ZERO: Block Reels & Shorts

ZERO puts a pause between you and the endless feed.

Short videos are built to keep you swiping. ZERO doesn't lecture you. It adds a moment of friction where it matters, and gives your attention back.

BLOCK REELS & SHORTS, KEEP THE REST

• Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are closed, while chats, search and normal videos keep working.

• OneReel: watch the one a friend sent you, and ZERO closes the feed when you swipe to the next.

• Browsers too: turn it on and the same pages close in Chrome and other supported browsers, so there's no way around through the web.

THE GATE

• Gate any app on your phone: social apps, streaming apps, games, anything you lose time in. Pick them from a searchable list.

• Before a gated app opens, the Gate asks why. "Just bored" costs double.

• Breathe for a few seconds, set a 2, 5 or 10 minute time box, or swap to a 60-second alternative: stretch, breathe, journal, drink water, text a friend.

DOPAMINE BUDGET

• A daily allowance of minutes in the apps you choose. Unused minutes are saved for later.

• Earn more with push-ups (counted on-device with your camera), a walk, or your own flashcards.

LOCKDOWNS & RULES

• Lock your phone for 25 minutes to 2 hours. Calls and the apps you allow still work.

• Schedules for study time, deep work or bedtime.

• Gentle, Firm or Monk strictness. In Monk mode, ZERO can't be switched off on a whim, and your ZERO Key (any NFC tag) is the instant way out.

SEE THE CHANGE

• Your Rot Score from the last 7 days of screen time.

• Brain Charge, a Neural Garden that grows with every focus session, and a weekly report.

• Rot Radar warns you before the hours you usually start scrolling.

SQUADS

• Compete with friends on a week of focus. Your squad sees your name and daily totals, never which apps you use.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

• No account, no ads, no advertising ID.

• Your usage, rules and history stay on your phone. Only anonymous crash reports and basic app statistics, plus the daily totals you choose to share with a Squad, leave it.

ACCESSIBILITY SERVICE

ZERO uses Android's Accessibility API to see which app is opening (to show the Gate), to recognise Reels and Shorts screens by their layout (to close them), to check web addresses in supported browsers if you turn on "Browsers too" (to close the same pages), to count time in the apps you chose, and in Monk mode to close the Settings screens that would switch ZERO off. ZERO doesn't read or store your messages, what you type or your browsing history, and nothing observed through Accessibility leaves your phone.

Privacy policy: https://csip12.in/apps/zero/privacy/