I’m not sure why there is so much negativity toward this article here.
Even a small amount of friction to getting to slot machine apps does wonders for reducing the amount of time spent on them. But likewise it’s nice (and useful) to still have access to these apps for some people so deleting isn’t a viable option.
Like any other “everything in moderation” suggestion if it’s not all or nothing, just use self control, the internet hates on it.
Probably because the article has basically 3 suggestions that don’t even scratch the surface of what the OS has built in to manage overuse.
Turning off notifications is stupidly simple to a fault. Sorry, people can’t just turn off notifications from their spouses or day care apps or school/kids’ phone numbers or other important stuff like that.
But this article doesn’t really get into the stuff that the OS has built-in to manage notification priority, it just tells you to turn it all off as if they’re telling the government to print more money to end poverty.
Kind of crazy that a blog post on this subject doesn’t even mention the Screen Time feature.
Because acknowledging the utility of these solutions would mean facing that you yourself have an issue or a problem and the readers would rather maintain cognitive dissonance about that.
I tried the "grayscale-only display" for kicks, and it sucks, primarily with Apps that are better off with different colors - Maps.
Besides that, I have been disabling Notifications for ages, and that is the one decision that I believe was one of the best decisions of my phone life. I wrote an article in 2014[1] that needs a serious update, but it still makes sense.
Make it a habit to turn off Notifications as soon as you install a new app unless they are critical, such as Medical or Kid/school-related.
My Home page has a minimal wallpaper that I did a few years back, and it stayed. I usually leave one row at the bottom for beta-testing and region-specific Apps I use while traveling.
Of course, none of the Social Media Apps are on my phone. I checked my screen time to include this comment, and I've 37 minutes Daily Average. So, on most usage, I should still likely be averaging less than an hour daily.
Try turning down the color saturation. For me ~ 25% of original saturation is sufficient for using UIs that use color information.
I had the same annoyance as you, switching back and forth wasn't pleasant, and I'd forget. I think part of the reason is that switching between 0% <-> 100% saturation doesn't give room to adapt. It feels like a bandwidth of information is missing. But, if the colorspace is barely noticeable, your brain will fill in the colors for you with the information it gets... and the high-saturation default color-set would start to appear abrading and unnatural.
You can make the greyscale toggle on triple power/home button, or via control centre. Thus, you can have it on most of the time, toggle it to look at a map, then toggle it back.
Probably a bug but my browser in dark mode actually inverts image and video into something like posterized predator vision. Since I was looking for grayscale anyway, I’ve kept it and not looked back.
Even though phone manufacturers and service providers are doing everything they can to limit the availability of smaller, reasonably sized phones.. even the huge phone I get forced into using is just incredibly frustrating to browse the web with. Besides the usual gdpr harassment taking up a third of every screen, mobile just increases the thirsty demands for me to install apps, etc.
Might as well drive home the point that friction is inevitable rather than making it easier to start an interaction that’s only going to annoy me. If I need to do anything other than view simple text, I already know I’ll have to get out the laptop
I’m a bit confused by “Bitwarden is built in now” - are you saying that you no longer need the Bitwarden app to connect iOS’s password autofill to my bitwarden vault?
I think there is a fix for that as well, I use Focus modes to hide work apps outside 09h-16h, so there are absolutely no mentions of productivity (or badges/things that need me to do something) to be seen when I'm not on the clock.
Came here to make a related comment. I've had the equivalent settings active on my GrapheneOS device for at least a couple years, and I still find myself losing hours of my life to the darn thing.
If you don't go after the underlying reason you want to distract yourself from real life by entering the portal in your pocket, all the tips and tricks in the world won't fix the problem.
This article is all about showing off and getting attention from people asking about your home screen. It’s all about consuming minimalism and telling people. I disable all notifications but phone, messages and calendar, install minimal applications, no sns, and only show the basics on Home Screen. No need to configure the whole minimal wallpaper, just get your phone far for eyesight.
It's easy to break your phone addiction—I've done it a 1,000 times...
But, seriously, I've tried launchers, leechblock, and other software solutions. For me, they don't work long term because I end up just reverting and unblocking. I always have some justification in my head as to why I need to reinstall Discord or browse YouTube and then it's over.
For me, I've had much better luck with a device where those types of slips are impossible. Mostly... although sometimes I really do need a smartphone to scan a QR code or to pay a foodtruck with Venmo.
The Jelly Star seems to be the best compromise for me so far. It's still a smartphone, but the screen is so small that it's a lot harder to be on it for hours.
