I built a screen time app to fix my own phone addiction -might help you as well
So a few months ago I realized I was actually addicted to my phone. Like, bad. I tried the built-in app blockers but they never worked for me because the "unblock for 5 minutes" button is too tempting. It always turns into an hour.
I got so mad I uninstalled Instagram. Then I just started scrolling Pinterest. Uninstalled that, then moved to YouTube. I tried apps like Forest and Regain but half of them didn't even work on my Android 15 setup or let me bypass the timer too easily.
The funny part is I decided to build my own app to fix this — but kept getting distracted by YouTube while coding the blocker. It took 4 months because of my own addiction lol.
I finally finished it and launched it on the Play Store. It's called FocuzPass. The main thing is it makes you solve quizzes to "earn" your screen time, so you can't just mindlessly click "unblock."
I've been using it for a few weeks and it's actually working better for me than anything else out there. But since I made it, I'm obviously biased. if you guys want give it a try and let me know your thoughts.
For Android utility positioning, I’d put the trust story before the feature list. With Kinetic Override I’ve learned that users judge “why does this app need a powerful permission?” before they care about the macro-recorder details. Screenshots and first-run copy that say what stays local, what is not collected, and what exact job the app does can matter more than another feature bullet.
agreed for running the application we are using very powerful permission which might scare the user, for that in the onboarding process we are trying to explain everything why we need this what we collect what stay in your device and what we take to be honest almost everything stay in your device we only take crash logs and your analytics detail so in feature we can give you better overview still going to add some videos and better explanation so user can trust us more. android is very strict in this section without those permission running the application is hard and to be honest there lot more to make it work then the permission itself. Thankyou for your beautiful comment going to keep this in mind.
"Got distracted by YouTube while building a distraction blocker"
— that's the most honest founder story I've read today. 😂
I'm Minchul, 57, former construction manager from Korea.
Built Slash it — an Email Decision OS.
We're both solving our own pain. Best reason to build.
Good luck with FocuzPass!
thankyou so much i really liked your concept as well what you are building really have a pain point hope it will work as goood as possible we need to keep going forward... and it's really interesting and very admirable that you are still keep going i know phase where you have built something powerful but gaining real user is the hardest part we both are in the same phase where all the dms are empty but this kind of powerful comment and message keep us going don't give up lets keep going toward something more exciting and thriller journey.
Same phase, same empty DMs. But this thread alone has been worth more than a month of silence. Keep going. 🙏
Dude the "got distracted by YouTube while building a screen time blocker" is the most honest thing I've read all week 😄
I run Apple's Screen Time + Refocus + One Second and none of them really work for me either. I can bypass all of them when I'm determined enough.
The quiz concept is actually a cool idea, because with Refocus and One Second it's basically the same pattern: you wait a set time (10-15 seconds) and watch a short animation, and then you can continue. You get used to it after a few days and it stops being a real barrier — you just wait it out mindlessly.
A quiz is different. It actually requires your brain to engage. My impulsive side would probably rage-quit and go touch grass instead, which honestly might be the whole point.
One question though: what kind of quizzes? Is it always the same one? If it's static I'll memorize the answers in 3 days. If it rotates from a pool that could actually stay effective.
Gonna check it out. Curious if it survives my "I'll just uninstall this real quick" phase.
Thankyou so much, yeah it's really true while making it just one notification and that 5 minute break convert in hour is really funny thing what happened, yes quiz will come in random like its a level base for starting it will be easy as you go keep asking for time the number of question is keep going to increase to add more friction we have add like some random mind game like sometimes it will be quiz sometime it might be card matching sometime even maths problem and so on right now its not fully perfect but slowly slowly trying to make it more engaging and interesting for users. (right now only made for android iso building is expensive but soon i will make the ios version as well ) Thankyou for your amazing comment have a beautiful and amazing day ahead.
The stronger angle here may not be “screen time blocker.”
Most blockers fail because the user is still in the same impulsive state when they hit the unblock button. FocuzPass is interesting because it adds friction at the exact relapse moment, before the scroll starts again.
That is the part I’d lean into more: not blocking apps, but breaking the automatic unlock habit.
The quiz mechanic is useful, but the real promise is probably closer to “make yourself conscious before you give in.”
I’d be careful not to position it like another productivity app. The story is stronger when it feels like a tool for people who already know they’ll bypass normal blockers.
thankyou sooo much i will keep this in mind for sure.