“This is the kind of gadget every household needs” — I tested the Brick smartphone blocker and here's what happened
Tom's Guide reviewed the Brick, a $59 smartphone blocker designed to reduce excessive screen time and social media usage. The device works by physically locking the phone until the user finds the Brick to unlock it, leveraging human laziness as a deterrent. While the reviewer found it effective and praised its customizable modes and magnetic design, they noted it may not suit those lacking the willpower to wait for the unlock process.
- ▪The Brick is priced at $59 or £44 and is compatible with Android 12.0 and iOS 17.0 or later.
- ▪It features a magnetic, non-slip silicone base and can be used with an unlimited number of devices.
- ▪The device includes customizable strict modes and website blocking capabilities through its companion app.
- ▪Alternatives to the Brick include the Bloom card, NFC tags, and app-based blockers like Opal.
- ▪The reviewer concluded that the Brick is effective for curbing phone addiction but relies on the user's unwillingness to search for the device to unlock their phone.
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Record
| Original publisher | Tom's Guide |
| Canonical URL | https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/brick-review |
| Publication time | Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:45:28 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-02T14:50:56.931Z |
| Last seen | 2026-10-02T14:50:56.931Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
| Excerpt method | First ~120 words (~800 chars) of extracted publisher body, fair-use limited. |
| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | TTdPMiPElMjF · 1 stories |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
Rights status (four layers)
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| Indexing | May the item be indexed (stored, ranked, made findable)? | Allowed |
| Snippet | May a short excerpt of the publisher's text be shown? | Allowed |
| AI summary | May WeSearch generate its own short summary of the article? | Limited |
| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Tom's Guide Verdict The Brick offers the best way to curb excessive phone usage. It has reduced my social media screen time, and I appreciate its customizable, strict modes, non-slip magnetic design, and unlimited device compatibility. While it relies on a trend of human laziness, it’s a good piece of tech to keep you on track. Reasons to buy +Effective at reducing screen time and social media usage +Customizable modes and website blocking in app +Magnetic and non-slip design +Strict modes +Can be used on an unlimited number of devices Reasons to avoid -Relies on human traits of laziness Best picks for you The best tech of 2026 (so far): 26 products we've actually tested, rated and loved One less screen: Meet Google's Fitbit Air, the ultimate ultra-light, stylish fitness tracker The best…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Tom's Guide.
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