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Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels

690 points by adrianhacar 1y ago

I wanted to find a way to use Instagram without ending up scrolling for two hours every time I open the app to see a friend's story. Most screen time apps I found focus on blocking the app itself instead of the addictive feed, so I created this app to allow me to keep using the "healthy" and "social" features and block the infinite scrolling (Reels) After implementing the block on Instagram Reels, I got addicted to YouTube Shorts and Reddit feed. So, I extended the app to cover these as well. To avoid replacing the scrolling for regular feeds, I also added a feature that shows a pop-up when I'm overscrolling in any app. It forces me to stop and think for a minute before I continue scrolling. I built it on Android Studio, using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for the UI. I use the Accessibility Service to detect scrolls and navigate out of them. Unfortunately, this only works for Android. There is no way (as far as I know) to do this on iOS. I'd love to hear your thoughts

mkbkn 1y ago
I use Farhan app on Android to do something like this.
lsd85 1y ago
I just can't authorize an app to have full control on my phone if it's not open-source. What guarantee do I have that you are not selling all my user data?
- benry1 1y ago
  I understand the position, but I think that's a silly concern here. This is an app that stops you from using social media features that absolutely farm every bit of data out of you they possibly can. Feels a bit like being afraid to install a smart lock on your front door, so instead you leave it unlocked all the time.
  - Jaxan 1y ago
    I am afraid to install smart locks. Too much goes wrong with software. I would install a regular lock instead.
  - _verandaguy 1y ago
    This is a bad take, as much as I don't use social media at this point, people need access to good tools to curb use, and in this case, "good" means "open."
    - benry1 1y ago
      Can you elaborate why? It sounds like we agree to me. People need access to good tools to curb use, and all else equal, open is definitely better than closed. I just am saying that I'd rather have an effective closed tool than no tool at all
      - _verandaguy 1y ago
        It does sound like we agree, but my main issue is the further shifting of the (for lack of a better word) overton window around when closed software is acceptable. For all its flaws (and despite my general ire towards them), the FSF has done one thing really well over the years, and that's keep the conversation alive around open-source software (which, in turn, has landed us at what I consider to be a really good compromise of a ton of high-quality source-available software). The FSF isn't pulling as hard as it used to for a variety of reasons, but I think it's important to keep the pressure on and in cases like this, it's really easy to take the stance that at least source-availability shouldn't be compromised on, since the app presumably needs very broad permissions and capabilities from the OS.
  - Liftyee 1y ago
    Social media apps don't have the same level of permission to detect scrolling even when they aren't being used. This app does have that higher level of control (accessibility service) and so should be subject to more scrutiny.
  - widforss 1y ago
    I got locked into my (100+ y/o) house due to a smart lock soon after purchase. It got promptly removed. I'd much rather leave the door unlocked.
    - anticrymactic 1y ago
      A lot of discussion is about the security of these devices (resistance to false open states). But most of the time the safety (false closed states) has even higher stakes associated to it. Having to wait because some api server is slow is annoying but can quickly become life threatening in a different context. Fail-Safe vs Fail-Secure is (imo) often overlooked and probably just as important as the actual implemented security.
      - Lutger 1y ago
        Wait, are there smartlocks that depend on the availability of some api service to even open the door? I'd rather call that stupidlocks instead. I mean, just because you're an IoT device it doesn't mean you are smart, ffs.
        mrbombastic 1y ago
        I have been locked out of more than 1 airbnb due to lack of cell service not being able to get codes for locks, it is very annoying and dumb.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- FireInsight 1y ago
  DigiPaws has the headlining feature of the app advertised here, and is open source. https://github.com/nethical6/digipaws https://github.com/nethical6/digipaws
  - cl3misch 1y ago
    Not that I suspect maliciousness in the case of digipaws or OP, but does the app's code being open-source actually guarantee any security? Is there anything forcing the app I download to be consistent with the repo on Github?
    - entuno 1y ago
      It doesn't guarantee any security, but it is necessary for you to be able to to be able to have confidence in the security in a reasonable time frame. And if you need a guarantee that the source matches the binary, then you can build it yourself.
    - tom1337 1y ago
      Not really. I guess to be 100% sure you need to build the app yourself. I don’t think that publish attestation exists on play store. Probably would need to openly build & upload the app via a CI runner, print all hashes inside that runner and then the playstore also needs to display those hashes before you download - but that doesnt exist for play store downloads yet.
    - styanax 1y ago
      The readme clearly directs the reader to the F-Droid package, which are built on their buildservers and signed with their APK keys. This does not answer the security question directly, but it's the same model as say Debian repos. There are eyeballs on it by an independent third party packagers who use code scanners and manual review to detect malfeasance, and often have to tweak builds and code to get rid of unwanted things present in some upstreams.
      - pietervdvn 1y ago
        Even better: if the build is reproducable, it guarantees that the source code of the repo is the same as the version that is distributed by FDroid.
- notarobot123 1y ago
  What guarantees do you have that open source code faithfully reflects what is in the compiled binary?
  - LPisGood 1y ago
    It’s easier for security researchers to check
  - notimpotent 1y ago
    The idea is that you download the source, review, and then build it yourself.
- nickphx 1y ago
  must be a rather useless device you have there then...
  - realharo 1y ago
    The device has many eyes on it. Random apps don't.
- dvrj101 1y ago
  > full control on my phone if it's not open-source. bro is using social media that listens and records ton's of data in background. https://www.hipaajournal.com/jury-trial-meta-flo-health-consumer-privacy/ https://www.hipaajournal.com/jury-trial-meta-flo-health-cons...
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  I understand your point. The short answer is that, indeed, it comes down to trust, and I really understand and respect your perspective. The long answer is that it's very unlikely this trust would be broken. Let me explain: Firstly, the accessibility service doesn’t provide anything close to "full control." It’s just an API provided by Android that gives accessibility events, like changes in the screen layout and the UI nodes present on the screen to infer the type of content shown (Reels in my case). You can check online for details on accessibility events. It's nothing like a constant screen recording where the app gets all your data. Also, Google is very strict with these permissions. When you publish an app on the Play Store, you need to clearly disclose why you're using those permissions. If you do something wrong or try to abuse this, they will take your app down. Anyone who values their reputation wouldn’t attempt something like this just to sell some user data. Lastly, ScrollGuard doesn’t need to connect to any server to work!, all the detection happens on the device. So, if you want to be extra cautious, you can always go to your phone settings and block internet access to ScrollGuard. It will still work, and without internet access is imposible to export any data. If you want even more control and just need a solution for Instagram, you can modify the app yourself. I wrote an article a couple of years ago on how to do this here: https://breakthescroll.com/block-reels-instagram/ https://breakthescroll.com/block-reels-instagram/
subpixel 1y ago
I love this and I’d especially love for the Instagram search field to be a textarea not a wall of things designed to distract me.
NalNezumi 1y ago
I would love it. I'm currently using DFInstagram, which removes home feed. Only downside I see is that is also removes Instagram stories which I do like to check, but I can do that from PC if I want. As for YouTube I can already remove 99% of the distraction by just putting things to private and completely remove recommendations on home page, but reddit / Twitter / Facebook would be great. For the social medias I'd love to just have "old mode" where I'm only ever shown stuff posted by people I explicitly follow. Everything went to total garbage when "engagement" became the goodhearts metric, and news feed either throw you astroturf, ads, and rage-bait posts by people I haven't even followed [1] https://www.distractionfreeapps.com/ https://www.distractionfreeapps.com/
- grgergo 1y ago
  F.B. Purity[1] works great for Facebook. It can selectively remove ads, suggested crap, reels, etc. [1]: https://www.fbpurity.com/ https://www.fbpurity.com/
- mieubrisse 1y ago
  I also use DFInstagram. You can keep stories; I have mine configured to kill the feed & cancerous search page grid but allow me to see stories. Works great.
  - NalNezumi 1y ago
    Oh that would be great! I can't find where in the setting I can toggle this though
esperent 1y ago
Great idea. Does it work as a VPN? I always run into the problems with those: 1. You can only run one VPN at a time 2. My banking apps detect when there's a VPN active and won't run
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  No need for a VPN, it uses the Android Accessibility Service
jakobedding 1y ago
Shameless plug: I wrote a user script a while ago that removes everything from the Instagram explore tab when using Instagram in the browser. Confirmed to work on iOS Safari. Requires an app to handle user scripts (e.g. "Userscripts" by Justin Wasack). https://gist.github.com/jkbe/f362514f99765ac7a9dc343acfe6918f https://gist.github.com/jkbe/f362514f99765ac7a9dc343acfe6918...
root_axis 1y ago
More power to you, but I don't understand the psychology of this kind of thing. If I have enough willpower to block a feature why not just use that will power to shut off the app after a while? I understand you're saying it's addictive, but if I were addicted to something then I'm going to be inclined to just remove the blocker. Anyway, this isn't a critique of your work, just my personal perspective.
- bobson381 1y ago
  this is like putting a wall in front of, or just beyond the edge of, the slippery slope. the need to make an intentional choice or pause before doing the "getting stuck scrolling" behavior is an opportunity for you to catch yourself and see if that's what you really want. the platform is designed to capitalize on your slip ups in willpower. you can have great impulse control, but can you have it tirelessly, around the clock? this thing is lurking until you slip, as long as you're on it. attention capture is the goal.
  - root_axis 1y ago
    I guess my willpower just manifests itself in a different manner. If I lack the impulse control to prevent myself from opening up an app, it seems odd to me to start blocking particular features in the app to manage that impulse.
    - bobson381 1y ago
      you mean as opposed to going cold turkey? That makes sense! I personally have wondered about something like this for just FB Groups - I want to read my neighborhood buy nothing page, but I don't want a curated attention-grabbing experience in the full app. So I'd love like, an RSS reader for just group posts that let me direct open a post in the app if I wanted to respond. Like the chips by the checkout in the grocery store, the "path" you have to take into the app requires you to put on horse blinders if you want to complete what you came in for without getting "engaged". It's very tiring if you're at all susceptible to distraction.
- 1y ago
OfflineSergio 1y ago
If this works as you say in iOS you would be my new hero! Joined the wait list, would be happy to be part of any test you like to run.
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  Awesome! Feel free to email me at scrollguard [at] breakthescroll.com and I’ll add you when I have a beta ready.
asim 1y ago
Good idea. I resorted to my own listing of channels on YouTube and never going to the actual site. I'd also get sucked into shorts for hours. I the think the same can be said for any form of scrolling. My goal for is to create a better non addictive social platform.
janaagaard 1y ago
I want this for YouTube.
- HelloUsername 1y ago
  Then ScrollGuard is for you?
- caldito 1y ago
  it works for youtube shorts, and can be enabled for any app where you scroll since it detects if you are scrolling (linkedin, tiktok, reddit, etc)
- jacooper 1y ago
  Use libretube or grayjay.
Mistletoe 1y ago
My friend needs this so bad, he has a Reels addiction so bad it makes me uninstall Instagram. I wish there was a feature to block being sent Reels. You are doing God’s work with this app.
mrkramer 1y ago
I don't find short videos addicting because I feel like I'm not getting enough context and information from short videos. I like long form videos.
nadermx 1y ago
In a similar vain, I made https://Instag.com https://Instag.com, which let's you remove the "RAM" from Instagram media URL's to download them.
