Digital Wellbeing/launcher to avoid digital distraction, screen addiction??

[deleted]

kd92jew the best way to avoid certain addicting apps is to NOT install them on your device and learn to live with that decision.

spring-onion

Anything you setup yourself can and will be bypassed by you. Even making it inconvenient may not help, but I suppose it's something you can try - by moving the respective activity to a second profile for instance.

N1b

kd92jew this is probably not on the devs radar since not security related, but rather convenience related. There are apps you can use to motivate you not using the phone (the app Forest is nice, you grow a virtual tree but destroy it when using the phone before a countdown runs out). Those apps require some invasive permissions though.

With onboard tools the best idea I have for you is to put all addictive apps into one or multiple separate user profiles. Secure the profile(s) with annoyingly long passwords or pins (pin scrambling turned on) and set the screen timeout to 15s and the lock screen to immediately. It's not perfect but makes it much harder to get lost in any app if your screen locks quickly and requires you to enter a long code.

[deleted]

N1b Secure the profile(s) with annoyingly long passwords or pins (pin scrambling turned on) and set the screen timeout to 15s and the lock screen to immediately. It's not perfect but makes it much harder to get lost in any app if your screen locks quickly and requires you to enter a long code.

No fingerprint unlock I assume. This would do it for me, not sure about OP.

csis01

A better, but related idea, is to have a CHILD MODE that allows parents to restrict what can be used based on time of day and other conditions, outside of which the child can only make basic phone call or text message to preapproved numbers (parents, 911, etc.)

I guess that could also solve OP's request.

Jasper82

csis01 A better, but related idea, is to have a CHILD MODE that allows parents to restrict what can be used based on time of day and other conditions, outside of which the child can only make basic phone call or text message to preapproved numbers (parents, 911, etc.)

It woukd be very important that the "parental password" is different from the normal password or owner profile.
So that you could still usw the phone in a normal way

[deleted]

Action Dash (it is on the play store) is supposed to bring Digital Wellbeing to all smartphones.

pentesterkd

[deleted] https://sensortower.com/actiondash-privacy
oof taking soo much data

but i will use this app without network access, that will suffice i guess

kd92jew

The separate profile idea with the annoyingly long password seems really interesting, thanks very much.

Also the Child mode. I'll have to play with that.

Deliberately making things you want to avoid inconvenient (without being impossible) is life-altering. It's like not keeping junk food at home in the pantry. If you want it, you need to drive to the grocery to get it.

Max-Zorin

I use Maxlock available at https://github.com/Maxr1998/MaxLock. Though it hasn't been updated in a while, I haven't come across any other open-source or closed-source alternatives with its level of functionality. Maxlock enables me to secure almost anything on a phone with a password of choice. This includes locking individual apps, phone settings, specific file and folder access, and even preventing the uninstallation of apps like Maxlock itself.

I've set a very long password for my browser and limit the number of apps installed, (e.g. social media and games). Additionally, when I'm at home, I maximize the volume for messages and phone call notifications turning off other notifications. To further reduce distractions, I place my phone in an adjacent room, keeping it out of sight and out of mind.

If you have a large house, you can connect your phone to a Bluetooth speaker to hear notifications from a distance while leaving the phone in another room.

If you use it, make sure to write down your password. Don't make the same mistake I did, ultimately it was so locked down I needed to reset the phone.

Ultimately, it all comes down to having the willpower to stick to it.

[deleted]

We should keep an eye on https://github.com/NeoApplications/Neo-Wellbeing
this is "an Open source "Digital Wellbeing" replacement at alpha stage"

Johnnyloans

gunjan

Have you used any of these yourself?

If you need a language translator service, use it, but don't copy and paste AI writing into here.

gunjanj2003

One thing that helped me reduce screen addiction was making my phone less appealing, just trying to control myself. I used a phone launcher with a layout turned on grayscale mode, hid social media icons and limited notifications. These small changes made a difference over time.

I realised that the problem wasn't just that I was using my phone too much. It was the switching between apps, watching short videos, scrolling and getting notifications that kept me hooked. Some digital wellbeing tools can help break this cycle and make mindless phone use less automatic.

To get control, I found that using a simple launcher and a blocker together worked better than using just one of them. Tools help make it harder to access distracting apps and sites, so I don't rely on my motivation every day.

The biggest improvement came from reducing my habit of constantly checking my phone rather than trying to quit cold turkey.

oldschkool

I simply use µlauncher, install only the apps I need, and strictly limit allowed notifications. This works for me but not for everyone, including my wife. :)

Carrousel7956

Olauncher is this shit.

For screentime, follow my guide https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/35662-can-i-completely-uninstall-the-default-browser/4