I had a whole perfect system going that this new update has totally ruined and my screen time is already suffering as a result. Theyāve removed block lists so now my focus options on my custom screen time focus on my iphone are only ādistracting appsā or āall appsā which would be totally fine if it worked!!! It doesnāt do anything!!! The new layout is entirely unintuitive and completely ruined the point of all of it, Iām wondering who thought this was a good idea and why they seem to not want the money I was right about to spend on premium thank god I didnāt oml 
if theyāre not gonna make an option to revert to the previous version, could they at least make their current version work?
4 Likes
It doesnt feel like an update. It feels like a totally different app. 
Hi @pepsi , I am sorry to hear about your expereience with the latest version of the app. Iāve sent you a private message as well to hear more about your experience with Opalās latest update.
Completely agree. The new update is horrible and also it doesnāt even work. Half the time that I try and block apps in hard mode the apps arenāt actually blocked and with the new timer setup instead of blocking sessions I canāt even reload blocks or reach out to support. This app now SUCKS.
Thank you for sending your thoughts, we want to hear more from you, just sent you a private message.
This new app update itās a total downgrade. None of my blocks work correctly and I have been trying to contact customer service for 3 weeks. The app just says Iām being escalated to human and will hear back within 2 days and never do. I have the biggest exam of my life coming up and heavily depend on Opal. The technical difficulties are frustrating but the lack of response to customer service inquiries is just unacceptable
Hi @choff, I just sent you a private message so we can escalate this to support!
I agree with the sentiments here. I used to sing praises about Opal, but this new update has introduced a lot of bugs. I know bugs are typical of a major update like this, but for the time being itās making the app frustrating enough that Iām looking into other options.
Some of the frustrations Iāve experienced include: My emergency pass unblocking apps for only one hour even without a rule stating starting, apps getting blocked randomly and unblocked randomly outside of any rules Iāve set, and the feature where I can decide whether an app is productive time or distracting time disappearing (since no tutorial is clearly available for the new update, I have no idea if this feature is just gone or hiding, but I would love to not have Spotify and Maps count as screen time again). All of my gems were also reset, so I had to open them up again and most of them are dated incorrectly now.
It really is a big change in many ways, and while I do think the new version of the app looks aesthetically pleasing, the functions need work based on what the community likes and dislikes. I really do think a video tutorial going through the features of the new version would have helped a lot of us.
The app is too messy. It was easy earlier to ser block. Now, it is very messy.
So disappointing with the update, Itās completely destroyed all of my blocks with one feature.
The āalways allowā feature right there in the home page which i can just add any distracting app to no matter whether its being blocked with a deep focus session and I can just access it after waiting for 5 seconds. What is the point of this?? and how could such a simple work around be put into an app thatās entire point is to block things. Iāve renewed for another year recently and Iām absolutely gutted. Please for the love of god put it back to how it was or send me a refund.
1 Like
Hi @samujeff I want to make sure the Always Allow feature makes sense, because I think there may be a small misunderstanding about how it works.
Always Allow is a list of apps that Opal will never block, regardless of your active rules. Think things like Maps, your banking app, or anything you genuinely need access to at all times. Itās designed for important apps, not a way around your focus sessions.
On that note: if youāre on Hard Mode, you actually cannot add a distracting app like Instagram to Always Allow while a rule or timer is active. Hard Mode specifically prevents that bypass. On Regular Mode thereās more flexibility, but Hard Mode is designed for exactly the kind of protection youāre describing, as well as Disabling Resets with Time Limits and Open Limits.
If youāre finding that distracting apps are still slipping through, itās worth checking whether Hard Mode is enabled, you can find it in Settings ā Waiting Room.
Does that help clarify things?
