How to lock apps at night on Android (Pixel and Samsung)

The quick answer

• To block apps during set hours: use Focus mode with a schedule (Pixel and most Android phones) or App timers with a schedule (Samsung).
• To cap total time per day: use App timers.
• Bedtime mode (Pixel) and Sleep mode (Samsung) mute notifications and can turn the screen grey. They don't block apps.
• All of them can be switched off in a tap or two. That's by design, and it's why they tend to fail at 1 a.m.

Menu names change between Android versions and brands. The paths below come from Google's and Samsung's own help pages. If a name doesn't match your phone, search for it in the Settings search bar.

Pixel and stock Android

Focus mode: pause apps on a schedule

Focus mode "pauses" the apps you choose: their icons turn grey and they won't open.

1. Open Settings › Digital Wellbeing (on many phones: Digital Wellbeing & parental controls).
2. Tap Focus mode and select the apps to pause, for example Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
3. Tap Set a schedule, choose the start and end times (say 23:00 to 07:00) and the days, then save.

The catch: while Focus mode is on, you can tap Take a break to unpause the apps for a while, or Turn off now to end it, including from the Quick Settings tile.

App timers: a daily limit per app

1. Open Settings › Digital Wellbeing.
2. Tap App timers (or tap an app in the dashboard), then Set timer and choose a daily limit.

When the time runs out, the app closes and its icon dims until midnight, when timers reset. The catch: it's a daily total, not a curfew, and you can raise or delete the timer in Settings whenever you like.

Bedtime mode: a calmer screen, not a lock

1. Open Settings › Digital Wellbeing › Bedtime mode.
2. Under Bedtime routine, choose Use a schedule (times and days) or Turn on while charging.
3. Under the screen options, turn on Grayscale and, if you like, Keep the screen dark, Dim the wallpaper or Dark theme. Turn on Do Not Disturb for bedtime too.

Grayscale makes feeds less appealing, and Do Not Disturb stops notifications from waking you. But every app still opens. On recent Pixel updates, Bedtime can also appear among the Modes in Quick Settings.

Samsung Galaxy (One UI)

App timers with a schedule

1. Open Settings › Digital Wellbeing and parental controls › App timers.
2. Choose the apps, then Add schedule: pick the days and a time limit, and save.

Samsung's help page describes this on One UI 5. Recent versions look slightly different, so use the Settings search if a menu isn't where you expect.

Sleep mode in Modes and Routines

1. Open Settings › Modes and Routines › Sleep.
2. Under When to start this mode, set your sleep schedule.
3. Turn on the options you want, such as Grayscale and Do not disturb.

Like Pixel's Bedtime mode, Sleep mode is built to quiet your phone, not to block apps.

Can Family Link lock your own phone?

Some adults try Google's Family Link as a stricter lock. It isn't built for that. Family Link is designed for children and teens: a child under 18 needs a parent's approval to stop supervision, and both accounts are notified when supervision ends. Its Downtime does lock the whole device at night (calls still work), but it assumes someone else holds the keys. If you ask a partner to be your "parent", be sure you both want that.

Why built-in limits fail at 1 a.m.

Every built-in tool above has a way out that costs one tap: Take a break, Turn off now, edit timer. Google and Samsung design it that way on purpose, so nobody is ever locked out of their own phone. The trouble is that the moment you most want to ignore the limit is the moment you're least able to resist: late, tired, with the feed already open.

What works better is friction: a way out that costs real effort. In a peer-reviewed study, even a 10-second pause before opening an app made people give up on 36% of their attempts (PNAS, 2023).

If you need a lock that holds

• ScreenZen is free (donations only). It adds a waiting delay before an app opens, daily open limits, schedules and a lock mode.
• AppBlock's free Android tier blocks up to 3 apps and 3 websites with up to 3 schedules. Its paid plans add a strict mode.
• Night Bandit, which we make, locks your chosen apps and websites every night at bedtime and when your daily scroll budget runs out. To get back in, you walk to a spot you registered (your kettle) and scan it with the camera, and each walk buys less time. Calls, texts, your alarm and Settings are never blocked, and loosening the rules waits 24 hours. It's free to start and in closed beta on Android.

For more options, see our comparison of Opal alternatives for Android, or, if you like the idea of a physical off switch, Brick alternatives for Android.