Is there a better alternative to Digital Wellbeing?
Digital Wellbeing is free, already installed and perfectly good at showing you where your time went.
It falls down in two places: every timer is set per app, and when a limit is reached nothing stops you from changing it. Hush is built for the part where you try to talk yourself out of it.
Free on Android. Only Strict is paid.
Side by side
| Feature | Hush | Digital Wellbeing |
|---|---|---|
| Limit across a group of apps | One shared budget | Per app only |
| When the limit is reached | Strict cannot be dismissed | App pauses, limit can be changed |
| Split-screen and floating windows | Covered | Not covered |
| Price | Free, or $31.99/yr for Strict | Free |
| Setup | Separate install | Already on your phone |
Prices in USD, checked August 2026. Play Store prices vary by region.
The per-app problem
Digital Wellbeing gives each app its own timer. Thirty minutes for TikTok, thirty for Instagram, thirty for Reddit. That is an hour and a half, and the apps are interchangeable — when one runs out you open the next.
Hush lets you put those three in one group with a single shared thirty minutes between them. Switching apps does not buy you more time, because the budget belongs to the group.
And a limit you cannot wave away
Hush has three difficulty levels. The first two are free, and the third — a block you cannot talk your way out of — is the reason most people install it:
- EasyFree
Watch an ad for 5 more minutes
- HardFree
Same, but only 3 times a day
- 🔒 StrictPro
No ads. No bypassing.
Hush also covers split-screen, floating windows and freeform mode, which are the usual ways around a block once the icon stops working.
Where Digital Wellbeing wins
- It is free, forever. No tier, no subscription, nothing to buy.
- It is already there. Nothing to install, and it is built into the operating system rather than relying on permissions you have to grant.
- It is enough for a lot of people. If a gentle nudge is all you need, you do not need Hush.
Try Digital Wellbeing first. If you have been ignoring its limits for months, that is the point at which a Strict block starts being worth it.
Common questions
Can Digital Wellbeing app limits be bypassed?
Easily. When a Digital Wellbeing timer runs out you can extend it or switch the limit off from the notification, in a few taps, without leaving the moment you are in. That is fine as a nudge and thin as a block.
Can Digital Wellbeing share one time limit across several apps?
No. It sets a timer per app, so running out on one and opening the next costs you nothing. Hush can give a group of apps one shared budget, which is the gap that closes.
Do I need an app blocker if I already have Digital Wellbeing?
Not necessarily. If a visible timer is enough to make you stop, Digital Wellbeing is free, preinstalled and does the job. Add a blocker at the point the limits stop working — when you notice you are dismissing them without thinking.