Ochi: Block Websites & Apps

When this review was first written this app was the best on the market. Now the market has caught up and charging $70 for this is outrageous. It’s a good app and does the job well, but there are others that do the same, are easier to use, and much cheaper.

I’ve tried out a few other apps for content blocking/self control and this one’s the best I’ve found. Integration with the shortcuts app allows you to automate your settings (I linked the ‘suspend’ option with an NFC device). The only changes I’d request are to be able to block all apps instead of a predetermined list (the most common and distracting ones are on there but there are still a few I’d like to block, like the apple news app), and the ability to block websites on other browsers like chrome (I had to switch to using safari when I downloaded the app). But it keeps me off of distracting apps/sites like youtube/instagram, which is exactly what I wanted from it! Thank you

I have been looking for a blocker for both apps and websites while I am at work. After quite some research, I settled on Ochi, which is really easy to set up and works on both macOS and iOS. Ochi has all the modern perks of a native Apple app, supporting Shortcuts and iCloud syncing among other things. The developer is very responsive to support questions. The free version is beyond generous, offering a single filter that can be configured to block an unlimited number of apps and websites together. The only major limitation on macOS so far is that website blocking does not work on Firefox (for which I use LeechBlock, an open-source extension). Web blocking works very well on Safari and Chrome-based browsers. On iOS there are more system limitations, but Ochi has managed to accomplish a lot within these limits. It is particularly clever to use the Focus mode for macOS control of Ochi filters across Apple devices.