Brick vs. Bloom Card: I tested both for my screen addiction, and the winner depends on you

## Summary
Bloom Card: I tested both for my screen addiction, and the winner depends on you This cheaper Brick alternative blocks distracting apps and adds its own unique features. ZDNET RECOMMENDS Bloom Card The Bloom Card prevents creates a physical barrier between you and your phone's addictive apps. details View at Bloom Best mobile deals of the week Get an iPhone 17 Pro Free With Trade-in and Qualifying Plan at T-Mobile Google Pixel 10 Pro 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian) : $749 (save $250) Samsung Galaxy S25 FE 128GB Unlocked Phone (JetBlack) : $475 (save $175) Google Pixel 9 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian) : $499 (save $300) Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium Black) : $900 (save $400) Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article. I did not have the Bloom Card with me to tap and enable access, so I was locked out for several hours, forcing me to delete the Bloom app to use these apps. Also: I found 4 tech gadgets that actually helped me sleep better (and ditch the alarm) There is one thing Bloom has that Brick doesn't: breaks.

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Brick vs. Bloom Card: I tested both for my screen addiction, and the winner depends on you
This cheaper Brick alternative blocks distracting apps and adds its own unique features. There's just one catch.
Written by
Nina Raemont,
Editor, Wearables & Health Tech
Editor, Wearables & Health Tech
April 2, 2026 at 5:16 p.m. PT
Bloom Card
pros and cons
Pros
Better app than Brick.
Easy app scheduling.
Lower price.
Cons
Continued to block apps after my scheduled time was over.
Breaks defeat the purpose of strictly curbing screen time.
View now at Bloom
I'm on track to having spent 16 years of my life glued to my phone screen. That's what
Bloom
, the latest salve to phone addiction, tells me as I create my account.
16 years. According to my calculations, if I weren't attached to my phone's addictive mechanisms, I could have spent that time running 1,700 marathons, grabbing 2,900 cups worth of coffee with friends, or adding one or two more hours of sleep to my night each night. Instead, I scroll.
And I'm not alone.
Also:
The base model Kindle is my secret weapon against doomscrolling - and it's on sale
As phone addiction becomes more widespread -- and as we learn how social media keeps us addicted -- more companies are coming up with solutions. Bloom is one of those companies that, like the popular
Brick
, developed a tap-able NFC-enabled card that creates a physical boundary between the user and their dopamine-triggering device.
ZDNET RECOMMENDS
Bloom Card
The Bloom Card prevents creates a physical barrier between you and your phone's addictive apps.
details
View at Bloom
Best mobile deals of the week
Get an iPhone 17 Pro Free With Trade-in and Qualifying Plan at T-Mobile
Google Pixel 10 Pro 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian)
:
$749
(save $250)
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE 128GB Unlocked Phone (JetBlack)
:
$475
(save $175)
Google Pixel 9 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian)
:
$499
(save $300)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium Black)
:
$900
(save $400)
Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.
I've been using the Brick since October and have found it to be a straightforward way to remove distractions as I work, leisure, and sleep. But it's not perfect. There are a few bugs, and the app is quite minimalist.
A friend of mine and fellow Brick user told me about the Bloom Card and gave me one of his own. He said it addresses some of the Brick's flaws, so I tested it out for a few weeks.
Bloom vs. Brick
First things first: the
Bloom Card is $39
, whereas the Brick is $54. The better option depends on just how addicted you are to your phone, as I realized after weeks of testing.
In essence, the Bloom Card does the same thing as the
Brick
. You tap your phone to it, and it blocks distracting apps. The differences surface more through each respective app's software, as the hardware of an NFC-enabled card or block is practically the same. Bloom's app has a better user experience, though, with a Friends tab, for example that incorporate social accountability.
Also:
I bricked my iPhone to prevent doomscrolling - and accidentally fixed my life
You start by selecting the apps you want to block and creating disabling schedules, a process I think Bloom does better. Bloom has a dedicated tab for creating regimented schedules with default schedules are already created, so a lot

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
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- This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay.
- If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers bloom, brick, phone topics. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1591.