The Loomis Chaffee School is implementing a new phone policy for all students using the Opal app. All students will keep their phone, but Opal will block restricted apps (social media, games, etc.) with the exception of a few minutes per day during breaks.

How will Opal work?

• As school starts for the day, the students’ restricted apps become blocked.
• Data regarding compliance is sent to a dashboard for the school admins to monitor.
• At the end of the school day, the blocking ends.
• For boarding students, blocking of restricted apps will resume at 11pm until the next morning.

What is Opal?

Opal is a focus and screen time management app used by over 1 million people every day, including more than 250,000 teenagers who choose to use it daily to reduce distractions and build healthier digital habits. You can find more information on https://opalapp.com/

Opal School Mode brings that same student-loved approach into the school environment. Built in partnership with leading high schools, it helps students develop digital self-regulation: the ability to manage their own technology use, stay focused, and make intentional choices with their phones.

Unlike traditional phone policy tools that focus mainly on restriction or enforcement, Opal is designed to help students build habits that last. Because teens already like using Opal, many continue using it outside of school, making it a tool for both classroom focus and long-term independence.

Why does this matter?

Opal helps schools create healthier rhythms without taking phones away. During the day, it blocks distracting apps so students can focus, participate, and connect with one another. At night, it can block those same distractions again to help students wind down and sleep.

Students still keep access to essential phone functions set by the school, including safety-related tools. The goal is balance: more focus, more community, and better rest. As the Los Angeles Times reported, schools using Opal have seen students become more engaged with one another, less reflexive about checking their phones, and, in some cases, better rested.

📄 LA_Times_-_Opal_at_Harvard_Westlake.pdf

Which types of apps are blocked?

• Social media — TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Reddit, X (Twitter), Threads, and similar platforms
• Games — All mobile games, including Roblox, Fortnite, Clash Royale, and hundreds more
• Gambling & betting apps — DraftKings, FanDuel, Kalshi, and similar platforms
• Short-form video & streaming — YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Twitch, and similar services
• Shopping apps — Amazon, SHEIN, Temu, and similar platforms

Which types of apps are available?

• Phone calls, iMessage, SMS — Students can always call or text, including in emergencies
• Email (Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, etc.)
• Camera, Photos & standard Apple apps — Apple's built-in apps cannot be blocked by third-party software
• Maps, navigation & ride services — Apple Maps, Google Maps, Uber, Lyft
• Location apps — Parents using Find My or Life360 to track their child's location will not be affected
• Music — Spotify, Apple Music
• Health & medical apps — Glucose monitors, medical tracking apps, and similar tools remain accessible
• All school-approved educational tools (Google Classroom, Canvas, Khan Academy, etc.)

Are there workarounds?

No, Opal is designed to enforce a phone policy that the schools design. With the following caveats:

• Schools can allow limited “unblocks”: depending on the school’s policy, students may be allowed to access their distracting apps for a limited amount of time during the school day.
• If a student needs to leave early during the school day, they can request to have their phone unblocked by a dean/counselor.
• Deleting the app: the school will know if the student does this via the school dashboard, and the student will be in violation of the policy.
• Disconnecting Screen Time permissions: the school will know if the student does this via the school dashboard, and the student will be in violation of the policy.

For parents: if you would to enforce Opal further, you can create a screen time passcode on your child’s device which will prevent them from deleting the app or disconnecting screen time permissions. Here’s how: https://opalapp.com/help/how-can-i-make-opal-foolproof

What are “unblocks” and why do they work?

• If a student need to access their restricted apps, they can request to “unblock” inside Opal.
• Before the unblock starts, Opal adds friction, such as:
  • a 30-second meditation
  • multiplication problems
  • SAT-style questions
• After completing the task, the student will be unblocked for up to 10 minutes.
• When the unblock ends, the apps are blocked again.
• If the student asks for another break, the task becomes much more difficult (e.g. 1-minute meditation, or harder multiplication problems).

💡 The point is to interrupt the automatic habit of opening distracting apps. Instead of negotiating with a teacher or parent, the student pauses and decides for themselves whether the app is worth the effort. That moment of choice is where digital self-regulation begins.

What can the school see?

• If a student connected their Opal app to the School’s account.
• If a student blocked their phone with Opal for that day.
• The number of app and app categories the student is blocking.
• If a student deleted or disconnected Opal.
• How many minutes of “breaks” the student took.
• The student’s “streak” (the number of consecutive days they blocked their apps on Opal).

What the school CANNOT see

• Which apps or websites the student used or visited.
• The individual screen time of a student.

What can Opal see?

• All the things the school can see.
• Individual screen time of a student so it can be shared with their friends on the Opal leaderboard (opt-out allowed).

What Opal CANNOT see

• Which apps or websites the student used or visited.
  • On Apple iOS, this data is saved on the individual’s phone, and not shared with Opal.
  • On Android, app usage data is collected, but websites visited are not tracked.

What does Opal do with my personally identifiable data?

• Opal shares the data mentioned above to the school to be able to administer their phone policy.
• Opal does not sell student data to third-parties.

Opal Support

For app bugs or issues, you can contact support within the app by Opening Opal > Profile > Settings > Support.