pwdisswordfishz 1y ago
> I wanted to find a way to use Instagram without ending up scrolling for two hours every time I open the app to see a friend's story. Why not just Chrome/Firefox/Safari to open the link instead of the Instagram app?
- semitones 1y ago
  I deleted the YouTube and Instagram apps and I still end up scrolling / watching shorts - it doesn't matter, browser still lets you scroll
  - pwdisswordfishz 1y ago
    Even if you're not logged in? Instagram barely even wants to let me look at the main photo/video of interest without an account.
  - roywiggins 1y ago
    I use Unhook in Firefox on Android to eradicate Shorts from my YouTube experience, it works very well.
  - eloisius 1y ago
    I deleted the apps too, but unfortunately I still like to use Instagram to follow photographers I'm interested in. These uBlock Origin filter rules have made it usable without being a black hole for my attention: www.instagram.com##article:has( > div > div > span:has-text(Suggested for you)):style(opacity: 0% !important;) www.instagram.com##div:has(> span > div > a[href="/explore/"]) www.instagram.com##div:has(> span > div > a[href="/reels/"])
  - timeon 1y ago
    What helped me, was deleting account as well. The site has different purpose than when I've registered anyway.
- neither_color 1y ago
  One problem I have with all these self control style apps is that they only let you set total per day hourly limits. My intuition is that if you give yourself a two hour, one hour, even 30 minute limit per day you're still liable to drift into zombie mode and are more likely to want to unblock after that long brain rot session. My ideal blocking app wouldn't restrict your total per day, instead the key feature would be that you can only scroll for 5-10 minutes at a time with a cooling off period. That is, if you scroll for 5 minutes you then have to wait X minutes before you can scroll again. I think this should have a strong c-c-c-c-ombo breaker effect without giving you enough time to get hooked so badly that you immediately want to bypass it.
caldito 1y ago
Being using it for a while and really helps not scroll so much, happy to see this in the top 1 of HN
abyesilyurt 1y ago
This approach is not possible on iOS. Instead, I built a safari extension to block shorts from the feed https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/shorts-stopper/id6745517488?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/shorts-stopper/id6745517488?l=...
- bfoks 1y ago
  Rather hard to sell it here to people who are (mostly) capable to install Tampermonkey and add one line rule.
- internet_points 1y ago
  which sites does this work with?
  - abyesilyurt 1y ago
    just youtube
apples_oranges 1y ago
This is badly needed, but in my case on iOS. There are alternative frontends to most social networks, that can be used or adapted, however. https://github.com/mendel5/alternative-front-ends https://github.com/mendel5/alternative-front-ends .. is one list.. but there are others (for example listing alternative Instagram frontends)
- rconti 1y ago
  In another thread here, the author of "TimeCap" mentions their iOS app. I just downloaded it and am currently trying it. It blocks a lot of the junk. I've only used it for 4 or 5 minutes now, but it does a lot of what I'm looking for, so it's worth a look. There is a fee ($30/yr or $3/week) so I'm currently trying the $3/week to see if it's what I want.
semitones 1y ago
I already deleted the apps, and I mostly use Instagram and youtube in the browser. Any support for blocking reels in browser?
- ric2z 1y ago
  try this https://apps.apple.com/us/app/socialfocus-hide-distractions/id1661093205 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/socialfocus-hide-distractions/...
  - chis 1y ago
    Can confirm this one works great. Tons of nitty little options to customize what experience you get and the dev is clearly active.
- mrweasel 1y ago
  Don't know about reels, but there's "Unhook" for Firefox which will hide Shorts and recommendations on YouTube.
  - internet_points 1y ago
    OMG thank you, unhook solves my biggest issue with youtube: whenever I would click pause to look closely at a slide, there's a bunch of huge recommendations that block the screen (I mean what kind of depraved mind comes up with something as user-unfriendly as that "oh you wanted to pause the video it's probably because you wanted to be distracted into watching something else in the middle of it, not because you actually had your own reason for pausing it, let me throw up these unrelated links at your face")
bryanhogan 1y ago
For Instagram I've been using DFinstagram on my Android which removes most features, except chatting and viewing profiles. Also using Firefox with the IGPlus extension which blocks reels. But these make Instagram not feel as smooth or misses some features related to chatting, wish something that has this but still blocks algorithmic suggestions and ads existed. For YouTube Revanced is very nice, but I also just removed my account, which helped me decrease the amount I spend on YouTube.
zahlman 1y ago
... People post stories on Instagram?
DontchaKnowit 1y ago
Installed and im amazed at how many tines ive habitually tried to use youtube shorts already after 2 hours. Awesome app, been looking for something like this for a while. Thank you!
cjonas 1y ago
As others have said, the permissions required to make this work are scary and require a lot of trust. The fact YouTube and Instagram don't allow you to disable endless algorithmic short form content is straight up evil.
- strictnein 1y ago
  The way that all these tech companies decided that the users couldn't simply turn those features off is maddening. And the "See this Less Often" option doesn't seem to do anything at all on apps like Facebook.
  - cjonas 1y ago
    There should be legislation that requires company's allow "opting out" of individualized algorithmic feeds. I'm fine if you want to show me videos similar to channels I've explicitly subscribed to. But tracking my every interaction and using that to serve content I never asked for is everything that's wrong with modern social media. Maybe we need an initiative like "stop killing games".
  - vovavili 1y ago
    They have a tremendous disincentive to do this. Endless scrolling, combined with a massive amount of algorithmically fine-tuned content to satisfy preferences that you didn't even knew you had, is effectively a digital version of cocaine. Giving you the right to reclaim your attention is a pathway towards healthy use, which for most is no more than a couple minutes per day for any social media platform. Your dealer would be the last person you'd expect to teach you about addiction avoidance.
- 0_____0 1y ago
  If you turn off YouTube view history, it breaks Shorts. It also breaks a lot of other shit (e.g. back button after you've clicked a video from a search).
- mwambua 1y ago
  I'd recommend just uninstalling the apps. I'm still able to get the content I need, and scroll mechanic doesn't work as well on the websites so a lot of the temptation to doom scroll goes away.
xnx 1y ago
Using Accessibility Service is a very smart approach. Could you adjust your app (or make a different version) that automatically covers up ads or automatically skips them (e.g. in Instagram stories). Would be great for TikTok too.
anoojb 1y ago
Is there an alternate web client for iOS that's only videos from channels you've subscribed to?
- ijustlovemath 1y ago
  You can accomplish this in Firefox with the Unhook extension
- insin 1y ago
  Control Panel for YouTube lets you hide Home, Shorts, Related videos, plus anything you don't want to see in Subscriptions (including videos you've already watched), plus you can disable autoplay of random videos, block ads and more, in YouTube itself. https://soitis.dev/control-panel-for-youtube https://soitis.dev/control-panel-for-youtube
phyzix5761 1y ago
I use Brave Browser's "Block Elements" feature. Works nicely.
coffeecoders 1y ago
This is one of those things that should be unnecessary if we all had perfect self-control, but the reality is these apps are engineered explicitly to bypass that. It feels a bit silly to need guardrails for something as trivial as scrolling. Shameless personal plug: I wrote about it here. https://nabraj.com/blog/swipe-scroll-repeat-addiction/ https://nabraj.com/blog/swipe-scroll-repeat-addiction/
- globular-toast 1y ago
  Why is it more surprising that scrolling is addictive versus, say, putting a stick of combusting plant matter in your mouth and inhaling the smoke?
  - coffeecoders 1y ago
    Probably because scrolling feels harmless, while smoking never really did. The surprise is in the mismatch.
    - globular-toast 1y ago
      On the contrary, smoking was not only seen as harmless but actually good for you and encouraged!
      - latexr 1y ago
        Indeed. https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20120325/cigarettes-were-once-physician-tested-approved https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20120325/cig... https://www.bhclinics.com/single-post/2019/12/11/doctors-prescribed-healthy-cigarette-brands https://www.bhclinics.com/single-post/2019/12/11/doctors-pre...
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
  - ghurtado 1y ago
    Because you can describe the chemical interactions of nicotine with the human body to a high degree of accuracy, while the psychology of human attention in the 21st century is a subject that is very far from that cut and dry. That's why we invented a pill that helps with the former, but we might never have one that helps with the latter (although that would be nice)
thinkling 1y ago
Instagram tip: if you click the wordlogo “Instagram” at the top (in the mobile app), you can select “Following” and get a feed of only posts from accounts you follow, with no suggested posts and no reels. I end up going through that feed in a few minutes and it insulates me from the endless scrolling.
- qgin 1y ago
  THANK YOU
- wtk 1y ago
  Can you set this as default?
  - willdelorm 1y ago
    You can't, and I've watched as they've added/removed UI to indicate that you can even press it. I'm glad the feature is there, but it's clear Meta doesn't want you finding it.
  - lezojeda 1y ago
    [dead]
- vlachen 1y ago
  Also works on the mobile page. The other thing possible is to block certain post types with uBlock origin, on desktop or mobile: www.instagram.com##article:has-text(Suggested for you):style(visibility: hidden !important; height: 300px !important; overflow: hidden !important) www.instagram.com##article:has-text(Because you liked a post):style(visibility: hidden !important; height: 300px !important; overflow: hidden !important)
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  I didn't know this one, thanks!
- Digit-Al 1y ago
  Facebook mobile tip: if you click on the burger menu and select "Feeds" you will be taken to a page with a list of different feeds at the top. If you then select the "Friends" tab you will see only posts from your friends. Doesn't get rid of ads, unfortunately, but it does get rid of all the crap from recommended pages, etc...
Perz1val 1y ago
I have an entirely different problem with youtube, I open all the videos I want to watch from the main page and subscribed page in bew tabs and then sit through them for 3h straight. Shorts are non issue, when I open them the UI and playback pisses me off so quicky that I don't even watch all shorts from my subscribed channels.
cenamus 1y ago
I love the concept, I went as far as patching the android app for instagram back in the day to stop me from scrolling (crashing was good enough). Haven't kept up to date unfortunately.
awaseem 1y ago
I love this! You don't see these types of apps for Android. I get the request for Foqos: https://github.com/awaseem/foqos https://github.com/awaseem/foqos Would you ever open source this?
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  Thanks, glad you like it! I’m not planning to open source it, at least in the short term
madamelic 1y ago
Better suggestion: block these sites entirely. Reddit and YouTube are wastes of time if you are just 'checking in'. Use YouTube-DL to download videos from specific creators and watch independently. I haven't figured out how to view the actually useful subreddits without having access to the frontpage feeds. Feeds are one of the worst things to be invented in the Internet age. I can't imagine how far behind we are because they've caught otherwise smart people in this insane dopamine trap.
- yreg 1y ago
  > Reddit and YouTube are wastes of time if you are just 'checking in'. I disagree, YouTube has plenty of creative and interesting content if one has enough will to fight the nonsense that the algorithm shovels at you. Same goes for reddit actually, and reddit is pretty trivial to filter. Subscribe only to the communities that you find worth it and don't open /r/popular etc.
- TheCapeGreek 1y ago
  I keep Instagram to keep in touch with friends abroad. I keep Facebook because certain communities and events only happen there. For some of us, it is plain better to only block short form video.
  - asats 1y ago
    Both of those things could be solved by just talking to people, and talking to people does not require you to use addiction machines. I keep in touch with my friends abroad by emailing them when I think about them, and I get long form responses on what they are up to, not whatever is the public image filtered stuff that they may or may not be posting somewhere.
    - TheCapeGreek 1y ago
      Everyone has their own strategy. Why is it so difficult for half the people replying in this Show HN to accept that some people still want to use social media as social media and not just throw all of it out?
anonu 1y ago
