Article
Alternatives to one sec: what ScrollKiller app does differently
If you're looking for an alternative to one sec, ScrollKiller is one to try. It notices when you've slipped into mindless scrolling on social media and stops you, so you choose what to do next. Getting back in isn't as easy as tapping "ignore limit". You hold a button and have to actually pause and think for a while before you can keep scrolling.
ScrollKiller works on Android and on iPhone (iOS 18 or later)
How is ScrollKiller different from one sec?
ScrollKiller steps in while you're already scrolling, not only when you open an app. one sec is known for putting a short pause in front of an app before it opens. ScrollKiller's focus is the moment a quick check turns into autopilot.
On Android, it watches the apps you choose, usually social media. After a few minutes in one, it steps in when you keep scrolling on to the next post or video.
On iPhone, it counts the scroll-like movements of your hand with the phone's motion sensor, on the phone itself, and steps in when they or a time limit add up. Counting movements needs Location set to "Always". Without it, the time limit does the job. Setting it up takes Screen Time access and two Shortcuts automations per app.
You can read more on how it works.
What does ScrollKiller do for free on Android?
On Android, the free version stops mindless scrolling in one app you choose. It also gives you:
- a "block social media now" button
- adult website blocking
- grey mode for the apps you choose
- uninstall and force-stop protection
- Christian mode with Bible verses
- notes, and a wheel that picks something better to do
- one intention, a goal you set for yourself that ScrollKiller reminds you of
What does Pro add on Android?
On Android, Pro removes Reels, Shorts and other short videos, so you can keep the rest of the app. That covers YouTube Shorts, Instagram and Facebook Reels, Snapchat Spotlight and X's video feed.
Pro also protects unlimited apps instead of one, and adds Hard Mode, your own unlock time, blocking the websites you choose, more than one intention, blocking notifications from blocked apps, Mirror, the phone-free timer and quote packs.
What does ScrollKiller do on iPhone?
On iPhone, the free version stops mindless scrolling in one app or website. It also has the "block social media now" button, adult website blocking with Apple's filter, Christian mode, one intention with reminders, pausing that turns itself back on, and a way to watch longer YouTube videos inside ScrollKiller, away from the feed.
Pro on iPhone unlocks unlimited apps and websites, Hard Mode, Low sensitivity mode, your own unlock time and unlimited intentions.
On iPhone, ScrollKiller blocks whole apps. It can't remove only Reels or Shorts there. That's an Android-only feature.
Can ScrollKiller block an app every time you open it?
Yes, with Hard Mode, which blocks your chosen apps every time you open them. Hard Mode is part of Pro on both Android and iPhone.
How much does ScrollKiller cost?
ScrollKiller is free to download and comes with a 14-day free trial of Pro. Pro costs about €1.90 a month. Yearly plans are offered too. Prices vary by country, and the store shows the exact price.
What about privacy?
On Android, ScrollKiller uses Accessibility only locally on the phone to see which app or web page is open and spot short videos, and none of that leaves the phone. On iPhone, it uses Apple's Screen Time and keeps motion, location, your chosen apps and your intentions fully on the phone.
There is more waiting than another feed
The fact that everyone scrolls doesn't make it normal. Most of us have never lived our teenage or adult years without that pull, so we can't know how much better life is without it. Getting free is hard and sometimes painful. But it can be done, and as ScrollKiller's developer puts it, "There is life outside this mind plague."