Gen Z Men Find Hope in New Apps to Quit Porn

Seth, a 31-year-old water treatment worker in West Texas, struggled with pornography for two decades before finding an app that helped him stay abstinent for six months and counting.

He's part of a growing movement of young men seeking help. A 2019 study found that 11 percent of men see themselves as somewhat addicted to porn and find it negatively impacts their lives. Even more telling, 72 percent of young men now support making pornography harder to access online, with Gen Z leading the charge.

Two new apps are stepping up to meet this need. Quittr, created by then 19-year-old Alex Slater and his 17-year-old brother last year, has been downloaded 1.3 million times. Relay, started by 21-year-old college student Chandler Rogers in 2021, has reached 122,000 downloads.

These apps take a different approach than earlier blocking software. Quittr gamifies the quitting process, rewarding users with experience points and medals for abstaining from porn. It also offers a panic button for moments of temptation and connects users to supportive Telegraph groups.

Relay costs about $150 annually and features therapist-created lessons, weekly progress reviews, and an online community. Quittr runs as low as $20 per year. Both apps serve overwhelmingly male audiences, though each maintains separate groups for women.

For Seth, who had experienced childhood sexual abuse and carried deep shame about his porn use, the community aspect proved lifesaving. "There were about two separate times that I was really suicidal throughout all of this," he says. "And honestly, I probably would have gone too far if it hadn't been for that group."

The men in his Quittr group encouraged him to seek professional help alongside using the app. He's now on an antidepressant and in talk therapy addressing underlying trauma.

The Ripple Effect

Sexual health experts acknowledge that while these apps alone can't treat severe underlying issues, they're filling a critical gap by reducing shame and isolation. Josh Grubbs, director of the Behavioral Addictions and Associated Disorders Research Lab at the University of New Mexico, notes he regularly sees people whose excessive pornography use is genuinely damaging their lives.

The apps' success points to something deeper: young men are ready to talk honestly about struggles previous generations kept hidden. They're seeking support, building communities, and taking control of habits they want to change. That openness itself represents real progress, regardless of the tool they use to get there.