Removing the apps was the biggest solve for me. I still maintain some social accounts, but not having the native app reduces time spent considerably. I am addicted to YouTube Shorts. It would be fine if it wasn't the first thing you see when you open YouTube. But often, I will open the app and then completely forget what long-form video I wanted to search for because the Shorts got me. It is insidious. The youtube app even asked me once - in some sort of survey - if I enjoyed seeing Shorts first thing and I said no. Nothing changed.
stroebs 1y ago
This is brilliant. I have dreamed of a way to force companies to build in parental control to block short-form media. For the kids (it's never for the kids).
shabazahmed 1y ago
There is actually a developer setting in Instagram to stop swipe up for next reel. You can still watch reels sent by your friends but you won't be able to swipe up. You can also remove reels icon from bottom bar. If you are using MyIntsa or Revanced Instagram you can enable it (Android only). Hope it was user option too.
brailsafe 1y ago
I respect any effort put towards this, seems like a decent project. Incidentally I used to love the SelfControl mac app, but it started having leaks in its ability to function a while back and now seems unmaintained. The irony being that even though it's open source, anyone who'd be inclined to fix/maintain it would need to not know how it works or sacrifice their ability to use it. Afaik there wasn't anything as effective for mobile.
tigrezno 1y ago
I like Shorts. They strip all the unnecesary sponsors and chatter.
ksniwmidjd 1y ago
[dead]
hombre_fatal 1y ago
This kind of control is what we miss out on when we leave web apps for native apps. Ideally this would just be a simple browser plugin. But the app requires major accessibility permissions so that it can access the API it needs to see into the Android apps, something that doesn't even exist on iOS. Just to do what should amount things like deleting a ".reels" component. That said, props to OP for figuring out how to build such a feature for mobile. Most of the Show HN's in this space are desktop-only thus kinda useless.
- Atlas667 1y ago
  I've tried adding rules to ublock origin but sites like youtube and many others now have "component obfuscation". Meaning there is no unique ID on their components/elements and it makes it much harder to target. And some element titles/names are even on a different component than the content, which is even harder still. So it says "reels" on one component and the actual reels are on another. Blocking now has to be a logical combination of CSS selection, text identification and a target-action component.
  - hombre_fatal 1y ago
    Good point. I remember Facebook doing obfuscation just to hide the word "sponsored" long ago just so you couldn't easily hide its ads. That said, they put up a fight in the browser because user interventions (browser plugins, greasemonkey scripts, ad blockers) are viable in the browser but not in native apps. Though this is also why they want to force you to use their app, and I'm not sure how to incentivize apps to even exist as websites. It feels like a dying fluke that places like Reddit even maintain a web frontend for their app.
  - upboundspiral 1y ago
    I agree U-Block origin is sometimes hit or miss. What has restored some faith for me was recently discovering that when I use the element picker and select something I want blocked it gives me a list at the bottom right of things it recognized, and if I click through them I can often find exactly what I want to block though often its not the default element anymore. It's not perfect but it has massively improved my satisfaction with Ublock and general enjoyment of being online.
monster_truck 1y ago
My thoughts are that you need to turn notifications off and delete these apps instead of whatever this "we promise we're not abusing accessibility to mine your information" bullshit is We have a way of finding out what our actual, real friends are doing: it's called talking to them
hmokiguess 1y ago
I find any kind of addiction has the same challenge towards breaking from the entrapment cycle which is to raise awareness and understanding then developing thoughtful thinking. Can an app really do that for us? Will it ever? Grounding yourself is such an organic thing to do.
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  I partially agree. I think, first, it's necessary to make a commitment to breaking the addiction, and then raise the level of awareness in order to follow through with that commitment. I believe an app can help detect addictive triggers and help a person move from an "impulsive and automatic mental state" to a "state of awareness."
  - hmokiguess 1y ago
    Yeah they can help! I guess it would be good for apps to add to their message the call out to not over rely on them and seek help. Some cases are serious and this could be a bandaid fix that serious people rely on to tell themselves they are fine.
j1000 1y ago
How this is possible for iOS? Can someone share technical details on this iOS implementation? IMO this cannot be done without validating user privacy and giving app some crucial screen reading permissions.
- yc_user01 1y ago
  The answer is jailbreak or sideloaded modified ipas.
- boberoni 1y ago
  It’s currently Android only. There is a waitlist on their website for the iOS version.
- coffeecoders 1y ago
  Yeah, this is not possible in iOS because there is no equivalent of Accessibility services for apps to control other apps behavior. Not sure what OP is running waitlist for, my guess is a combination of screen time + focus modes + content blockers in Safari.
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  For Android I did it using the Accessibility Service API, iOS doesn't provide any similar API, the platform itself is much more restricted. So I think is technicaly not possible
- anteloper 1y ago
  You can't take the same approach on iOS but to Apple's credit, they do a great job with user privacy with their Screen Time permission. Apps with that permission get the ability to restrict other apps on the phone without ever knowing what they are. They can even report data back to the user without ever knowing that data. Source: I am a developer of Clearspace, which is an iOS Screen Time App https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clearspace-reduce-screen-time/id1572515807 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clearspace-reduce-screen-time/...
rootsudo 1y ago
I just uninstall the app on ios, and dns filtering, but with ublock on ios you can block it too.
zer0zzz 1y ago
I the one reason I use iOS is the built in chat is pretty good and has most all my friends and family and so between that and many of the other built in apps I can avoid needing so many third party apps. So my scrolling fixation is mostly limited to the browser. One nice thing about meta is they ALL of their mobile webapps are terrible so they don’t get me, but YouTube shorts does very often. I wish there was a good way to block all shorts on YouTube through the browser.
mflaherty22 1y ago
In my opinion tech is not the solution to issues of self-discipline.
- calmbonsai 1y ago
  Unfortunately, we're well past that era. Certain tech is so "good", we need to actively fight it and, sadly, the only solution is more tech. Not related, see also media and nutrition.
  - gausswho 1y ago
    I don't agree. More tech will always have snickets we can bypass our best self-imposed gaols. The mitigations that work well for me are purely encouraging endogenous dopamine production. Hiking (or anything outdoors). Sleep improvement through regular rituals (no phone in bed). And, indeed, nutrition. Basically, the old adage of eat well, sleep well, get some exercise. That's how you get your groove back.
    - calmbonsai 1y ago
      As an avid hiker and weight-trainer, I couldn't agree more. Limiting exposure to these algorithmically curated (ultra-processed) stimuli is the best general advice. It's just that, sadly, the economic drivers (atm) for social media, food, news, and (most) traditional media are at odds with creating products for healthy consumption. In the interim, we can counter that exposure when requisite interaction is mandated with tech (ad-blocking, nutrition information, etc.). I do have hope that many of these economic drivers are starting to wane and there's still a chance of avoiding "Idiocracy" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy ) as a documentary.
- danschuller 1y ago
  Your solution is for everyone in the world to foster a degree of self-discipline they've never shown any inclination for in the past? That doesn't sound like a scalable solution. These apps are so pervasive and their use adopted at such a young age (with a large degree of social pressure) it seems like legislation is the only way to curb these dark patterns. Like other commentators have said these are extremely well resourced companies looking for ways to exploit human psychology at scale. It's in a walled garden, compiled app so it's you have very limited ability to modify what you're shown. End-users of apps need to be given more power over what they can be shown and if that kills companies then to me that's an acceptable tradeoff.
techlatest_net 1y ago
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jacktheturtle 1y ago
I am an iOS user and I really need this. I love the Youtube App, but I can't stand having it auto open to shorts... They are truly mining my brain through this action.
Phlogistique 1y ago
The problem I have had with this type of app is that, on Instagram at least any video that a friend posts is considered a reel. And I want to watch videos that my friends post. What I don't want is swiping mindlessly through random videos. So really I would like a swipe blocker not a short video blocker. (And bonus points if I could make it work on Firefox)
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  This is a good point, I will try to find a solution. Currently, it's able to whitelist Reels from the DM feed, and it will block the rest as soon as you start scrolling, I'll see how to do this for normal posted reels.
nativeit 1y ago
I setup a self-hosted FreshRSS + extensions for this very purpose. With a little effort, I can even pull in social media feeds and YouTube subscriptions. Now I have a very plain (but highly functional) UI with a chronological list of the sources I wish to follow. No recommendations, no algorithms, no infinite anything. For discovery, I can now go elsewhere and look for new content with intention, even if facilitated by algorithms. But I've successfully divorced that from the act of consumption. I can tell you, it feels better. I have experienced what I consider to be a material improvement in consumption habits, and overall mental health.
- high_byte 1y ago
  can you elaborate on the setup? this is interesting I want the same
- matus_barany 1y ago
  This looks exactly what I am trying to achieve with RSS but never quite got to the point where it's usable enough to stick to it long term.
- andrewrn 1y ago
  I'm very curious how you manage to pull in social feeds-- there are many billions of dollars working against your accessing social media posts that haven't been dipped in digital crack. As far as I can tell, the API's that are available are really limited, as a result.
  - shaunpud 1y ago
    Maybe RSSHub? https://github.com/DIYgod/RSSHub https://github.com/DIYgod/RSSHub
- nstj 1y ago
  Sounds like a great thing to build! Seems like a lot of commenters are interested in more granular implementation details :)
- gausswho 1y ago
higgins 1y ago
Excellent! Is this a browser extension or extension of the ScreenTime APIs? I find those apps that rely on screentime API to have too many hoops to jump through on user onboarding (not to mention a buggy app search interface in the ios sdk), so would be willing to test other strategies
andrewrn 1y ago
This is excellent!
skyzouwdev 1y ago
[flagged]
- dang 1y ago
  Please stop.
tamimio 1y ago
Glad that I don’t use social media and never created any FB, instagram, etc. accounts. Interesting how a lot of people have no self control.
ugh123 1y ago
I would love to be able to do this at the router level (to block on all my kid's devices). and/or block just youtube traffic (via app, websites, etc)
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  This might be useful for you: https://pi-hole.net/ https://pi-hole.net/. You can set your own DNS server at home and block specific domains
  - internet_points 1y ago
    it's kind of either-or though, I don't think you can block only suggested crap without blocking your friends' posts (and without blocking the ability for yourself to use IG for journalling or whatever)
amatecha 1y ago
You could also save yourself a lot of effort (and avoid being the constant subject of manipulation and exploitation) and not use centralized, capitalistic platforms like Instagram. Try Pixelfed ( https://pixelfed.org/ https://pixelfed.org/ ) or something.
- AuthAuth 1y ago
  When it feels like you constantly have to fight against the platform to try and scrap together a usable experience maybe its time to consider why you even use that platform. pixelfed is great and its such a breathe of fresh air compared to instagram.
  - allemagne 1y ago
    It's a fair ask, my honest considerations: - Tiktok: "I don't want or need this" -> Delete forever. - Pixelfed: "I don't want or need this" -> Don't install. - Instagram: "Still get a ton of value from seeing updates come in from family, don't want the option of getting deep into reels" -> Strict daily timer. - YouTube: "Still get a ton of value from the network of content published to the platform consistently, don't want the option of getting deep into shorts" -> ??? self control. The dilemma I have with YouTube feels like exactly what the OP's app is intended to solve.
- sbarre 1y ago
  Not OP but... The universal answer to this somewhat cliche and paternalistic comment is always "but that's where my people are".. And I want to be where my people are. So I choose to make informed trade-offs.