1 Like
Guys, this new update wasnāt an update. You completely changed the application. This is a premium app that costs a lot of money per year to renew, and you completely changed the application without really considering your existing user-base. The application was not broken, why did you change the user experience so drastically? Not to mention all the regressions that were introduced. What kind of research or feedback did you guys get that prompted this kind of change? Did you beta test this with both new and existing users at all? Listen, Iām a software developer too, and I know how much work goes into this kind of thing. But there were some core tenets here that were broken. Youāve drastically changed the way the app functioned without ensuring your existing users could keep up. Hereās a concise list of my issues:
UX Critiques -
- where are the block lists? I used to have different lists for different things, and now it seems that block lists are specific to each rule? Why would I want to set up a block list with every rule? If I add or remove or change rules, I have to re-add apps again.
- what are these scores? I used to be able to open up the app and it would tell me what was currently blocking me and how much screen time I had, how much focus time I had. It was beautiful and simple.
- itās so unintuitive to understand what block is active. Why would I go to āAppsā in order to see what blocks are currently active? This is especially confusing when multiple block types are active at once, or sorry, rules.
- The apps section is quite literally a list of apps and websites that are currently blocked with pretty icons, what value is that view actually bringing me?
- below the giant list of blocked apps thereās one small rules section with a list of active and upcoming rules, along with rules iāve never set up before.
- get an average of 5.5 hours of sleep per night right now, but your app tells me my sleep score is 93, whatever the heck that means.
- The always allowed app list limit is too small, there are many things on my phone that I never want to lose access to at any point.
- Never allowed apps?
- I see a āDistractingā apps tab which I assume a list of apps that Opal thinks is distracting, but unless I add them to every different block I have, itās a challenge to ensure these apps are blocked when I want them to be.
Bugs -
- Hereās the big main one, if you reset a limit on a time limit rule, and Opal somehow resets itself, the block goes back. Something is not keeping track of current time resets on these rules. There are many times Iāve reset my time limit on my main time limit rule, and it blocks me again, 5 or 10 minutes later, nevermind actually having spent that much time in the app list itself. I have to keep resetting it multiple times which kills the value of the block because if I only want to unblock it once that day, Iāve lost track of how much time Iāve actually spent on the apps. I know if Iāve only reset my limit once and if it blocks me again, thatās it.
Suggestions -
- Blocks or rules deserves its own navigation icon at the bottom. You should be able to simply see your current active rules, with rules that are coming up below that, then a section below that to create new suggested rules. The way all of the navigation is nested into the Apps tab is actually really unintuitive.
- Fix the bugs
If you guys have started leveraging AI and thought completely re-working the app in a very short amount of time would bring value, it didnāt. The experience changed far too drastically in a short amount of time. Existing users at this point need to go through an āonboardingā tutorial or something in order to understand how the app functions now because itās completely different. The concepts are not the same and what information I expect to get from the app is not the same or I really have to dig for it. This application is something that people who are addicted to their phones use in order to improve their quality of life, and you provided a very very valuable application to help people slowly get their lives and focus back. And you drastically altered it. Your users arenāt playing games or getting entertainment from the app, they are using it to ensure invasive technology isnāt taking too much from their lives. Please consider your users more thoughtfully before drastically changing the way the app functions, we rely on it heavily and pay a premium to ensure we get what we need from it. iOS has built-in blocking, thereās a reason I paid for Opal and that reason is quickly fleeting away.
Hi Team,
I joined Opal in January this year and totally fell in love with the app and how it improved my life. I didnāt mind its very high price because getting so much of my time back was totally worth it. But the new UI is very disappointing and I will not renew my subscription if the app remains as it is.
I switched phones from iPhone 13 Pro to 17 Pro two weeks ago and this is when I got the new UI and fell out of love with Opal.
First, I canāt easily see my actual screen time with distracting/productive scale - please bring it back.
Second, I donāt need Opal to pretend it tracks my sleep or how much I am sitting throughout the day. Please, remain a screen time and focus app, this is what you do best.
Third, what happened to the streaks celebration with a pop up and vibration?
