Detour
A pause before the scroll.
Choose the apps you want to open less. When you open one, Detour asks a quick brain challenge first — answer it and the app opens, miss it and you're back on your home screen.
Free, with optional Detour+
Updated
Made for a reflex reach for your phone.
Detour adds a short pause with a purpose. It’s friction, not a lecture: a few quick questions in the moments you would otherwise lose, so every open becomes a real choice.
Eight challenge types
Memory, mental math, patterns, sequences, facts, vocabulary in six languages and guided breathing — plus your own questions.
You set the friction
One to five questions per open, difficulty that adapts to you, and three skips a day for when you truly need in.
See the time you got back
Streaks, accuracy per challenge type and weekly insights, with a PDF report whenever you want one.
Private by design
Challenges, answers and statistics stay on your device. No ads, no account, and it works offline.
Detour, answered.
Is there an Android app that asks a question before you open Instagram?
Yes: Detour, an Android-only app, turns opening an app like Instagram into a 10-second brain challenge, a pause before the scroll and never a blocker.
How do I stop opening apps on autopilot on Android?
Detour puts a 5- to 15-second brain challenge in front of each app open, drawn from 8 types such as mental math, memory and guided breathing; its Google Play line sums it up: “Build focus, not walls.”
What kinds of challenges does Detour use?
Eight: Quick Recall, Number Sense, Pattern Flow, Mind's Eye, Sequence Snap, One True Thing (nearly 150 fact sets), Word Bridge (500+ word pairs in 6 languages) and Breath Gate (24 breathing techniques), plus custom challenges you write yourself.
Is Detour on iPhone?
No: Detour is Android only, on Google Play.
Is Detour free?
Yes: everything for individual use is free, with no ads, and Detour+ is an optional subscription with a 7-day trial.
Get Detour
- Available on
- Android
- Price
- Free, with optional Detour+
- Category
- Productivity
Detour