- nosioptar 1y ago
  For those times when you need/want to see an Instagram post, imginn.com is 10,000 times better than Instagram (assuming the account isn't private).
source99 1y ago
I would love to build a small physical device at my home wifi router level that detects these network patterns (certain IP addresses and data patterns). Then blocks those network streams. I think the correct fix is to intermittently block them so that the user gets a small drip and don't realize its broken so they don't try to find a workaround like turning off wifi.
- internet_points 1y ago
  I would definitely `opkg install slow_drip_instagram` on my router :-D
herf 1y ago
Thank you for doing this - I think there are two lines in the sand that a true "user agent" would allow us to set: 1. Don't show recommended content at all--I want to view only the content I've specifically asked for (or searched for) in this session 2. Recommend only content that I've chosen (e.g., by following), where there is a finite amount of it You'd like such things to be part of the basic wiring of your device, though writing an app to regulate how other apps work is often not easy to implement today, so efforts like this are super valuable. What if a device could look after your attention and ensure you have the motivation to do other things? Another way these kinds of switches could get built by requiring them as child safety features, like "Watch the YouTube video for school, but don't get an assault of Shorts after" or "See the single TikTok your friend sent, but don't spend five hours scrolling after" It's pretty clear "willpower" does not suffice.
- nkydr0i0 1y ago
  I agree. Think of willpower as a finite resource. It's simply not feasible to rely on it solely. You need to build the world you want to live in. (Set yourself up for success)
jimmcslim 1y ago
Apple have no interest in fixing the “one more minute” loophole in Screen Time so I don’t see them wanting to support this.
akomtu 1y ago
Reels and Shorts derive their power from the fact that we pay higher attention to motion than to colors or shape. Blinking colors attract attention for the same reason. This observation makes it easy to neuter them: reduce framerate from 120 fps to 1 fps unless a touch is detected. This way scrolling will keep working as usual and videos can be watched if you keep pressing the screen, but the unwanted guests that abuse our attention will be left in the dust with 1 fps. Great for battery life too.
sailfast 1y ago
I love this. Joined the waitlist.
juggy69 1y ago
Does it block shorts even if i access youtube through in-app browsers on other apps like Telegram?
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  At the moment, it works only for the YouTube native app, but I'm considering extending the functionality to web browsers.
michaelteter 1y ago
I find that not visiting the lure parent sites is equally effective.
AntoninLafy 1y ago
This is an amazing idea. I found that most productivity apps are overkill. Anyway to test?
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  Sure!, you can download the app here: https://scrollguard.app/ https://scrollguard.app/
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
ckrailo 1y ago
Here's what I added to uBlock: ! YouTube ! Remove blue box www.youtube.com###clarify-box ! Remove shorts www.youtube.com##ytd-rich-section-renderer.ytd-rich-grid-renderer.style-scope:has(#rich-shelf-header:has-text(Shorts)) www.youtube.com##ytd-reel-shelf-renderer.ytd-item-section-renderer.style-scope:has(h2.ytd-reel-shelf-renderer.style-scope:has-text(Shorts))
twalichiewicz 1y ago
I ran into the same problem—my reading list kept growing but I never actually got through it. Feeds are engineered to feel effortless; opening my backlog felt like work. Instead of blocking sites outright, I tried redirecting attention at the key moment. I built a small extension that sets a daily reading goal, then reroutes me from doomscrolling sites until I hit it. After that, I can browse freely. It’s been a better balance: turning the feed’s habit loop into a nudge for something I actually want to do. https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/detour/ogddhmpffcgkjiiklddmnelnmholnmpi https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/detour/ogddhmpffcgk...
throwaway106382 1y ago
I use Unhook for YouTube. It’s crazy how much better YouTube feels to use when you just remove 90% of it.
nicohayes 1y ago
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collin128 1y ago
Love it. Do you have a way of supporting you?
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  Thanks a lot! You can upgrade to the Pro version in the app, it’s a one-time payment for lifetime access to some extra features. If you have something else in mind, feel free to email me!
habosa 1y ago
So I only use Instagram for the DMs with friends. I don’t follow anyone at all, so my feed should be empty. For years it was. Then at some point Instagram decided I must not know what I want, they should show me recommended posts from random accounts. There’s a setting to turn this off … but instead of being a normal toggle I can only “snooze” the posts for 30 days. 30 days of peace and then the spam comes back. No matter how many times I make it clear what I want, they don’t care. Just gross.
- szundi 1y ago
  [dead]
- internet_points 1y ago
  Is there any account that just shows boring stuff every day? Because now it says when I snooze that I won't see recommended posts unless I've scrolled past my friends' posts. So it seems I need to follow something that I'm totally uninterested in (I'm thinking gray boxes of unvarying sizes would be good), and that posts quite often. OOh I found a use for AI slop! Getting me off instagram!
- sneak 1y ago
  It’s not nice to subject your friends’ private communications to ad tech surveillance. I deleted my Instagram account, now my friends and I message on other (end to end encrypted) platforms that don’t subject us to censorship and spying.
  - charlie-83 1y ago
    Sometimes you have to choose between not talking to someone and talking to them on such a platform. For friends, sure, just says that you want to switch to something e2e. But for people you don't really know that well it's kind of unreasonable to expect them to switch for you. LinkedIn is a good example, I don't like using the platform but I also have no interest in adding loads of random old colleages I might talk to occasionally to any e2e platform I use.
    - 1y ago
RomanPushkin 1y ago
Is there anything similar to block/unblock them on network level? Some kind of lists, how reliable those lists are and how often do you need to update those? Curious if I can just have a shell script and will autoupdate everything on my router - install and forget solution.
SamDc73 1y ago
one of my dreams (I know it's technically kind of very hard to pull) is to be able to block them DNS level, the same way I block ads on my router level
business_liveit 1y ago
Nice work! Using the Accessibility Service for scroll detection is a clever approach. I imagine keeping it lightweight while monitoring multiple apps could be tricky — did you run into performance or battery usage issues while testing?
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  Thanks! I haven't seen any issue with battery or performance. But if you find any problem, feel free to drop me an email and I'll take a look
sayamqazi 1y ago
If only there was an app that can prevent me from doomscrolling hackernews and tech/programming subreddits, I would already be a 10xer.
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  With ScrollGuard, besides the AntiReels feature, there is the "AntiScroll mode" where you can set scrolling limits on any app. So technically, it would work for HN and any subreddit as well.
basim773 1y ago
Nice,
makach 1y ago
Shorts and Reels are designed to be incredibly addictive. I really wish there were an option to turn them off, especially on Instagram and Snapchat. What I want is to see my friends' photos — but instead, Shorts and Reels quickly funnel me into an endless discovery feed. It feels toxic, distracting, and completely misaligned with the core purpose of these apps. This functionality isn’t necessary, and I’d much rather have the choice to block it.
zwaps 1y ago
if you manage to do this on ios I will give you money
1gn15 1y ago
Nice! I use ReVanced to mod apps to do this. https://revanced.app/patches?pkg=com.google.android.youtube https://revanced.app/patches?pkg=com.google.android.youtube Though I've been trying to avoid using apps without source code nowadays precisely because of things like this. Mods can break.
petesergeant 1y ago
If you use uBlock, adding this for LinkedIn can be great: www.linkedin.com##main[aria-label="Main Feed"] .scaffold-finite-scroll__content Removes all content, while still allowing you to post content (write-only media, innit?), and send and get messages etc.
lirena00 1y ago
ngl much needed app for sure, I really hate short form conent and such
amunozo 1y ago
Does this work on the web version? I uninstalled the YouTube app but I keep watching shorts in Chrome anyway...
- skandinaff 1y ago
  I had the same problem, but then discovered that chrome extension StayFree (used to be called StayFocused or something) released and app for android, that can block sites on android too. Now, I just added links to all the short video pages of all major social networks, and it does work!
- adrianhacar 1y ago
  It only works on the YouTube native app for the moment
biosboiii 1y ago
Great work! I was working on something similiar, using ReVanced(1) Framework, which allows you to distribute fuzzy tweaks to regular APKs with their ReVanced Manager(2) which can persist multiple version updates. They have their own DSL (3), kinda. My target was Instagram Reels, I did not come that far with JADX in finding the appropriate methods/attributes to overwrite because I kept getting stuck scrolling reels on my Android Emulator. Novel obfuscation technique by Meta :/ (1) https://github.com/revanced https://github.com/revanced (2) https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager (3) https://github.com/ReVanced/revanced-patcher/blob/main/docs/1_patcher_intro.md https://github.com/ReVanced/revanced-patcher/blob/main/docs/...
bonyt 1y ago
On iOS and on desktop, I use my ad blocker to block shorts[1]. On iOS, this means not using the YouTube app, so I just uninstalled it and use the mobile website, which seems fine. [1]: https://github.com/gijsdev/ublock-hide-yt-shorts https://github.com/gijsdev/ublock-hide-yt-shorts
Oceoss 1y ago
"focus on blocking the app itself instead of the addictive feed" " the "healthy" and "social" features" maannn, this totally resonates with me, I totally agree and I always thought about this too social media/instagram has positive parts (connect with friends) and extremely negative parts (reels) I will try that
- antoferra 1y ago
  I actually built an app to do that for iOS. It’s called TimeCap, and it creates a web view of Instagram without reels and the explore page. Then I use Beeper for the DMs. My daily social media use is less than 20 min per day now.
- rconti 1y ago
  I just don't understand the appeal of reels for the average user posting them (eg, not a "creator"). All comments come through as DMs which feels weird/creepy. The social/engagement is out the window; your friends can't comment on your content and reply to each other. It's just an effing weird one-way broadcast medium that's painful to deal with (might randomly play sound, might show photos for too long/too short, video with no easily usable scrubber, etc). The only "advantage" I see is that it's limited to 24h so you don't feel like you're making as permanent a record of your content. I'm sure some "younger" folks (who are probably 35 now) thought this was a good antidote to the generation before them being embarrassed by their old FB content, but man. I just hate reels. Thankfully I don't doomscroll or otherwise sucked into the content generated by randos; I mostly only see stuff my friends post, but man, I would pay good money to never have to see a "suggested" anything again.
- sjw987 1y ago
  I'm curious. I don't use social media and am very extroverted. All of the communication, including sharing media, I do through WhatsApp (because it's most popular and widespread) or Signal (preferred). Does Instagram have any advantage in communication or media sharing over standard widely adopted messaging (and group messaging) apps?
SethMLarson 1y ago
You can disable YouTube Shorts (kinda) by disabling history: https://sethmlarson.dev/youtube-without-youtube-shorts https://sethmlarson.dev/youtube-without-youtube-shorts
tompagenet2 1y ago
Amazing! I don't know how you're doing it but there are no Shorts in YouTube now!
VladVladikoff 1y ago
I’m surprised this is even possible? I didn’t realize one app could control the behaviour of another?
- iamjackg 1y ago
  This seems to be done through the accessibility services, which makes sense: they're built for apps like screen readers that must by nature be able to read the content of other apps. Each app has to be manually authorized by going to the accessibility menu, and there's a big scary pop up that says "enabling this app will allow it to see and interact with everything you do."
mike24dzy 1y ago
Finally!! Please find a way to make it work on iOS! Or I’ll switch to use android to use your app
- antonvs 1y ago
  Google's ears just pricked up
cosmosfr 1y ago
It really has become a problem that I can no longer ignore. Thank you for the application.
yukieliot 1y ago
but i like youtube short
djmips 1y ago
I tried this for a while because I specifically wanted it for YouTube. However, I relized that I want to not see shorts at all! So while it did prevent shorts from playing it was a bad experience. Like getting your hand swatted when your reach for the donut instead of the donuts just not being there at all.

