I was spending 3 hours a day on Reels. So I built a blocker that is physically impossible to bypass.

Hey Indie Hackers,

I have a confession: I’m a productivity nerd who is completely defenseless against YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

Over the last year, my screen time crept up to 3–4 hours a day. I tried everything—Chrome extensions, screen time limits on Android, even putting my phone in a timed lockbox.

But I always found a loophole. I’d disable the extension in incognito mode. I’d type in my screen-time passcode. Or I'd just uninstall the blocker entirely.

That’s when I realized: Most blockers fail because they rely too much on your self-control.

So, I decided to build my own tool: Blokr (https://getblokr.com).

My main goal was simple: Build an anti-circumvention shield that I couldn't bypass when my willpower was low.

Here is what I had to build to make it actually work:

1. Strict Lock & Admin Guard: On Android, it locks the settings app and prevents you from uninstalling the blocker or disabling the app's permissions. You can set a delay timer, so if you try to turn it off, you have to wait 24 hours.

2. Surgical Element Hider: On the desktop browser extension, I didn't want to block YouTube entirely (since I use it to learn coding). Instead, I built an element hider that lets me click and hide recommendation columns, sidebars, comments, and specific channels, leaving only the video player.

3. Cross-Device Sync: If I block TikTok on my computer, it needs to block it on my phone instantly.

We just launched the beta, and I've reclaimed almost 3 hours of my day back (my phone analytics are finally down to 45 minutes of essential use).

I'd love to know:

• How do you guys manage digital distraction?

• Do you use blockers, or do you have enough pure self-control?

• If you want to try the beta, I’d love your feedback (especially on the Strict Lock mode)!