Opal, read from outside
Written 1 June 2026 · revised 15 October 2026
Opal is a screen time and focus app for iPhone, Android and Mac. Its old address, opal.so, now forwards to opalapp.com. When we first wrote about it, the listing never mentioned the thing that set it apart: a block you cannot override once a session starts. The home page now does, under the name Hard Mode. This is a read of the public pages, not a measurement.
What Opal offers
The hero reads 'Attention on autopilot.' Opal blocks chosen apps with Focus Rules, runs focus sessions with a timer, rewards focused time with Focus Gems, and gives a daily Opal Score drawn from sleep, focus and rest.
Hard Mode is described plainly: 'No way out. You can't turn Opal off.' The app is free to download, with weekly, monthly and yearly plans sold in the app.
Who it is for
Opal's best buyer has already tried something gentler and switched it off. They set a Screen Time limit and disabled it, or overrode a blocker in a weak moment. What they want is a decision they cannot undo.
That buyer is comparing tools, often by name. They want to know which one will actually hold.
What has changed since v1
The first read asked Opal to name the hard block and to use the words 'app blocker'. The App Store subtitle now reads 'Focus, App Blocker & Timer', and the home page names Hard Mode.
The hero still leads with autopilot rather than with the block. Hard Mode appears as one feature in a list, not as the reason to choose Opal.
Where the opportunity is
Our opinion: Hard Mode is the line no softer competitor can claim, and it answers the buyer who has failed before. It deserves its own page and a place nearer the top.
An honest comparison with the built-in Screen Time controls and with other blockers would meet buyers at the moment they choose. Communities such as r/nosurf talk about exactly this problem.
Takeaways
- Give Hard Mode its own page: it is the reason a buyer who failed before picks Opal.
- Write a fair comparison with Screen Time and other blockers, for buyers already choosing.
- Keep 'app blocker' in the listing; it is the words buyers use.
- Say which plan includes Hard Mode where it is first mentioned.
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Facts checked on 15 October 2026.
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