690 points by adrianhacar 1y ago

mkbkn 1y ago

I use Farhan app on Android to do something like this.

lsd85 1y ago

I just can't authorize an app to have full control on my phone if it's not open-source. What guarantee do I have that you are not selling all my user data?

benry1 1y ago
I understand the position, but I think that's a silly concern here. This is an app that stops you from using social media features that absolutely farm every bit of data out of you they possibly can. Feels a bit like being afraid to install a smart lock on your front door, so instead you leave it unlocked all the time.
- Jaxan 1y ago
  I am afraid to install smart locks. Too much goes wrong with software. I would install a regular lock instead.
- _verandaguy 1y ago
  This is a bad take, as much as I don't use social media at this point, people need access to good tools to curb use, and in this case, "good" means "open."
  - benry1 1y ago
    Can you elaborate why? It sounds like we agree to me. People need access to good tools to curb use, and all else equal, open is definitely better than closed. I just am saying that I'd rather have an effective closed tool than no tool at all
    - _verandaguy 1y ago
      It does sound like we agree, but my main issue is the further shifting of the (for lack of a better word) overton window around when closed software is acceptable. For all its flaws (and despite my general ire towards them), the FSF has done one thing really well over the years, and that's keep the conversation alive around open-source software (which, in turn, has landed us at what I consider to be a really good compromise of a ton of high-quality source-available software). The FSF isn't pulling as hard as it used to for a variety of reasons, but I think it's important to keep the pressure on and in cases like this, it's really easy to take the stance that at least source-availability shouldn't be compromised on, since the app presumably needs very broad permissions and capabilities from the OS.
- Liftyee 1y ago
  Social media apps don't have the same level of permission to detect scrolling even when they aren't being used. This app does have that higher level of control (accessibility service) and so should be subject to more scrutiny.
- widforss 1y ago
  I got locked into my (100+ y/o) house due to a smart lock soon after purchase. It got promptly removed. I'd much rather leave the door unlocked.
  - anticrymactic 1y ago
    A lot of discussion is about the security of these devices (resistance to false open states). But most of the time the safety (false closed states) has even higher stakes associated to it. Having to wait because some api server is slow is annoying but can quickly become life threatening in a different context. Fail-Safe vs Fail-Secure is (imo) often overlooked and probably just as important as the actual implemented security.
    - Lutger 1y ago
      Wait, are there smartlocks that depend on the availability of some api service to even open the door? I'd rather call that stupidlocks instead. I mean, just because you're an IoT device it doesn't mean you are smart, ffs.
      - mrbombastic 1y ago
        I have been locked out of more than 1 airbnb due to lack of cell service not being able to get codes for locks, it is very annoying and dumb.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
FireInsight 1y ago
DigiPaws has the headlining feature of the app advertised here, and is open source. https://github.com/nethical6/digipaws https://github.com/nethical6/digipaws
- cl3misch 1y ago
  Not that I suspect maliciousness in the case of digipaws or OP, but does the app's code being open-source actually guarantee any security? Is there anything forcing the app I download to be consistent with the repo on Github?
  - entuno 1y ago
    It doesn't guarantee any security, but it is necessary for you to be able to to be able to have confidence in the security in a reasonable time frame. And if you need a guarantee that the source matches the binary, then you can build it yourself.
  - tom1337 1y ago
    Not really. I guess to be 100% sure you need to build the app yourself. I don’t think that publish attestation exists on play store. Probably would need to openly build & upload the app via a CI runner, print all hashes inside that runner and then the playstore also needs to display those hashes before you download - but that doesnt exist for play store downloads yet.
  - styanax 1y ago
    The readme clearly directs the reader to the F-Droid package, which are built on their buildservers and signed with their APK keys. This does not answer the security question directly, but it's the same model as say Debian repos. There are eyeballs on it by an independent third party packagers who use code scanners and manual review to detect malfeasance, and often have to tweak builds and code to get rid of unwanted things present in some upstreams.
    - pietervdvn 1y ago
      Even better: if the build is reproducable, it guarantees that the source code of the repo is the same as the version that is distributed by FDroid.
notarobot123 1y ago
What guarantees do you have that open source code faithfully reflects what is in the compiled binary?
- LPisGood 1y ago
  It’s easier for security researchers to check
- notimpotent 1y ago
  The idea is that you download the source, review, and then build it yourself.
nickphx 1y ago
must be a rather useless device you have there then...
- realharo 1y ago
  The device has many eyes on it. Random apps don't.
dvrj101 1y ago
> full control on my phone if it's not open-source. bro is using social media that listens and records ton's of data in background. https://www.hipaajournal.com/jury-trial-meta-flo-health-consumer-privacy/ https://www.hipaajournal.com/jury-trial-meta-flo-health-cons...
adrianhacar 1y ago
I understand your point. The short answer is that, indeed, it comes down to trust, and I really understand and respect your perspective. The long answer is that it's very unlikely this trust would be broken. Let me explain: Firstly, the accessibility service doesn’t provide anything close to "full control." It’s just an API provided by Android that gives accessibility events, like changes in the screen layout and the UI nodes present on the screen to infer the type of content shown (Reels in my case). You can check online for details on accessibility events. It's nothing like a constant screen recording where the app gets all your data. Also, Google is very strict with these permissions. When you publish an app on the Play Store, you need to clearly disclose why you're using those permissions. If you do something wrong or try to abuse this, they will take your app down. Anyone who values their reputation wouldn’t attempt something like this just to sell some user data. Lastly, ScrollGuard doesn’t need to connect to any server to work!, all the detection happens on the device. So, if you want to be extra cautious, you can always go to your phone settings and block internet access to ScrollGuard. It will still work, and without internet access is imposible to export any data. If you want even more control and just need a solution for Instagram, you can modify the app yourself. I wrote an article a couple of years ago on how to do this here: https://breakthescroll.com/block-reels-instagram/ https://breakthescroll.com/block-reels-instagram/

subpixel 1y ago

I love this and I’d especially love for the Instagram search field to be a textarea not a wall of things designed to distract me.

NalNezumi 1y ago

I would love it. I'm currently using DFInstagram, which removes home feed. Only downside I see is that is also removes Instagram stories which I do like to check, but I can do that from PC if I want. As for YouTube I can already remove 99% of the distraction by just putting things to private and completely remove recommendations on home page, but reddit / Twitter / Facebook would be great. For the social medias I'd love to just have "old mode" where I'm only ever shown stuff posted by people I explicitly follow. Everything went to total garbage when "engagement" became the goodhearts metric, and news feed either throw you astroturf, ads, and rage-bait posts by people I haven't even followed [1] https://www.distractionfreeapps.com/ https://www.distractionfreeapps.com/

grgergo 1y ago
F.B. Purity[1] works great for Facebook. It can selectively remove ads, suggested crap, reels, etc. [1]: https://www.fbpurity.com/ https://www.fbpurity.com/
mieubrisse 1y ago
I also use DFInstagram. You can keep stories; I have mine configured to kill the feed & cancerous search page grid but allow me to see stories. Works great.
- NalNezumi 1y ago
  Oh that would be great! I can't find where in the setting I can toggle this though

esperent 1y ago

Great idea. Does it work as a VPN? I always run into the problems with those: 1. You can only run one VPN at a time 2. My banking apps detect when there's a VPN active and won't run

adrianhacar 1y ago
No need for a VPN, it uses the Android Accessibility Service

jakobedding 1y ago

Shameless plug: I wrote a user script a while ago that removes everything from the Instagram explore tab when using Instagram in the browser. Confirmed to work on iOS Safari. Requires an app to handle user scripts (e.g. "Userscripts" by Justin Wasack). https://gist.github.com/jkbe/f362514f99765ac7a9dc343acfe6918f https://gist.github.com/jkbe/f362514f99765ac7a9dc343acfe6918...

root_axis 1y ago

More power to you, but I don't understand the psychology of this kind of thing. If I have enough willpower to block a feature why not just use that will power to shut off the app after a while? I understand you're saying it's addictive, but if I were addicted to something then I'm going to be inclined to just remove the blocker. Anyway, this isn't a critique of your work, just my personal perspective.

bobson381 1y ago
this is like putting a wall in front of, or just beyond the edge of, the slippery slope. the need to make an intentional choice or pause before doing the "getting stuck scrolling" behavior is an opportunity for you to catch yourself and see if that's what you really want. the platform is designed to capitalize on your slip ups in willpower. you can have great impulse control, but can you have it tirelessly, around the clock? this thing is lurking until you slip, as long as you're on it. attention capture is the goal.
- root_axis 1y ago
  I guess my willpower just manifests itself in a different manner. If I lack the impulse control to prevent myself from opening up an app, it seems odd to me to start blocking particular features in the app to manage that impulse.
  - bobson381 1y ago
    you mean as opposed to going cold turkey? That makes sense! I personally have wondered about something like this for just FB Groups - I want to read my neighborhood buy nothing page, but I don't want a curated attention-grabbing experience in the full app. So I'd love like, an RSS reader for just group posts that let me direct open a post in the app if I wanted to respond. Like the chips by the checkout in the grocery store, the "path" you have to take into the app requires you to put on horse blinders if you want to complete what you came in for without getting "engaged". It's very tiring if you're at all susceptible to distraction.
1y ago

OfflineSergio 1y ago

If this works as you say in iOS you would be my new hero! Joined the wait list, would be happy to be part of any test you like to run.

adrianhacar 1y ago
Awesome! Feel free to email me at scrollguard [at] breakthescroll.com and I’ll add you when I have a beta ready.

asim 1y ago

Good idea. I resorted to my own listing of channels on YouTube and never going to the actual site. I'd also get sucked into shorts for hours. I the think the same can be said for any form of scrolling. My goal for is to create a better non addictive social platform.

janaagaard 1y ago

I want this for YouTube.

HelloUsername 1y ago
Then ScrollGuard is for you?
caldito 1y ago
it works for youtube shorts, and can be enabled for any app where you scroll since it detects if you are scrolling (linkedin, tiktok, reddit, etc)
jacooper 1y ago
Use libretube or grayjay.

