ScreenWorth vs one sec: A Breathing Pause or a Price Tag? Which One Stops the Scroll
Short answer
one sec shows a short breathing exercise before a distracting app opens, then asks if you still want to continue. It’s backed by a peer-reviewed study and rated 4.8 stars from about 24,000 App Store ratings. Its Pro plan is $6.99/month, $19.99/year or $99.99 lifetime. The pause is always free to tap through, which is why some long-time users find it fades into habit. ScreenWorth adds a different kind of friction: when your daily allowance runs out, you can walk away for free or pay a small amount you set in advance ($0.49 for the first 15 minutes on the default setting). ScreenWorth’s Free plan is free forever. Pick one sec for a gentle, mindful nudge. Pick ScreenWorth if you’ve learned to breathe through the pause and open the app anyway.
Pick ScreenWorth if…
- You’ve started tapping through pause screens on autopilot
- You want a daily allowance, not a pause on every single open
- You don’t want another subscription to get the core feature
Pick one sec if…
- You want a gentle, mindful nudge rather than any cost
- You want to add friction to many apps and websites, on iPhone, Mac and Android
- You like the evidence base of a published field study on this exact app
ScreenWorth vs one sec at a glance
| Feature | ScreenWorth | one sec |
|---|---|---|
| Price (US App Store) | Free plan, free forever. Plus $4.99/month or $39.99/year. Unlocks optional, from $0.49 | Free for one app. Pro $6.99/month, $19.99/year or $99.99 lifetime |
| Type of friction | A small, real price to go over your daily allowance | A breathing exercise and a “still want to open?” question on each open |
| When does it kick in | After today’s allowance runs out | Every time you open a chosen app |
| Cost to get past it | $0.49 to $2.99 per 15 minutes, rising each time that day. Walking away is free | Free: wait a few seconds and continue |
| Tracks | Times you walked away, money voluntarily spent, temptations, “Worth it?” answers | Open attempts versus times you chose not to continue |
| App Store rating | New app | 4.8 from about 24K ratings |
| Platforms | iPhone (Android coming soon) | iPhone, iPad and Mac on the App Store, plus Android |
Prices and ratings from the US App Store and each app’s own pages, checked October 23, 2026. They can change.
What one sec does well
one sec is one of the best-studied apps in this category. A field study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute and Heidelberg University, published in PNAS in 2023, followed 280 people for six weeks. TIME reported that it cut the average user’s attempts to open their chosen app by 57%. ScreenWorth cites the same study on our homepage, because it shows that friction right at the urge works.
It’s also gentle. There’s no lock and no cost, just a breath and a question. App Store reviewers describe it as life-changing, and it’s available on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android.
Where a free pause runs out of steam
A pause costs nothing to get past, and your brain learns that fast. Habi’s 2026 review says: “If you are the type who will just breathe through the exercise and open the app anyway, one sec will not stop you,” and that “After the hundredth breathing exercise, some users report that the pause becomes automatic.” WhistleOut’s 2026 guide says one sec is “most effective in the early weeks of use,” and quotes a Reddit user saying it “stopped blocking me as much” over time.
Price comes up too. One App Store reviewer titled their review “Great app, but…” and wrote: “I really can’t get behind the modern era of subscription based apps.”
How ScreenWorth’s friction is different
ScreenWorth doesn’t interrupt every open. You get a daily allowance for the apps you choose, such as 60 minutes of social and video on the Reset plan. Use it however you like. When it runs out, the app locks and you choose:
- Walk away for free. One tap.
- Unlock 15 more minutes at a price you set during setup. The default ladder is $0.49, $0.99, $1.49, $1.99, then $2.99. It resets at midnight.
You can breathe through a pause on autopilot. It’s much harder to pay $0.99 on autopilot. Paying hurts most when it happens right next to the thing you’re buying (Prelec & Loewenstein, 1998), so the price lands at the exact moment it matters. ScreenWorth never charges automatically. Every unlock is an optional purchase you confirm with Face ID or Touch ID, and tapping Unlock opens ScreenWorth to finish it, which gives you one more moment to reconsider.
What each app tracks
one sec shows how often you tried to open an app versus how often you decided not to. ScreenWorth’s weekly receipt leads with how many times you walked away, then what you voluntarily spent and how many times you were tempted. After each unlock it asks “Worth it?”, and the unlocks you mark “Not really” become a weekly pattern showing which apps and hours cost you.
Price compared
one sec’s free plan covers one app, and Pro is $6.99/month, $19.99/year or $99.99 lifetime on the US App Store. ScreenWorth is free to download. Free to walk away. You only pay if you decide extra time is worth it. The Free plan covers one full plan with limits, schedules, the unlock screen, receipts and 7-day challenges. Plus is $4.99/month or $39.99/year and adds tools, but never free unlocks.
If you walk away every time, ScreenWorth costs nothing. If you unlock often, you’ll spend more than a one sec subscription. That cost is the friction doing its job, and you’ll see every cent on your receipt.
The honest trade-offs
- one sec has a published study on the app itself. ScreenWorth is built on published research about pricing and commitment, but hasn’t been studied as an app yet.
- one sec works on iPhone, Mac and Android today. ScreenWorth is iPhone-only for now.
- one sec never costs you money per open. ScreenWorth can, by design.
- They can work together: one sec for a mindful pause on every open, ScreenWorth for a hard daily allowance.
What users and reviewers say
Verbatim excerpts from public reviews. Follow each link to read the full review.
“Never in my life have I written a review for an app but I’ve tried every single thing to stop using Instagram…”
“I really can’t get behind the modern era of subscription based apps.”
“If you are the type who will just breathe through the exercise and open the app anyway, one sec will not stop you.”
“Stopped blocking me as much”
FAQ
Does one sec actually work?
There’s good evidence it helps. A six-week study of 280 people, published in PNAS in 2023, found one sec cut attempts to open the target app by 57%. Some long-time users report the pause loses its effect as it becomes routine.
What’s the difference between one sec and ScreenWorth?
one sec adds a free breathing pause before every open. ScreenWorth gives you a daily allowance, then asks you to either walk away for free or pay a small price you set in advance for 15 more minutes.
Is ScreenWorth a free one sec alternative?
Yes. Free to download. Free to walk away. You only pay if you decide extra time is worth it. The Free plan is free forever, with no account needed to start.
Can I use one sec and ScreenWorth together?
Yes. Use one sec for a mindful pause on every open, and ScreenWorth to cap your total daily time on the apps that pull you in most.
Will ScreenWorth charge me without asking?
No. Hitting your limit costs nothing. Every unlock is an optional In-App Purchase you confirm yourself.
Sources
- one sec on the US App Store (ratings and prices, checked Oct 23, 2026)
- Grüning, Riedel & Lorenz-Spreen, “Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec,” PNAS (2023)
- TIME: This App Could Fix Your Social Media Addiction
- Habi: 7 Best Screen Time Apps in 2026
- WhistleOut: The Best Apps To Manage Your Screen Time (June 2026)
- Prelec & Loewenstein, “The Red and the Black,” Marketing Science (1998)
Disclosure: we make ScreenWorth. We’ve tried to describe every app fairly, using public pages and real reviews. Spot something wrong or out of date? Email hello@screenworth.co and we’ll fix it.