Snitch vs Brick: Hardware or Your Friends? (2026)
Brick locks your apps until you tap your phone on a puck. Snitch skips the hardware and uses your friends. Cost, getting out early, and who each suits.
Brick is a little physical device. Tap your phone on it to lock distracting apps, and tap again to unlock. Leave it at home and you’re locked out until you get back. Snitch skips the hardware and uses your friends instead.
The quick answer
- Pick Brick if you like a physical ritual, and having to walk to a device is the friction that works for you.
- Pick Snitch if you want something free to start, with no device to buy or lose, and friends to keep you honest.
Side by side
| Brick | Snitch (ours) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Tap your phone on a physical device to lock and unlock apps | Friends share a daily time pot |
| Upfront cost | £44.75 for the device | Free to download |
| Ongoing cost | None: no subscription | Free plan blocks up to 2 apps; Premium from $2.99/mo (US) |
| Getting out early | 5 emergency unlocks, then ask Brick to reset you | Give a reason, or ask the group for more time |
| Platforms | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android |
| Social | None: it’s just you and the puck | Built around groups of up to 5 |
Brick details from getbrick.com and our physical blockers comparison, which covers Brick, Bloom and Unpluq in more depth.
Where Brick wins
There’s something satisfying about a physical lock. It’s very hard to bargain with an object across the room, and there’s no app to argue with. And once you’ve bought it, there’s nothing more to pay.
Where Snitch wins
No hardware to buy, carry or lose. It’s with you everywhere, including the places where most scrolling happens.
It’s flexible. Life happens, and Snitch’s Rot Day and group approvals bend without breaking.
It’s social: your friends are in it with you.