Mistletoe 1y ago

My friend needs this so bad, he has a Reels addiction so bad it makes me uninstall Instagram. I wish there was a feature to block being sent Reels. You are doing God’s work with this app.

mrkramer 1y ago

I don't find short videos addicting because I feel like I'm not getting enough context and information from short videos. I like long form videos.

nadermx 1y ago

In a similar vain, I made https://Instag.com https://Instag.com, which let's you remove the "RAM" from Instagram media URL's to download them.

pwdisswordfishz 1y ago

> I wanted to find a way to use Instagram without ending up scrolling for two hours every time I open the app to see a friend's story. Why not just Chrome/Firefox/Safari to open the link instead of the Instagram app?

semitones 1y ago
I deleted the YouTube and Instagram apps and I still end up scrolling / watching shorts - it doesn't matter, browser still lets you scroll
- pwdisswordfishz 1y ago
  Even if you're not logged in? Instagram barely even wants to let me look at the main photo/video of interest without an account.
- roywiggins 1y ago
  I use Unhook in Firefox on Android to eradicate Shorts from my YouTube experience, it works very well.
- eloisius 1y ago
  I deleted the apps too, but unfortunately I still like to use Instagram to follow photographers I'm interested in. These uBlock Origin filter rules have made it usable without being a black hole for my attention: www.instagram.com##article:has( > div > div > span:has-text(Suggested for you)):style(opacity: 0% !important;) www.instagram.com##div:has(> span > div > a[href="/explore/"]) www.instagram.com##div:has(> span > div > a[href="/reels/"])
- timeon 1y ago
  What helped me, was deleting account as well. The site has different purpose than when I've registered anyway.
neither_color 1y ago
One problem I have with all these self control style apps is that they only let you set total per day hourly limits. My intuition is that if you give yourself a two hour, one hour, even 30 minute limit per day you're still liable to drift into zombie mode and are more likely to want to unblock after that long brain rot session. My ideal blocking app wouldn't restrict your total per day, instead the key feature would be that you can only scroll for 5-10 minutes at a time with a cooling off period. That is, if you scroll for 5 minutes you then have to wait X minutes before you can scroll again. I think this should have a strong c-c-c-c-ombo breaker effect without giving you enough time to get hooked so badly that you immediately want to bypass it.

caldito 1y ago

Being using it for a while and really helps not scroll so much, happy to see this in the top 1 of HN

abyesilyurt 1y ago

This approach is not possible on iOS. Instead, I built a safari extension to block shorts from the feed https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/shorts-stopper/id6745517488?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/shorts-stopper/id6745517488?l=...

bfoks 1y ago
Rather hard to sell it here to people who are (mostly) capable to install Tampermonkey and add one line rule.
internet_points 1y ago
which sites does this work with?
- abyesilyurt 1y ago
  just youtube

apples_oranges 1y ago

This is badly needed, but in my case on iOS. There are alternative frontends to most social networks, that can be used or adapted, however. https://github.com/mendel5/alternative-front-ends https://github.com/mendel5/alternative-front-ends .. is one list.. but there are others (for example listing alternative Instagram frontends)

rconti 1y ago
In another thread here, the author of "TimeCap" mentions their iOS app. I just downloaded it and am currently trying it. It blocks a lot of the junk. I've only used it for 4 or 5 minutes now, but it does a lot of what I'm looking for, so it's worth a look. There is a fee ($30/yr or $3/week) so I'm currently trying the $3/week to see if it's what I want.

semitones 1y ago

I already deleted the apps, and I mostly use Instagram and youtube in the browser. Any support for blocking reels in browser?

ric2z 1y ago
try this https://apps.apple.com/us/app/socialfocus-hide-distractions/id1661093205 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/socialfocus-hide-distractions/...
- chis 1y ago
  Can confirm this one works great. Tons of nitty little options to customize what experience you get and the dev is clearly active.
mrweasel 1y ago
Don't know about reels, but there's "Unhook" for Firefox which will hide Shorts and recommendations on YouTube.
- internet_points 1y ago
  OMG thank you, unhook solves my biggest issue with youtube: whenever I would click pause to look closely at a slide, there's a bunch of huge recommendations that block the screen (I mean what kind of depraved mind comes up with something as user-unfriendly as that "oh you wanted to pause the video it's probably because you wanted to be distracted into watching something else in the middle of it, not because you actually had your own reason for pausing it, let me throw up these unrelated links at your face")

bryanhogan 1y ago

For Instagram I've been using DFinstagram on my Android which removes most features, except chatting and viewing profiles. Also using Firefox with the IGPlus extension which blocks reels. But these make Instagram not feel as smooth or misses some features related to chatting, wish something that has this but still blocks algorithmic suggestions and ads existed. For YouTube Revanced is very nice, but I also just removed my account, which helped me decrease the amount I spend on YouTube.

zahlman 1y ago

... People post stories on Instagram?

DontchaKnowit 1y ago

Installed and im amazed at how many tines ive habitually tried to use youtube shorts already after 2 hours. Awesome app, been looking for something like this for a while. Thank you!

cjonas 1y ago

As others have said, the permissions required to make this work are scary and require a lot of trust. The fact YouTube and Instagram don't allow you to disable endless algorithmic short form content is straight up evil.

strictnein 1y ago
The way that all these tech companies decided that the users couldn't simply turn those features off is maddening. And the "See this Less Often" option doesn't seem to do anything at all on apps like Facebook.
- cjonas 1y ago
  There should be legislation that requires company's allow "opting out" of individualized algorithmic feeds. I'm fine if you want to show me videos similar to channels I've explicitly subscribed to. But tracking my every interaction and using that to serve content I never asked for is everything that's wrong with modern social media. Maybe we need an initiative like "stop killing games".
- vovavili 1y ago
  They have a tremendous disincentive to do this. Endless scrolling, combined with a massive amount of algorithmically fine-tuned content to satisfy preferences that you didn't even knew you had, is effectively a digital version of cocaine. Giving you the right to reclaim your attention is a pathway towards healthy use, which for most is no more than a couple minutes per day for any social media platform. Your dealer would be the last person you'd expect to teach you about addiction avoidance.
0_____0 1y ago
If you turn off YouTube view history, it breaks Shorts. It also breaks a lot of other shit (e.g. back button after you've clicked a video from a search).
mwambua 1y ago
I'd recommend just uninstalling the apps. I'm still able to get the content I need, and scroll mechanic doesn't work as well on the websites so a lot of the temptation to doom scroll goes away.

xnx 1y ago

Using Accessibility Service is a very smart approach. Could you adjust your app (or make a different version) that automatically covers up ads or automatically skips them (e.g. in Instagram stories). Would be great for TikTok too.

anoojb 1y ago

Is there an alternate web client for iOS that's only videos from channels you've subscribed to?

ijustlovemath 1y ago
You can accomplish this in Firefox with the Unhook extension
insin 1y ago
Control Panel for YouTube lets you hide Home, Shorts, Related videos, plus anything you don't want to see in Subscriptions (including videos you've already watched), plus you can disable autoplay of random videos, block ads and more, in YouTube itself. https://soitis.dev/control-panel-for-youtube https://soitis.dev/control-panel-for-youtube

phyzix5761 1y ago

I use Brave Browser's "Block Elements" feature. Works nicely.

coffeecoders 1y ago

This is one of those things that should be unnecessary if we all had perfect self-control, but the reality is these apps are engineered explicitly to bypass that. It feels a bit silly to need guardrails for something as trivial as scrolling. Shameless personal plug: I wrote about it here. https://nabraj.com/blog/swipe-scroll-repeat-addiction/ https://nabraj.com/blog/swipe-scroll-repeat-addiction/

globular-toast 1y ago
Why is it more surprising that scrolling is addictive versus, say, putting a stick of combusting plant matter in your mouth and inhaling the smoke?
- coffeecoders 1y ago
  Probably because scrolling feels harmless, while smoking never really did. The surprise is in the mismatch.
  - globular-toast 1y ago
    On the contrary, smoking was not only seen as harmless but actually good for you and encouraged!
    - latexr 1y ago
      Indeed. https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20120325/cigarettes-were-once-physician-tested-approved https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20120325/cig... https://www.bhclinics.com/single-post/2019/12/11/doctors-prescribed-healthy-cigarette-brands https://www.bhclinics.com/single-post/2019/12/11/doctors-pre...
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- ghurtado 1y ago
  Because you can describe the chemical interactions of nicotine with the human body to a high degree of accuracy, while the psychology of human attention in the 21st century is a subject that is very far from that cut and dry. That's why we invented a pill that helps with the former, but we might never have one that helps with the latter (although that would be nice)

thinkling 1y ago

Instagram tip: if you click the wordlogo “Instagram” at the top (in the mobile app), you can select “Following” and get a feed of only posts from accounts you follow, with no suggested posts and no reels. I end up going through that feed in a few minutes and it insulates me from the endless scrolling.

qgin 1y ago
THANK YOU
wtk 1y ago
Can you set this as default?
- willdelorm 1y ago
  You can't, and I've watched as they've added/removed UI to indicate that you can even press it. I'm glad the feature is there, but it's clear Meta doesn't want you finding it.
- lezojeda 1y ago
  [dead]
vlachen 1y ago
Also works on the mobile page. The other thing possible is to block certain post types with uBlock origin, on desktop or mobile: www.instagram.com##article:has-text(Suggested for you):style(visibility: hidden !important; height: 300px !important; overflow: hidden !important) www.instagram.com##article:has-text(Because you liked a post):style(visibility: hidden !important; height: 300px !important; overflow: hidden !important)
adrianhacar 1y ago
I didn't know this one, thanks!
Digit-Al 1y ago
Facebook mobile tip: if you click on the burger menu and select "Feeds" you will be taken to a page with a list of different feeds at the top. If you then select the "Friends" tab you will see only posts from your friends. Doesn't get rid of ads, unfortunately, but it does get rid of all the crap from recommended pages, etc...

Perz1val 1y ago

I have an entirely different problem with youtube, I open all the videos I want to watch from the main page and subscribed page in bew tabs and then sit through them for 3h straight. Shorts are non issue, when I open them the UI and playback pisses me off so quicky that I don't even watch all shorts from my subscribed channels.

cenamus 1y ago

I love the concept, I went as far as patching the android app for instagram back in the day to stop me from scrolling (crashing was good enough). Haven't kept up to date unfortunately.

awaseem 1y ago

I love this! You don't see these types of apps for Android. I get the request for Foqos: https://github.com/awaseem/foqos https://github.com/awaseem/foqos Would you ever open source this?

adrianhacar 1y ago
Thanks, glad you like it! I’m not planning to open source it, at least in the short term

madamelic 1y ago

Better suggestion: block these sites entirely. Reddit and YouTube are wastes of time if you are just 'checking in'. Use YouTube-DL to download videos from specific creators and watch independently. I haven't figured out how to view the actually useful subreddits without having access to the frontpage feeds. Feeds are one of the worst things to be invented in the Internet age. I can't imagine how far behind we are because they've caught otherwise smart people in this insane dopamine trap.

yreg 1y ago
> Reddit and YouTube are wastes of time if you are just 'checking in'. I disagree, YouTube has plenty of creative and interesting content if one has enough will to fight the nonsense that the algorithm shovels at you. Same goes for reddit actually, and reddit is pretty trivial to filter. Subscribe only to the communities that you find worth it and don't open /r/popular etc.
TheCapeGreek 1y ago
I keep Instagram to keep in touch with friends abroad. I keep Facebook because certain communities and events only happen there. For some of us, it is plain better to only block short form video.
- asats 1y ago
  Both of those things could be solved by just talking to people, and talking to people does not require you to use addiction machines. I keep in touch with my friends abroad by emailing them when I think about them, and I get long form responses on what they are up to, not whatever is the public image filtered stuff that they may or may not be posting somewhere.
  - TheCapeGreek 1y ago
    Everyone has their own strategy. Why is it so difficult for half the people replying in this Show HN to accept that some people still want to use social media as social media and not just throw all of it out?

anonu 1y ago

Removing the apps was the biggest solve for me. I still maintain some social accounts, but not having the native app reduces time spent considerably. I am addicted to YouTube Shorts. It would be fine if it wasn't the first thing you see when you open YouTube. But often, I will open the app and then completely forget what long-form video I wanted to search for because the Shorts got me. It is insidious. The youtube app even asked me once - in some sort of survey - if I enjoyed seeing Shorts first thing and I said no. Nothing changed.

stroebs 1y ago

This is brilliant. I have dreamed of a way to force companies to build in parental control to block short-form media. For the kids (it's never for the kids).

shabazahmed 1y ago

There is actually a developer setting in Instagram to stop swipe up for next reel. You can still watch reels sent by your friends but you won't be able to swipe up. You can also remove reels icon from bottom bar. If you are using MyIntsa or Revanced Instagram you can enable it (Android only). Hope it was user option too.

brailsafe 1y ago

I respect any effort put towards this, seems like a decent project. Incidentally I used to love the SelfControl mac app, but it started having leaks in its ability to function a while back and now seems unmaintained. The irony being that even though it's open source, anyone who'd be inclined to fix/maintain it would need to not know how it works or sacrifice their ability to use it. Afaik there wasn't anything as effective for mobile.

tigrezno 1y ago

I like Shorts. They strip all the unnecesary sponsors and chatter.

ksniwmidjd 1y ago

[dead]

hombre_fatal 1y ago

This kind of control is what we miss out on when we leave web apps for native apps. Ideally this would just be a simple browser plugin. But the app requires major accessibility permissions so that it can access the API it needs to see into the Android apps, something that doesn't even exist on iOS. Just to do what should amount things like deleting a ".reels" component. That said, props to OP for figuring out how to build such a feature for mobile. Most of the Show HN's in this space are desktop-only thus kinda useless.

