The verdict
Choose Brick when its best-fit description sounds like you: people who need a hard physical boundary and are comfortable buying hardware. Choose SideMission if your harder question is not “How do I block the feed?” but “What real thing should I do instead, right now?” The products can also be complementary because they intervene at different moments.
The key difference
Brick is built as a tangible commitment device; SideMission is a one-card offline-action engine. Brick is stronger as a barrier; SideMission is stronger as a prompt for what to do once the barrier exists.
Side-by-side decision table
| Decision point | SideMission | Brick |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Replace an empty or scrolling moment with one matched real-life mission | a separate physical object used to activate or remove configured app restrictions |
| Interaction model | One mission card, up to three rerolls, then leave the app | move the escape hatch away from the phone so bypassing a block takes physical effort |
| Motivation style | Situation matching, completion proof, private journal, and time-reclaimed feedback | a tangible commitment device |
| Account model | No account; profile and journal are designed to stay on the device | Use the official listing or privacy policy to confirm the current account and data model |
| Best fit | People who know they want more real life but do not want another list or feed | people who need a hard physical boundary and are comfortable buying hardware |
The shortest honest answer
This is not a contest between two versions of the same product. Brick is a physical screen-time blocking device. Its core mechanism is a separate physical object used to activate or remove configured app restrictions. SideMission starts one step later: after you notice the urge to scroll—or after another tool blocks it—it deals one hand-crafted offline mission matched to the constraints of the moment.
That distinction matters because “less phone” and “more life” are related but separate jobs. A blocker can create an empty ten-minute window. A quest app can fill that window, but it may also introduce feeds, choices, status systems, or setup. SideMission's product bet is that a single well-matched card produces less decision fatigue than a catalog.
Compare the intervention, not the marketing category
Brick's intervention is move the escape hatch away from the phone so bypassing a block takes physical effort. SideMission asks for mood, time, budget, distance, group size, and comfort level, then uses those answers to rank a private library of hand-authored missions. The matching controls are practical constraints, not a personality diagnosis.
When evaluating either product, test the moment where your current approach fails. If you override limits, measure the strength of the barrier. If you put the phone down and immediately feel bored, measure how quickly the product gives you a credible next action. If you dislike social comparison, inspect whether accounts, feeds, XP, or leaderboards are central or optional.
- Time to first useful action, including onboarding and permissions
- Whether the app creates another browseable surface
- What data is required, where it is stored, and whether an account is mandatory
- Whether motivation comes from external points or from the completed experience
- How easy the intervention is to bypass when motivation is low
Where Brick has the clearer advantage
Brick is the more direct choice for people who need a hard physical boundary and are comfortable buying hardware. A fair comparison should preserve that advantage instead of treating every extra feature as clutter. People differ: some respond to hard constraints, some to social accountability, and some to game progression.
SideMission does not claim to replace operating-system limits, focus schedules, or a physical commitment device. It does not measure every app session. It also does not promise that a suggested activity will change a clinical condition. Its narrower promise is a fast bridge from an unclaimed moment to one offline action.
Where SideMission has the clearer advantage
SideMission is strongest when choice overload is the obstacle. There is no quest feed, account, public profile, or leaderboard. A mission must fit the selected time, budget, distance, party, mood, and comfort range. Completion can become a proof card and a private journal entry, creating a record of what replaced the feed rather than another score to optimize.
The approach also works alongside existing boundaries. Apple Screen Time, Brick, or a household phone basket can define when the phone is unavailable. SideMission can answer what to do next. Testing that two-part system is often more useful than forcing one app to perform both jobs.
How to run a fair seven-day test
Write down the specific failure you want to change: reflex opening, late-night scrolling, boredom, indecision, or lack of offline ideas. Use the same seven-day window and track only three outcomes: whether you interrupted the scroll, whether you started a real activity within five minutes, and whether that activity felt worth repeating.
Do not treat a lower screen-time total as proof that one product caused every benefit, and do not treat a strong first day as durable behavior change. A 2025 randomized trial found benefits during a short reduction period but also found screen time rising again after the intervention. That is a reason to test fit and repeatability, not to expect a permanent transformation from one download.
Ready for one real thing?
Let SideMission deal the next card.
Match a mission to your mood, time, budget, distance, group, and comfort level—then close the app and do it.
Open in the App StoreQuestions people ask
Is SideMission better than Brick?
Only for a different job. SideMission is better suited to replacing a scroll with one matched offline mission. Brick is better suited to people who need a hard physical boundary and are comfortable buying hardware.
Can I use SideMission and Brick together?
Yes. One product can create a boundary around distracting apps while SideMission supplies the real-world action that follows.
Does SideMission block apps?
No. It asks you to consult your iPhone Screen Time number, then focuses on mission matching, completion proof, and a private record of time reclaimed.
Sources and claim checks
Product details were checked against first-party pages on the review date. Official sources supersede this page when a feature, price, or policy changes.
- SideMission: Real Life — App Store listingCurrent product description, platform, privacy label, languages, and in-app purchase.
- SideMission official websiteOfficial explanation of the one-mission flow, mission matching, and privacy model.
- Brick — official websiteOfficial description of the physical device, app blocking, and purchase model.
- Apple Support — Get started with Screen TimePrimary documentation for iPhone usage reports, limits, and downtime.
- Hagger & Luszczynska — implementation intentions reviewPeer-reviewed overview of action planning and cue-linked behavior change.
- Smartphone screen-time reduction randomized controlled trialA 2025 randomized trial; useful context, with important limits on durability and generalization.