We Love Brick. Here’s Why.

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Brick is easy-to-use hardware that blocks or allows specific iPhone apps with a few taps. Its purpose is to help you decrease screen time. 

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Hello! Isaac here with Protect Young Eyes. 

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Have you ever wished it were easier to put down your phone and be more present? My wife and I often wrestle with this. 

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When we first married, she had a brilliant idea: “What if we did an unplugged first month together?” So, we tried it.

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We sold our TV on Facebook Marketplace, unplugged my Xbox, deleted social media and video streaming apps, and spent time reading, writing, walking, and enjoying our new life together.

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It was a wonderful month! My wife read more books that month than in the previous seven months. I began designing my own board game. It was screenless, creative, and intentional bliss. But, gradually, we allowed tech back in and quickly found ourselves reimmersed in distraction. That’s when we discovered Brick!

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How Does Brick Work?

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It’s hardware and software, which makes it a unique experience. A 2x2-inch square is the hardware, and you download an app to your smartphone, as shown in image #2 below.

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Set-up was simple. We followed the paper instructions that came with the physical device, downloaded the Brick app, and did the following:

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1. Opened the newly downloaded Brick app, created an account by entering an email, and chose the apps to block or allow. These steps are shown in Image #3 below.
2. Then, I tapped my iPhone on the 2x2 Brick hardware. This “Bricked” my phone. Later, I could “Unbrick” (and unlock apps) by again tapping my phone on the 2x2 Brick square. These steps are shown in Image #4 below.

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Image #4: You can tap the “BRICK” button on the phone and then tap the physical 2x2 Brick, or you can tap and hold the BRICK button for five seconds on your phone. This activates whatever settings you have in place. To Unbrick the phone, you have to physically tap the 2x2 piece of hardware. No “holding the BRICK button for five seconds” to get access to everything. That would be too easy! 

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What Are Brick’s Features?

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Brick is currently priced at $59 (and it works outside of the US!). The 2x2 square has a magnetic back, which you saw stuck to our fridge in image #1. It only works with iPhones on iOS 16.2 or later (Android support is in process, and there’s currently no support for Tablets).

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There are two primary modes of using Brick. You can set up a list of apps to block and allow the rest. Or you can select a list of apps to allow and block the rest. We prefer the latter mode for teens and adults because it communicates the message that technology is good in some ways. An allow list acknowledges, “Here are the ways we say 'yes' to technology,” instead of always saying “no” (which is the “block” perspective).

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Brick can control up to 50 apps. This means you can either block 50 apps or specifically allow 50. Although we found that blocking or allowing more than 20 at a time sometimes caused the Brick app to crash. You can also create multiple Brick “settings” for different situations. For example, maybe you only allow talk and text during school and sleep hours. 

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Emergency Unbricks and Strict Mode. There are five Emergency Unbricks for the entire life of the device. This means if a phone is Bricked and if you desperately need a specific app, you can use one of those five “Emergencies” to Unbrick your phone without scanning the physical Brick. But once they’re used up, they’re gone, and you can’t get them back. Even after deleting the Brick app and redownloading it. The only way to reset the Emergency Unbricks is by contacting Brick support.

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One way to remove the temptation of Emergency Unbricks is to use them up. You can also enable Brick’s “Strict Mode,” which also removes the Emergency Unbrick option. 

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Note: Deleting the Brick app is the easiest way to circumvent everything. This should lead to a good discussion with your teen if you’re using Brick to help them manage their screen time. They might have you set up Apple’s Screen Time controls to prevent apps from being deleted, which would prevent the circumvention. We want to emphasize the conversational aspect of this decision. From our perspective, the real strength of Brick is the agency it gives to the one using it. This isn’t a parental control device. It’s a user ownership device. Brick allows the user the opportunity to have a healthier relationship with their apps. 

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We love that.

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Tips for Getting the Most Our of Brick

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Encourage “Bricked” time with milestones, competition, and rewards!  For example, see who can stay Bricked longer for a specific week (My wife is winning right now… she’s almost at 100 hours Bricked this week!) Set a reward for reaching a certain amount of time (200 hours Bricked = Dinner at their favorite restaurant). Celebrate time Bricked and encourage the effort by doing things other than screens (playing, reading, writing, practicing, puzzles, board games, etc.).  

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Keep the physical Brick somewhere inconvenient. This can avoid the temptation to Unbrick. When my wife and I are in serious “Brick” mode, we sometimes hide the Brick from each other or put it somewhere annoying, like in the laundry room. This makes Unbricking rather unappealing and annoying. 

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Create a plan for using Brick together. Like my wife and doing it together, with a goal in mind, we were stronger. It’s like most things in life, right? Exercise, financial goals, etc. It’s good accountability. Maybe make a family agreement for everyone to enable certain Brick settings before work or school. Or for parents, after you’re done with work for the day, you enable a Brick setting to disable whatever you’re tempted to use instead of spending time with your family, reading, or being active.

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This activates a habit we preach during our talks with parents, “modeling the right behaviors.” It also activates a type of “co-play,” where you’re doing technology together. 

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A family could have a Brick setting for dinner, weekends, bedtimes, or a Sabbath. Maybe you use Brick as a conversation with other parents for when friends come over. Everyone Bricks together! It’s easy to see how a family with older kids can use Brick to create a family culture where technology is a tool to be used and not a trap that uses us. 

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Bottom Line: Why Use Brick?

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Three quick reasons: 

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• It’s easy. Setup is a breeze! So much easier than Apple’s controls. 
• It encourages ownership. It helps teens and adults exercise agency. 
• It feels mature. It’s not parental control. 

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Brick is one of the easiest and most effective app-blocking devices I’ve tested. My wife and I loved using Brick together, and it made our marriage better. It’s a wonderful product with a strong mission.

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¿Qué pasa si tengo más preguntas? ¿Cómo puedo mantenerme al día?

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¡Dos acciones que puedes tomar!

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1. Suscríbase a nuestro boletín de tendencias tecnológicas, el Descargar PYE. Aproximadamente cada 3 semanas, compartiremos las novedades, lo que está haciendo el equipo de PYE y un mensaje de Chris.
2. ¡Haga sus preguntas en nuestra comunidad privada de padres llamada The Table! No es otro grupo de Facebook. Sin anuncios, sin algoritmos, sin asteriscos. ¡Solo conversaciones honestas y críticas y aprendizaje profundo! Para padres que quieren «ir despacio» juntos. ¡Conviértase en miembro hoy mismo!

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