SelfControl
Shares rank 6 of 9 website blockers by recommenders
A free Mac app that blocks distracting websites so you can lock yourself out, and recommenders say it helps attention and productivity within a week.
A free Mac app that blocks distracting websites so you can lock yourself out, and recommenders say it helps attention and productivity within a week.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strict whitelist and host-level blocking
“A combination of https://selfcontrolapp.com/ and Hammerspoon automation and you can lock yourself out of pretty much everything.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Oregon School Cell Phone Ban: 'Engaged Students, Joyful Teachers'” “cut the access at the host file level. Superior.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Kiki – The accountability monster for people who are easily distracted” “SelfControl app with restrictive whitelist”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now” Free and long-running Mac app
“Self control is great. I've been using it for a solid decade.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Kiki – The accountability monster for people who are easily distracted” “Happy to see it still exists, and free”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Kiki – The accountability monster for people who are easily distracted” Helps attention and productivity
“It's helped a lot, after a week you can notice measurable change in attention and habit and productivity.”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “Attention is all you have” “so far it's working pretty well!”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Oregon School Cell Phone Ban: 'Engaged Students, Joyful Teachers'”
Other website blockers people recommend
The four most recommended other website blockers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dull | 14 | 14 | 50% | 2 | — | — |
| One Sec | 11 | 1 | 92% | 3 | — | — |
| ScreenZen | 10 | 1 | 91% | 6 | — | Approved |
| UnTrap for YouTube | 9 | 2 | 82% | 7 | — | — |
| SelfControlThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's helped a lot, after a week you can notice measurable change in attention and habit and productivity.”
“SelfControl app with restrictive whitelist”
“so far it's working pretty well!”
“A combination of https://selfcontrolapp.com/ and Hammerspoon automation and you can lock yourself out of pretty much everything.”
“cut the access at the host file level. Superior.”
“Self control is great. I've been using it for a solid decade.”
“Happy to see it still exists, and free”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.