45%
of 1–2★ reviews are about price, paywalls or billing.
Usually after a long quiz, a staged “building your plan” screen, and no free trial. The complaint is not that the app costs money. It is that the price was hidden until after the effort.
Android beta · for the evening you meant to spend reading
The scroll stops.
The receipt
proves it.
Scrolldoom locks the apps that eat your evening for one honest focus session — then hands you a receipt: pages read, minutes focused, opens stopped. No account. No guilt. No “just trust us.”
- Free first session
- No account
- On-device
- No app names on shares
SCROLL LESS · READ MORE · KEEP THE RECEIPT
Android beta today. iOS is planned for later — built on Apple’s Screen Time APIs.
01 / The problem
The category sold you a lock.
Nobody sold you proof.
We read 5,616 recent reviews of 25 screen-time apps. The same three failures kept showing up — and none of them were “the block is too weak.”
21%
of low reviews describe something broken.
The most damaging version is quiet: the shield stops firing, the app still says “on,” and the user only finds out when they needed the block. That is a trust failure, not a bug.
0
apps showed us a verified enforcement record.
Every blocker asks you to trust the shield. None of them hand you a receipt that says what fired, what failed, and what it stopped. So we built the receipt first.
“It worked until it didn’t — and the app never said so.” The recurring story in the review sample.
Read the 5,616-review teardown02 / The loop
One session. Three moves.
Then proof.
The first session is free and complete. No account, no card, no personality quiz. If it does not block, you should not pay for it.
01
Pick
Pick the apps that eat your evening.
Session-scoped by default. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Discord, Reddit — whatever pulls you in. Everything outside the list keeps working.
IN THE APP
Instagram · TikTok · YouTube · Reddit · Discord
You pick the apps. Only those pause while a session runs. Everything else keeps working, and nothing is locked in.
02
Focus
Start the clock. Let Lumen charge.
Choose a length and a task — reading, studying, exercise, just focus. The shield holds. Glow credits accrue by the focused minute. End early if life happens; the receipt says so, without a lecture.
03
Prove
Keep the receipt.
Book and pages, minutes focused, apps locked, opens stopped, started and ended. One share card with no app names and no book titles. The only screen a student voluntarily shows a friend.
03 / The receipt
The only screen
a student screenshots.
Every session ends with a paper trail. Not a dashboard. Not a guilt graph. One page you can read in three seconds — and send to a friend without leaking your app list.
A verified stamp, not a vibe.
Block verified, shield count, attempts stopped. If something failed, the receipt says that too.
Pages first. Minutes second.
The number that matters is what you read, not how long you sat near a book.
Safe to post by default.
The share card never includes app names, book titles, or anything you might not want a friend to see.
04 / Blocks
A blocker that knows the difference between watching and locking.
Most apps have two settings: on and off. Scrolldoom has three block states — sessions, always, watched — and the Blocks screen keeps the counts honest.
Quiet during focus
On Android, Scrolldoom can hold notifications from blocked apps until the session ends. Calls, messages and alarms always come through. Nothing is read. Nothing is lost.
Hold blocked-app notifications
Off by default. Offered after your first receipt, never during onboarding.
No app names on the share card.
The receipt is for the work, not the confession. Post your pages. Keep your app list to yourself.
End early. No punishment.
Life happens. A short session is still a session. The receipt reads “session ended early” — never “failed.”
LUMEN · FIREFLY, NOT HALL MONITOR
05 / Lumen
A firefly,
not a hall monitor.
Lumen glows with the pages you actually read. It does not send guilt notifications, count your worth, or compare you to strangers. It is a mascot, not a manager.
Warming up
Before the first session of the day.
Charging
During a session. The lantern fills.
Glowing
After the work. Brighter with every page.
BANNED FROM THE BUILD
“Lumen is fading.” “Don’t let Lumen down.” “Your firefly misses you.” We have a list. It stays empty.
06 / Privacy
The session stays
on your phone.
No account. No feed. No server for your sessions. Scrolldoom reads the app name to know when to raise the shield — never your screen content.
0accounts required
0app names on share cards
0reading histories uploaded
PRIVACY RECEIPT
ON DEVICE
- Your app list
- Stays here
- Your pages and minutes
- Stays here
- Your reading content
- Never read
- Your share card
- No app names
You can revoke any permission. The app will tell you when the shield is unverified.
07 / Pricing
A price list,
not a trap.
The free tier is real. The price shows up after the value, not before it. No weekly plan, no countdown, no second offer when you close the sheet.
Free
Start here$0/forever
One full session a day. Blocking, pages and receipts included.
- One session a day
- Session blocks + receipts
- No account, no card
Student
Most popular$9.99/year
About $0.83/month. Seven-day free trial. Cancel in two taps.
- Unlimited sessions
- Pages & activity history
- Every block and receipt feature
Family
Up to 5$29.99/year
About $2.50/month. Seven-day free trial. One phone, one student.
- Up to 5 students
- Parent weekly report & invite
- No app names or book titles shared
✓
The pricing promise. No weekly tier. No countdown timer. No “50% off for the next ten minutes.” No second offer after you close the sheet. The free tier stays free.
USD · STORE PRICING MAY VARYROADMAP · iOS
Android now. iOS later.
We plan to build a proper iPhone version on Apple’s Screen Time APIs. A real Screen Time build — no “coming soon” button that does nothing.
Does Scrolldoom actually block apps?
Yes. When you start a session, the apps you chose are covered by a shield. The app uses Android’s usage access to notice opens and an overlay to draw the shield instead of the feed. The receipt tells you whether the block was verified — and if it was not, it says so.
What can Scrolldoom see?
The app name and usage counts on your phone. It reads package names to know when a blocked app opens. It does not read your screen content, messages, photos, or what you type, and session data stays on the device.
Do I need an account?
No. You can install, pick apps, run a session, and keep a receipt without an email or account. The beta invitation email is just for the invite.
What if I need an app during a session?
Use the emergency pass. It takes three taps, has a 60-second cooldown, and is logged on the receipt. It is deliberately awkward, but it is not hidden — hiding it is how blockers lose trust.
Is this for iPhone?
Not yet. The beta is Android-first, and we plan to build iOS later. A real iPhone blocker needs Apple’s Screen Time entitlements and a different enforcement model; we would rather ship an honest Android beta now than an iPhone app that cannot block reliably. If you’re on iPhone, tell us and we’ll keep you posted when it exists.
Is Scrolldoom therapy?
No. It is a focus tool, not a medical device and not a diagnosis. If phone use is affecting your health or safety, talk to a professional. We will never claim to treat ADHD, anxiety, or “doomscrolling.”
Can I cancel?
Yes. Subscriptions are handled by the store, and cancel takes two taps. The free tier stays available even if you cancel. No retention gauntlet.
10 / Get the beta
Put the scroll down.
Keep the receipt.
Android beta invitations are opening in waves. Tell us what phone you use and we’ll send one thing: the invite. No newsletter, no drip campaign.
Invite-only · Android 8.0+ · Free first session · No account · iOS planned later