Compared
DetoxDroid vs Stay Focused
Stay Focused is the blocker with everything bolted on: apps, websites, keywords, Reels and Shorts hidden inside their apps, profiles for sleep, work and study, blocking at a place or away from it, a Pomodoro timer, focus sounds, usage charts, and an alarm you can only silence by solving a puzzle. Strict Mode locks all of it until the timer runs out, and its FAQ is honest about the one way round it (Safe mode) and what to do about that. DetoxDroid is smaller and points the other way: nothing to start, nothing to survive, a phone that is gray and slow to open a feed until you pause it.
The short version
Stay Focused is a wall with a timer on it; DetoxDroid is a dimmer. Stay Focused hides Reels, Shorts and Stories inside Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat; DetoxDroid leaves them in, gray and blurred, and interrupts you when the scroll goes on too long, in any app. Stay Focused has schedules by place and a Pomodoro; DetoxDroid has a budget that tightens as it runs out and Do Not Disturb for as long as it runs. Stay Focused is free with ads and a Premium subscription; every feature of DetoxDroid is free. Its Play listing says it collects personal info and app activity; DetoxDroid's says nothing is collected.
Where Stay Focused is better
- Reels, Shorts, Stories and Spotlight hidden inside their apps, the rest of the app untouched.
- Blocking at a place you choose, or while you are away from it. DetoxDroid schedules by time only.
- A Pomodoro timer with planned breaks, focus sounds, and a strict alarm.
- Keyword blocking and an adult content filter, in twelve named browsers.
- iPhone as well as Android.
- An honest FAQ that names the Safe mode loophole and a workaround.
Where DetoxDroid is better
- Gray, dim and blur for the apps you name, from the first minute. Stay Focused changes nothing about how an app looks.
- A doomscroll interrupt by how you scroll, in any app, not a list of four.
- A wait before each open, and a budget that tightens as it runs out instead of a block at the limit.
- Do Not Disturb while it runs, an emergency brake, a text-only launcher.
- Every feature free, no ads, no Premium.
- Open source, and nothing collected.
Side by side
| DetoxDroid | Stay Focused | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A boring phone by default, paused on purpose | An app and website blocker with profiles, Strict Mode and a Pomodoro |
| Gray, dim, blur | Per app, from install | Not listed |
| Breaks doomscrolling | By how you scroll, in any app; cooldown afterwards | ~Reels, Shorts, Stories and Spotlight hidden in their apps |
| Wait before an app opens | A few seconds, per app | Not listed |
| Daily time budget | Per day or per clock hour; stricter as it runs out | A daily limit per app and per site |
| Schedules | Always, nights, nine to five | Profiles by hours and days, or by place |
| Blocks websites | Paths and ready-made lists | Sites, URLs and keywords in twelve browsers; an adult filter |
| Focus sessions | None; the protection is on all day | Pomodoro with breaks, focus sounds |
| Do Not Disturb | On while the app runs | ~Notifications silenced during focus sessions |
| How you get out | A pause with a minimum gap; a password; a brake | Strict Mode until the timer ends; device admin against uninstalling |
| Stats | Screen time, opens, scroll distance; two widgets | Screen time by hour, launches, browsing |
| Open source | GPL-3.0, since 2020 | Closed source |
| Data it collects | Nothing, per the Play listing | Personal info, app activity and three other types, per the Play listing |
| Price | Free, donations | Free with ads; Premium subscription |
| Runs on | Android 8 and newer | Android, iPhone |
Every Stay Focused 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 you want one app that blocks, times your work and wakes you up, Stay Focused, and Strict Mode is the reason to pay for it. If a block has never held you and you'd rather the phone were dull than locked, DetoxDroid. There is no harm in both: Stay Focused for the office hours, DetoxDroid for the rest of the day.
Get DetoxDroid Try it on the page first
Sources
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stayfocused: Stay Focused on Google Play, the description, the ads and in-app purchase labels and the data safety section, read on 27 October 2026.
- www.stayfocused.me: Stay Focused's website, the feature list, the supported browsers and the FAQ on Strict Mode, Safe mode and purchases, read the same day.
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flx_apps.digitaldetox: DetoxDroid on Google Play, for its own data safety section. The rest of the DetoxDroid column is the app itself.
The other comparisons: Curbox · Reef · Digital Wellbeing · one sec · ScreenZen · AppBlock · Lock Me Out · Freedom · Digital Detox