Fourth, the reports delivered once per week are incorrect - at first when I switched phones I thought that this is going to get back to normal, but I just got the report that shows me 0h screen time for Monday-Saturday and 7h for Sunday. None of this is correct.
I also donāt like being reminded of apps currently blocked on the app home screen - why would you show a cigarette to someone who tries to quit smoking? A separate screen for apps is just enough for that.
The main screen used to give me a positive boost for doing great - feedback on screen time, number of hours Iām getting back, etc.
Now I canāt see the numbers but some unclear rating with sleep and a reminder of apps. It makes me soooooo upset.
My overall report, the one I can see when I click the user bubble top right, shows no data at all - it says it will be available upon a full week of data and it says to come back in two days or to come back in five days. Iāve been using the app on this phone for over two weeks now.
Overall, I enjoyed the app for almost 6 months, now the experience couldnāt be worse I think. I hope you change it back and I can stay with Opal, otherwise I will most probably uninstall it soon.
13 Likes
100% agree.
This update sucks. Everything helpful is buried, everything useless is right in your face. Also itās super glitchy.
Not to mention that now I have the unblock option right on the block screen and I have to pay for a subscription in order to be able to avoid thisā¦ ridiculous
This really used to be an app Iād highly recommend to people but the way it looks and works right nowā¦ sucks.
5 Likes
Hi,
I back a lot of the feedback youāve given here 
My main issue (which I mention because you havenāt) is that the new app freezes and crashes a lot.
Thanks for reading
1 Like
I am in the same boat! I use it to help me stay focused on study and last night it was the same old opal that i love. Ever since this morning the app is pretty much unusable to me.
Itās ugly, Itās confusing to navigate, i lost all of my progress and my pre-set blocked lists for work/uni/other things and itās overall just unpleasant to have to navigate.
I have already begun searching for alternatives, and will be switching asap unless opal changes the app back to what it used to be.
i am also very uphappy with this change.
1 Like
agreed. i am definitely not a fan of the new update. my blocks are not even working
1 Like
Hey there @Wiorek
Sorry for the delay and thanks for the feedback on the newest version of Opal. While Iām afraid it wonāt be possible to revert to the previous version, weāre currently working on improving the experience. Several of the issues you mention should be resolved if you update to the newest version, available here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opal-screen-time-for-focus/id1497465230
Otherwise, youāll be happy to know weāll soon be reintroducing more comprehensive screen time analytics to the new version of the app. Finally, if you can contact our Support team directly in-app, they can help you resolve any issues - it sounds like you may have logged into a different account when onboarding which is resulting in your data missing, but they can investigate further and confirm or deny! To contact Support, navigate to your Settings > Chat with Support.
Sorry for the inconvenience,
Team Opal
Hey there @sfraile ,
Happy to help and sorry for the trouble! To clarify, if you have the unblock option on the block screen, you are using our Open Limit feature. This is the only Rule type that allows you to unblock from the block screen, and that has not changed from the previous version of Opal to the new version. That said, if youāre seeing an unblock screen on anything other than your Open Limit, please update to the newest version here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opal-screen-time-for-focus/id1497465230
Additionally, it sounds like you may be running into an issue weāve since resolved in an update. That said, if you update and the problem remains, please donāt hesitate to contact Support by navigating to your Settings > Chat with Support.
Sorry for the inconvenience,
Team Opal
Hey @SerenaHoneyProcess ,
Sorry for the trouble! Weāve escalated this issue of Opal using high battery levels and lagging badly to the engineering team, who is currently working on a fix. On that note, be sure to update when you are able here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opal-screen-time-for-focus/id1497465230
If you update to the newest version and continue to experience issues, please first confirm on your Settings page if you are on version 4.2. You may check by scrolling to the bottom of the page. If not, please wait for a few days, then attempt the update again. If that does not resolve the issue, please donāt hesitate to let our Support team know in app!
Thanks for your patience,
Team Opal