Atlas667 1y ago
I've tried adding rules to ublock origin but sites like youtube and many others now have "component obfuscation". Meaning there is no unique ID on their components/elements and it makes it much harder to target. And some element titles/names are even on a different component than the content, which is even harder still. So it says "reels" on one component and the actual reels are on another. Blocking now has to be a logical combination of CSS selection, text identification and a target-action component.
- hombre_fatal 1y ago
  Good point. I remember Facebook doing obfuscation just to hide the word "sponsored" long ago just so you couldn't easily hide its ads. That said, they put up a fight in the browser because user interventions (browser plugins, greasemonkey scripts, ad blockers) are viable in the browser but not in native apps. Though this is also why they want to force you to use their app, and I'm not sure how to incentivize apps to even exist as websites. It feels like a dying fluke that places like Reddit even maintain a web frontend for their app.
- upboundspiral 1y ago
  I agree U-Block origin is sometimes hit or miss. What has restored some faith for me was recently discovering that when I use the element picker and select something I want blocked it gives me a list at the bottom right of things it recognized, and if I click through them I can often find exactly what I want to block though often its not the default element anymore. It's not perfect but it has massively improved my satisfaction with Ublock and general enjoyment of being online.

monster_truck 1y ago

My thoughts are that you need to turn notifications off and delete these apps instead of whatever this "we promise we're not abusing accessibility to mine your information" bullshit is We have a way of finding out what our actual, real friends are doing: it's called talking to them

hmokiguess 1y ago

I find any kind of addiction has the same challenge towards breaking from the entrapment cycle which is to raise awareness and understanding then developing thoughtful thinking. Can an app really do that for us? Will it ever? Grounding yourself is such an organic thing to do.

adrianhacar 1y ago
I partially agree. I think, first, it's necessary to make a commitment to breaking the addiction, and then raise the level of awareness in order to follow through with that commitment. I believe an app can help detect addictive triggers and help a person move from an "impulsive and automatic mental state" to a "state of awareness."
- hmokiguess 1y ago
  Yeah they can help! I guess it would be good for apps to add to their message the call out to not over rely on them and seek help. Some cases are serious and this could be a bandaid fix that serious people rely on to tell themselves they are fine.

j1000 1y ago

How this is possible for iOS? Can someone share technical details on this iOS implementation? IMO this cannot be done without validating user privacy and giving app some crucial screen reading permissions.

yc_user01 1y ago
The answer is jailbreak or sideloaded modified ipas.
boberoni 1y ago
It’s currently Android only. There is a waitlist on their website for the iOS version.
coffeecoders 1y ago
Yeah, this is not possible in iOS because there is no equivalent of Accessibility services for apps to control other apps behavior. Not sure what OP is running waitlist for, my guess is a combination of screen time + focus modes + content blockers in Safari.
adrianhacar 1y ago
For Android I did it using the Accessibility Service API, iOS doesn't provide any similar API, the platform itself is much more restricted. So I think is technicaly not possible
anteloper 1y ago
You can't take the same approach on iOS but to Apple's credit, they do a great job with user privacy with their Screen Time permission. Apps with that permission get the ability to restrict other apps on the phone without ever knowing what they are. They can even report data back to the user without ever knowing that data. Source: I am a developer of Clearspace, which is an iOS Screen Time App https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clearspace-reduce-screen-time/id1572515807 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clearspace-reduce-screen-time/...

rootsudo 1y ago

I just uninstall the app on ios, and dns filtering, but with ublock on ios you can block it too.

zer0zzz 1y ago

I the one reason I use iOS is the built in chat is pretty good and has most all my friends and family and so between that and many of the other built in apps I can avoid needing so many third party apps. So my scrolling fixation is mostly limited to the browser. One nice thing about meta is they ALL of their mobile webapps are terrible so they don’t get me, but YouTube shorts does very often. I wish there was a good way to block all shorts on YouTube through the browser.

mflaherty22 1y ago

In my opinion tech is not the solution to issues of self-discipline.

calmbonsai 1y ago
Unfortunately, we're well past that era. Certain tech is so "good", we need to actively fight it and, sadly, the only solution is more tech. Not related, see also media and nutrition.
- gausswho 1y ago
  I don't agree. More tech will always have snickets we can bypass our best self-imposed gaols. The mitigations that work well for me are purely encouraging endogenous dopamine production. Hiking (or anything outdoors). Sleep improvement through regular rituals (no phone in bed). And, indeed, nutrition. Basically, the old adage of eat well, sleep well, get some exercise. That's how you get your groove back.
  - calmbonsai 1y ago
    As an avid hiker and weight-trainer, I couldn't agree more. Limiting exposure to these algorithmically curated (ultra-processed) stimuli is the best general advice. It's just that, sadly, the economic drivers (atm) for social media, food, news, and (most) traditional media are at odds with creating products for healthy consumption. In the interim, we can counter that exposure when requisite interaction is mandated with tech (ad-blocking, nutrition information, etc.). I do have hope that many of these economic drivers are starting to wane and there's still a chance of avoiding "Idiocracy" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy ) as a documentary.
danschuller 1y ago
Your solution is for everyone in the world to foster a degree of self-discipline they've never shown any inclination for in the past? That doesn't sound like a scalable solution. These apps are so pervasive and their use adopted at such a young age (with a large degree of social pressure) it seems like legislation is the only way to curb these dark patterns. Like other commentators have said these are extremely well resourced companies looking for ways to exploit human psychology at scale. It's in a walled garden, compiled app so it's you have very limited ability to modify what you're shown. End-users of apps need to be given more power over what they can be shown and if that kills companies then to me that's an acceptable tradeoff.

techlatest_net 1y ago

[dead]

jacktheturtle 1y ago

I am an iOS user and I really need this. I love the Youtube App, but I can't stand having it auto open to shorts... They are truly mining my brain through this action.

Phlogistique 1y ago

The problem I have had with this type of app is that, on Instagram at least any video that a friend posts is considered a reel. And I want to watch videos that my friends post. What I don't want is swiping mindlessly through random videos. So really I would like a swipe blocker not a short video blocker. (And bonus points if I could make it work on Firefox)

adrianhacar 1y ago
This is a good point, I will try to find a solution. Currently, it's able to whitelist Reels from the DM feed, and it will block the rest as soon as you start scrolling, I'll see how to do this for normal posted reels.

nativeit 1y ago

I setup a self-hosted FreshRSS + extensions for this very purpose. With a little effort, I can even pull in social media feeds and YouTube subscriptions. Now I have a very plain (but highly functional) UI with a chronological list of the sources I wish to follow. No recommendations, no algorithms, no infinite anything. For discovery, I can now go elsewhere and look for new content with intention, even if facilitated by algorithms. But I've successfully divorced that from the act of consumption. I can tell you, it feels better. I have experienced what I consider to be a material improvement in consumption habits, and overall mental health.

high_byte 1y ago
can you elaborate on the setup? this is interesting I want the same
matus_barany 1y ago
This looks exactly what I am trying to achieve with RSS but never quite got to the point where it's usable enough to stick to it long term.
andrewrn 1y ago
I'm very curious how you manage to pull in social feeds-- there are many billions of dollars working against your accessing social media posts that haven't been dipped in digital crack. As far as I can tell, the API's that are available are really limited, as a result.
- shaunpud 1y ago
  Maybe RSSHub? https://github.com/DIYgod/RSSHub https://github.com/DIYgod/RSSHub
nstj 1y ago
Sounds like a great thing to build! Seems like a lot of commenters are interested in more granular implementation details :)
gausswho 1y ago

higgins 1y ago

Excellent! Is this a browser extension or extension of the ScreenTime APIs? I find those apps that rely on screentime API to have too many hoops to jump through on user onboarding (not to mention a buggy app search interface in the ios sdk), so would be willing to test other strategies

andrewrn 1y ago

This is excellent!

skyzouwdev 1y ago

[flagged]

dang 1y ago
Please stop.

tamimio 1y ago

Glad that I don’t use social media and never created any FB, instagram, etc. accounts. Interesting how a lot of people have no self control.

ugh123 1y ago

I would love to be able to do this at the router level (to block on all my kid's devices). and/or block just youtube traffic (via app, websites, etc)

adrianhacar 1y ago
This might be useful for you: https://pi-hole.net/ https://pi-hole.net/. You can set your own DNS server at home and block specific domains
- internet_points 1y ago
  it's kind of either-or though, I don't think you can block only suggested crap without blocking your friends' posts (and without blocking the ability for yourself to use IG for journalling or whatever)

amatecha 1y ago

You could also save yourself a lot of effort (and avoid being the constant subject of manipulation and exploitation) and not use centralized, capitalistic platforms like Instagram. Try Pixelfed ( https://pixelfed.org/ https://pixelfed.org/ ) or something.

