People who search for Opal are usually trying to answer one question: how do I stop losing hours to my phone? Opal and Stillfeed both try to help, and they start from opposite ends. Opal works at the level of the whole app or website: you choose what to block, when, and how hard it is to cancel. Stillfeed works inside the feed: it opens social apps in its own browser and removes the endless parts, so the rest of the app stays usable. This page lays out the difference honestly, including the cases where Opal is the better pick.
In short: choose Opal if you want to shut apps and websites off completely at set times, with schedules, reports and friends to keep you honest. Choose Stillfeed if you still need Instagram, YouTube or X for messages, subscriptions or work, and the thing you want gone is Reels, Shorts or the For You feed.
Two different approaches to the same problem
There are two broad ways to cut down on scrolling. The first is to take the app away for a while. That is a blunt tool, and for many people it is exactly right: if you cannot open Instagram at all between nine and five, you cannot scroll it between nine and five. The second is to keep the app but remove the part that pulls you in. That is a finer tool, and it suits people whose social apps are also where their messages, their communities and some of their work live.
Opal belongs to the first group. Its App Store listing describes an app blocker that can block apps and websites you choose at a specific time of day, along with daily limits that block an app once you hit them. Stillfeed belongs to the second. It does not block whole apps at all. Neither approach is more serious than the other; they are answers to different versions of the problem.
What Opal does
Going by Opal's own App Store description, the app is built around screen time control. It lists app and website blocking at times you set, daily usage limits that block an app once you reach them, and a choice of how strict a block is, from easy to cancel to a mode it calls Deep Focus that does not let you cancel or bypass the block. It also describes a blocklist and an allowlist, a calendar for working hours, sleep and routines, a focus report and focus score, and social features such as a leaderboard and shareable milestones. When you try to open something you have blocked, it shows a screen with a quote or a pun instead.
That is a broad toolkit, and most of it is about structure: when you work, when you rest, what is off limits during each. If your problem is that you pick up the phone at 11pm and the whole evening disappears, a scheduled block with no easy exit is a direct answer. The report and score also give you a picture of your habits over time, which is useful if you like to measure.
What Stillfeed does
Stillfeed is a browser for iPhone. It opens Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, Reddit, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Facebook inside itself and removes the endless, recommendation-driven parts before they appear: Reels, Shorts and For You. Direct messages, profiles and regular posts keep working. Hiding Reels and Shorts is free. You do not need an account to use Stillfeed.
Because it is a separate browser, it does not touch the official apps on your phone, and it is not a Screen Time tool. It will not stop you opening the native Instagram app if you choose to. What it gives you instead is a version of the service you can open without being handed an infinite feed. Instagram, for example, can still be a place to answer a friend or check a profile, without the next video queued up behind it.
Side by side
| Opal | Stillfeed | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Block chosen apps and websites, on a schedule or after a limit | Open social apps in a browser with Reels, Shorts and For You removed |
| What stays usable | Whatever you leave off the blocklist, or everything outside a block window | DMs, profiles and regular posts on each platform |
| Blocks the whole app | Yes, that is its main job | No |
| Strict mode you cannot cancel | Yes, Deep Focus is described in its listing | No |
| Reports, scores and leaderboards | Yes, per its listing | Not part of what Stillfeed claims |
| Platforms it works on | Apps and websites you choose | Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, Reddit, Snapchat, LinkedIn |
| Hiding Reels and Shorts | Not described as a feature in its listing | Yes, free |
When Opal is the better fit
Opal is the stronger choice when the goal is to be unreachable. If you want a work block, a sleep block and a weekend block, with apps simply unavailable until the window ends, that is what a dedicated blocker is for. It is also the better fit if you respond to structure and accountability: reports, a score and friends on a leaderboard. And if the apps pulling you away are not social media at all, such as games, news sites or shopping, Stillfeed does nothing for you, since it only covers the eight platforms it supports.
Opal also has the stricter tools for people who know they will override a gentle limit. A mode designed to prevent cancelling is worth having if you are honest with yourself that willpower fails at midnight. Stillfeed has no equivalent.
When Stillfeed is the better fit
Stillfeed is the better fit when blocking an app outright costs you too much. Plenty of people need Instagram for direct messages, YouTube for the channels they subscribe to, X for following news, or LinkedIn for work. Blocking those apps for hours at a time creates friction for the useful parts, and people often respond by switching the block off. Removing only the endless feed lets the useful part stay.
It also suits the person whose problem is not time on the phone but one specific loop: you open Instagram to reply to someone and thirty minutes later you are watching Reels. The fix for that loop is not a locked app. It is a version of the app where the loop is not there. For a longer look at the Instagram side, see our guide to blocking Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts on iPhone.
Using both
These do not conflict. One sensible setup is to let a blocker like Opal handle the hours when you want your phone effectively off, such as sleep or deep work, and use Stillfeed for the rest of the day, when you want to reach people and check what you follow without being fed more. Another is simpler still: try Stillfeed first, since removing Reels, Shorts and For You is free and needs no account, and add a stricter blocker only if you find the feeds were not the whole story. If Opal is not the right fit, here are Opal alternatives. If you would rather add a pause than a block, compare Stillfeed vs one sec and Stillfeed vs ScreenZen.
If you are weighing several options, our comparison of the best app blockers for iPhone and our page on Stillfeed versus Apple's own Screen Time cover the wider field.
More comparisons
See all of them side by side in the best social media blocker apps for iPhone, or browse every Stillfeed comparison. One on one: Stillfeed vs Brick, Stillfeed vs one sec, Stillfeed vs ScreenZen.
Common questions
Is Stillfeed an alternative to Opal?
For one job, yes: cutting down on social media scrolling. They work differently, though. Opal blocks apps and websites you pick; Stillfeed keeps the platforms available and removes Reels, Shorts and For You. If you need whole apps shut off on a schedule, Opal fits better.
Does Stillfeed block apps the way Opal does?
No. Stillfeed does not block whole apps. It opens social platforms in its own browser and removes the endless feeds, while messages, profiles and regular posts keep working.
Can I use Opal and Stillfeed together?
Yes. They address different things, so there is no reason you cannot run a blocker for set hours and use Stillfeed the rest of the time.
Which platforms does Stillfeed cover?
Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, Reddit, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Facebook. Hiding Reels and Shorts is free, with no account needed.
Will Stillfeed stop me opening the Instagram app?
No. Stillfeed is a separate browser and does not change the official apps. It works for you only when you choose to open Instagram through it.
Weighing other options? Compare Stillfeed vs Brick, Stillfeed vs one sec, Stillfeed vs ScreenZen and Opal alternatives, or see the best app blockers for iPhone and every comparison in one place.
Download Stillfeed from the App Store and try it on the feed you open most.
