
DetoxDroid vs Reef
Reef is what you get when someone builds the classic focus app properly and gives it away: a Pomodoro timer, daily limits per app with a warning before you hit them, routines by day and hour, a blocker for apps and sites, Do Not Disturb while a session runs, and charts. MIT licence, no ads, no account. DetoxDroid does almost none of that. It doesn't time your work, it makes the rest of the phone dull enough that you drift back to it on your own.
The short version
Reef is a session you start; DetoxDroid is a state the phone is in. Reef has the better focus tooling by a distance, with a timer, a history of sessions and a count-up mode with a focus-to-break ratio. DetoxDroid has the things Reef's README doesn't mention: gray, dim and blur per app, a doomscroll interrupt, a wait before each open, a budget that tightens as it runs out. Both are open source and both keep everything on the phone, so the privacy row is a draw.
Where Reef is better
- A focus timer, simple or Pomodoro, with custom durations, sounds and vibration, and a history of every session.
- Count-up focus with a focus-to-break ratio.
- Daily limits that warn you before they bite.
- Material You, and a guided setup on first launch. DetoxDroid's optional setup involves adb or Shizuku.
- Translated on Weblate, if you want to help.
Where DetoxDroid is better
- Gray, dim and blur for the apps you name, from the first minute. Reef's README has nothing about colour.
- A doomscroll interrupt by how you scroll, with a cooldown on the feed afterwards.
- A wait before an app opens, a budget per day or per hour, then a lock.
- Website lists ready-made for porn, gambling, dating, shopping, social media and video.
- An emergency brake, a commitment password, a text-only launcher widget.
- On Google Play and F-Droid as well as GitHub. Reef is GitHub and IzzyOnDroid.
Side by side
| DetoxDroid | Reef | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A boring phone by default, paused on purpose | A focus timer with limits, routines and a blocker |
| Gray, dim, blur | Per app, from install | Not listed |
| Breaks doomscrolling | By how you scroll, in any app | Not listed |
| Wait before an app opens | A few seconds, per app | Mindful Launch; not described further |
| Daily time budget | Per day or per clock hour; stricter as it runs out | Daily limits per app, with a warning first |
| Focus sessions | None; the protection is on all day | Simple, Pomodoro, count-up; a session history |
| Schedules | Always, nights, nine to five | Routines by time and day |
| Blocks websites | Paths and ready-made lists | A website blocker; no browsers named |
| Do Not Disturb | On while the app runs | During focus sessions |
| How you get out | A pause with a minimum gap; a password; a brake | Flexible or strict mode; not described further |
| Open source | GPL-3.0, since 2020 | MIT, since 2024 |
| Account, data | None; nothing collected | None; nothing leaves the device |
| Price | Free, donations | Free, donations |
| Where to get it | Google Play, F-Droid, GitHub | GitHub, IzzyOnDroid |
Every Reef cell comes from its own listing, website, docs or code as they read on 27 October 2026. "Not listed" means I couldn't find it there. German law asks a comparison to be objective and checkable, which is also simply the honest way to do it. If a cell has gone stale, tell me.
Which one
If what you want is a timer that holds the door shut while you work, Reef, and you won't find a better free one. If what you want is a phone that stops pulling at you between the work, DetoxDroid. There is no overlap worth fighting over, and nothing stops you from installing both.
Get DetoxDroid Try it on the page first
Sources
- github.com/aload0/Reef: Reef's README on GitHub, the feature list, the licence and the "no ads, no subscriptions, no tracking" line, read on 27 October 2026.
- github.com/aload0/Reef/blob/main/fastlane/metadata/android/en-US/full_description.txt: Reef's app description in its repository, for the accessibility note that no information leaves the device, read the same day.
- apt.izzysoft.de/packages/dev.pranav.reef: Reef on IzzyOnDroid, where it is distributed. It is not on Google Play, so there is no data safety form.
The other comparisons: Curbox · Digital Wellbeing · one sec · ScreenZen · AppBlock · Stay Focused · Lock Me Out · Freedom · Digital Detox