AuthAuth 1y ago
When it feels like you constantly have to fight against the platform to try and scrap together a usable experience maybe its time to consider why you even use that platform. pixelfed is great and its such a breathe of fresh air compared to instagram.
- allemagne 1y ago
  It's a fair ask, my honest considerations: - Tiktok: "I don't want or need this" -> Delete forever. - Pixelfed: "I don't want or need this" -> Don't install. - Instagram: "Still get a ton of value from seeing updates come in from family, don't want the option of getting deep into reels" -> Strict daily timer. - YouTube: "Still get a ton of value from the network of content published to the platform consistently, don't want the option of getting deep into shorts" -> ??? self control. The dilemma I have with YouTube feels like exactly what the OP's app is intended to solve.
sbarre 1y ago
Not OP but... The universal answer to this somewhat cliche and paternalistic comment is always "but that's where my people are".. And I want to be where my people are. So I choose to make informed trade-offs.
nosioptar 1y ago
For those times when you need/want to see an Instagram post, imginn.com is 10,000 times better than Instagram (assuming the account isn't private).

source99 1y ago

I would love to build a small physical device at my home wifi router level that detects these network patterns (certain IP addresses and data patterns). Then blocks those network streams. I think the correct fix is to intermittently block them so that the user gets a small drip and don't realize its broken so they don't try to find a workaround like turning off wifi.

internet_points 1y ago
I would definitely `opkg install slow_drip_instagram` on my router :-D

herf 1y ago

Thank you for doing this - I think there are two lines in the sand that a true "user agent" would allow us to set: 1. Don't show recommended content at all--I want to view only the content I've specifically asked for (or searched for) in this session 2. Recommend only content that I've chosen (e.g., by following), where there is a finite amount of it You'd like such things to be part of the basic wiring of your device, though writing an app to regulate how other apps work is often not easy to implement today, so efforts like this are super valuable. What if a device could look after your attention and ensure you have the motivation to do other things? Another way these kinds of switches could get built by requiring them as child safety features, like "Watch the YouTube video for school, but don't get an assault of Shorts after" or "See the single TikTok your friend sent, but don't spend five hours scrolling after" It's pretty clear "willpower" does not suffice.

nkydr0i0 1y ago
I agree. Think of willpower as a finite resource. It's simply not feasible to rely on it solely. You need to build the world you want to live in. (Set yourself up for success)

jimmcslim 1y ago

Apple have no interest in fixing the “one more minute” loophole in Screen Time so I don’t see them wanting to support this.

akomtu 1y ago

Reels and Shorts derive their power from the fact that we pay higher attention to motion than to colors or shape. Blinking colors attract attention for the same reason. This observation makes it easy to neuter them: reduce framerate from 120 fps to 1 fps unless a touch is detected. This way scrolling will keep working as usual and videos can be watched if you keep pressing the screen, but the unwanted guests that abuse our attention will be left in the dust with 1 fps. Great for battery life too.

sailfast 1y ago

I love this. Joined the waitlist.

juggy69 1y ago

Does it block shorts even if i access youtube through in-app browsers on other apps like Telegram?

adrianhacar 1y ago
At the moment, it works only for the YouTube native app, but I'm considering extending the functionality to web browsers.

michaelteter 1y ago

I find that not visiting the lure parent sites is equally effective.

AntoninLafy 1y ago

This is an amazing idea. I found that most productivity apps are overkill. Anyway to test?

adrianhacar 1y ago
Sure!, you can download the app here: https://scrollguard.app/ https://scrollguard.app/

deleted 1y ago

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ckrailo 1y ago

Here's what I added to uBlock: ! YouTube ! Remove blue box www.youtube.com###clarify-box ! Remove shorts www.youtube.com##ytd-rich-section-renderer.ytd-rich-grid-renderer.style-scope:has(#rich-shelf-header:has-text(Shorts)) www.youtube.com##ytd-reel-shelf-renderer.ytd-item-section-renderer.style-scope:has(h2.ytd-reel-shelf-renderer.style-scope:has-text(Shorts))

twalichiewicz 1y ago

I ran into the same problem—my reading list kept growing but I never actually got through it. Feeds are engineered to feel effortless; opening my backlog felt like work. Instead of blocking sites outright, I tried redirecting attention at the key moment. I built a small extension that sets a daily reading goal, then reroutes me from doomscrolling sites until I hit it. After that, I can browse freely. It’s been a better balance: turning the feed’s habit loop into a nudge for something I actually want to do. https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/detour/ogddhmpffcgkjiiklddmnelnmholnmpi https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/detour/ogddhmpffcgk...

throwaway106382 1y ago

I use Unhook for YouTube. It’s crazy how much better YouTube feels to use when you just remove 90% of it.

nicohayes 1y ago

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collin128 1y ago

Love it. Do you have a way of supporting you?

adrianhacar 1y ago
Thanks a lot! You can upgrade to the Pro version in the app, it’s a one-time payment for lifetime access to some extra features. If you have something else in mind, feel free to email me!

habosa 1y ago

So I only use Instagram for the DMs with friends. I don’t follow anyone at all, so my feed should be empty. For years it was. Then at some point Instagram decided I must not know what I want, they should show me recommended posts from random accounts. There’s a setting to turn this off … but instead of being a normal toggle I can only “snooze” the posts for 30 days. 30 days of peace and then the spam comes back. No matter how many times I make it clear what I want, they don’t care. Just gross.

szundi 1y ago
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internet_points 1y ago
Is there any account that just shows boring stuff every day? Because now it says when I snooze that I won't see recommended posts unless I've scrolled past my friends' posts. So it seems I need to follow something that I'm totally uninterested in (I'm thinking gray boxes of unvarying sizes would be good), and that posts quite often. OOh I found a use for AI slop! Getting me off instagram!
sneak 1y ago
It’s not nice to subject your friends’ private communications to ad tech surveillance. I deleted my Instagram account, now my friends and I message on other (end to end encrypted) platforms that don’t subject us to censorship and spying.
- charlie-83 1y ago
  Sometimes you have to choose between not talking to someone and talking to them on such a platform. For friends, sure, just says that you want to switch to something e2e. But for people you don't really know that well it's kind of unreasonable to expect them to switch for you. LinkedIn is a good example, I don't like using the platform but I also have no interest in adding loads of random old colleages I might talk to occasionally to any e2e platform I use.
  - 1y ago

RomanPushkin 1y ago

Is there anything similar to block/unblock them on network level? Some kind of lists, how reliable those lists are and how often do you need to update those? Curious if I can just have a shell script and will autoupdate everything on my router - install and forget solution.

SamDc73 1y ago

one of my dreams (I know it's technically kind of very hard to pull) is to be able to block them DNS level, the same way I block ads on my router level

business_liveit 1y ago

Nice work! Using the Accessibility Service for scroll detection is a clever approach. I imagine keeping it lightweight while monitoring multiple apps could be tricky — did you run into performance or battery usage issues while testing?

adrianhacar 1y ago
Thanks! I haven't seen any issue with battery or performance. But if you find any problem, feel free to drop me an email and I'll take a look

sayamqazi 1y ago

If only there was an app that can prevent me from doomscrolling hackernews and tech/programming subreddits, I would already be a 10xer.

adrianhacar 1y ago
With ScrollGuard, besides the AntiReels feature, there is the "AntiScroll mode" where you can set scrolling limits on any app. So technically, it would work for HN and any subreddit as well.

basim773 1y ago

Nice,

makach 1y ago

Shorts and Reels are designed to be incredibly addictive. I really wish there were an option to turn them off, especially on Instagram and Snapchat. What I want is to see my friends' photos — but instead, Shorts and Reels quickly funnel me into an endless discovery feed. It feels toxic, distracting, and completely misaligned with the core purpose of these apps. This functionality isn’t necessary, and I’d much rather have the choice to block it.

zwaps 1y ago

if you manage to do this on ios I will give you money

1gn15 1y ago

Nice! I use ReVanced to mod apps to do this. https://revanced.app/patches?pkg=com.google.android.youtube https://revanced.app/patches?pkg=com.google.android.youtube Though I've been trying to avoid using apps without source code nowadays precisely because of things like this. Mods can break.

petesergeant 1y ago

If you use uBlock, adding this for LinkedIn can be great: www.linkedin.com##main[aria-label="Main Feed"] .scaffold-finite-scroll__content Removes all content, while still allowing you to post content (write-only media, innit?), and send and get messages etc.

lirena00 1y ago

ngl much needed app for sure, I really hate short form conent and such

amunozo 1y ago

Does this work on the web version? I uninstalled the YouTube app but I keep watching shorts in Chrome anyway...

skandinaff 1y ago
I had the same problem, but then discovered that chrome extension StayFree (used to be called StayFocused or something) released and app for android, that can block sites on android too. Now, I just added links to all the short video pages of all major social networks, and it does work!
adrianhacar 1y ago
It only works on the YouTube native app for the moment

biosboiii 1y ago

Great work! I was working on something similiar, using ReVanced(1) Framework, which allows you to distribute fuzzy tweaks to regular APKs with their ReVanced Manager(2) which can persist multiple version updates. They have their own DSL (3), kinda. My target was Instagram Reels, I did not come that far with JADX in finding the appropriate methods/attributes to overwrite because I kept getting stuck scrolling reels on my Android Emulator. Novel obfuscation technique by Meta :/ (1) https://github.com/revanced https://github.com/revanced (2) https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager (3) https://github.com/ReVanced/revanced-patcher/blob/main/docs/1_patcher_intro.md https://github.com/ReVanced/revanced-patcher/blob/main/docs/...

bonyt 1y ago

On iOS and on desktop, I use my ad blocker to block shorts[1]. On iOS, this means not using the YouTube app, so I just uninstalled it and use the mobile website, which seems fine. [1]: https://github.com/gijsdev/ublock-hide-yt-shorts https://github.com/gijsdev/ublock-hide-yt-shorts

Oceoss 1y ago

"focus on blocking the app itself instead of the addictive feed" " the "healthy" and "social" features" maannn, this totally resonates with me, I totally agree and I always thought about this too social media/instagram has positive parts (connect with friends) and extremely negative parts (reels) I will try that

antoferra 1y ago
I actually built an app to do that for iOS. It’s called TimeCap, and it creates a web view of Instagram without reels and the explore page. Then I use Beeper for the DMs. My daily social media use is less than 20 min per day now.
rconti 1y ago
I just don't understand the appeal of reels for the average user posting them (eg, not a "creator"). All comments come through as DMs which feels weird/creepy. The social/engagement is out the window; your friends can't comment on your content and reply to each other. It's just an effing weird one-way broadcast medium that's painful to deal with (might randomly play sound, might show photos for too long/too short, video with no easily usable scrubber, etc). The only "advantage" I see is that it's limited to 24h so you don't feel like you're making as permanent a record of your content. I'm sure some "younger" folks (who are probably 35 now) thought this was a good antidote to the generation before them being embarrassed by their old FB content, but man. I just hate reels. Thankfully I don't doomscroll or otherwise sucked into the content generated by randos; I mostly only see stuff my friends post, but man, I would pay good money to never have to see a "suggested" anything again.
sjw987 1y ago
I'm curious. I don't use social media and am very extroverted. All of the communication, including sharing media, I do through WhatsApp (because it's most popular and widespread) or Signal (preferred). Does Instagram have any advantage in communication or media sharing over standard widely adopted messaging (and group messaging) apps?

SethMLarson 1y ago

You can disable YouTube Shorts (kinda) by disabling history: https://sethmlarson.dev/youtube-without-youtube-shorts https://sethmlarson.dev/youtube-without-youtube-shorts

tompagenet2 1y ago

Amazing! I don't know how you're doing it but there are no Shorts in YouTube now!

VladVladikoff 1y ago

I’m surprised this is even possible? I didn’t realize one app could control the behaviour of another?

iamjackg 1y ago
This seems to be done through the accessibility services, which makes sense: they're built for apps like screen readers that must by nature be able to read the content of other apps. Each app has to be manually authorized by going to the accessibility menu, and there's a big scary pop up that says "enabling this app will allow it to see and interact with everything you do."

mike24dzy 1y ago

Finally!! Please find a way to make it work on iOS! Or I’ll switch to use android to use your app

antonvs 1y ago
Google's ears just pricked up

cosmosfr 1y ago

It really has become a problem that I can no longer ignore. Thank you for the application.

yukieliot 1y ago

but i like youtube short

djmips 1y ago

I tried this for a while because I specifically wanted it for YouTube. However, I relized that I want to not see shorts at all! So while it did prevent shorts from playing it was a bad experience. Like getting your hand swatted when your reach for the donut instead of the donuts just not being there at all.