If the problem is social media app addiction, I have found the best solution is to turn on screen time, whitelist your most important apps like messages, calendar etc. and then enable a passcode to access any other app. Ask a friend to set a pin code for you so you cannot cheat.
Another solution is to just use an apple watch with cellular as your primary phone. It has everything you need (spotify, imessage, etc.) but nothing that distracts you like youtube, tiktok etc.
Apple watch is a 'dumb' phone. I upgraded to watch ultra for this purpose. Just leave the iphone at home or in the car (bonus: one less item to carry). I use browser to check twitter occasionally, but it helps break the habit of keeping phone around all the time. Do miss the camera though..
It's important to note that music streaming and texting are also wants rather than needs. I've recently started leaving my house where the only electronic device that I go with is my compact camera.
It is a pity that it is not as well thought out as it appears. For example, the suggestion to remove system applications will almost immediately lead to a bootloop.
I, for example, have a hard time imagining how to protect elderly parents from a text message that will send them a link that, when clicked, will bombard them with suggestions to enable notifications, and then notifications will bombard them with suggestions to do something else.
Hey I'm the author. I definitely didn't mean to imply you should remove critical system apps (I don't think that's possible on vanilla iOS).
More just that it's worth deleting most apps beyond the basics like calls,text,calendar,maps etc
The most effective solution I found was keeping my phone in my backpack instead of my pocket. When working I keep it somewhere I’d need to get up to get it.
Together with taming notifications this provides enough friction to discourage me from reaching for it at every spare second.
Once the phone reaches my hands the tricks in the post are not enough to remove the need for conscious effort to let go of the thing and put it back in its inconveniently positioned place.
I recognise the problems this 'dumbphone' trend is trying to solve but I really don't understand many of the solutions people are putting forth.
What I did years ago is aggressively manage my notifications settings, deleted the apps that were a problem (twitter, reddit) and I'm assertive about not being in too many group chats + notifications off for those. And it's been working great.
I think it's worth viewing through an addiction lens. Some people have addictive personalities, and their brains work differently when presented with things like this. I can have just one drink, or play just a bit of a video game. But I know people who will tip into a destructive addiction spiral from a tiny impetus like that, such that completely avoiding what to me would be a harmless thing is the only way they can live a normal life.
It's sort of like people with clinical depression. Advice from people who're not clinically depressed is often terrible, because it's stuff that'll work great if you're a neurotypical person. And it's legitimately hard to get in the mindset of someone whose brain works differently than yours for things like this, and understand what's incredibly difficult for them despite being trivial for you.
Notifications off by default and apps not on the Home Screen by default already goes a very long way. For me, there is no need to make my phone any dumber.
I was seriously looking into purchasing a dumb smart phone, a la Light Phone 2 or Punkt MP02. I want some messaging, audio, maps etc but keep the slot machine apps as far away as possible. This simple guide saved me at least € 300 on the purchase of a new phone... for now.
I recently finished Atomic Habits and these actions pair well with it. Especially the points about making the bad habits less accessible and make them less satisfying.
I guess a lot of people only need a dumbphone most of the time but a smartphone becomes a lifesaver a small fraction of the time. Like to hire a cab once in a while, get information online or buy museum tickets on a decent browser while travelling, have access to public transport app in an unknown city, navigation in a vehicle, etc.
So there is a case of having the capabilities of the smartphone but not wanting the distraction that are part of the ecosystem. In my own experience, I don't have any social media accounts anymore except one one the fediverse but I only access it from the browser and don't get distracted by notifications.
I just wish there was an easy way to mute everyone but a selected number of contacts (you can sorta do it but you need to go through all your contacts, it doesn't work for unknown numbers or for calls). The only real people I want a phone/message tone is my partner, my daughters and their school numbers[1]. I want everyone else to be silent and when calling being redirected to voicebox immediately.
[1] which doesn't work as usually people from school use their private smartphones.
What appeals to me is the choice about when I want to enable the smart features. Instead of finding myself victim to alerts and being late to the notification, I want to choose when I spend time on my phone. There are a few ways to achieve this, but I decided to give Dumbify a shot.
myb i wanted an iphone 6months ago but today i want a ~dumb phone but im stuck with this iphone i already have. i could sell the iphone but i do need the apps i wouldnt have on a dumb phone so i try to do what i can to dumb it down
A hack that has worked for me is having another person set up the code for screen time settings, in a way that there is just enough friction for the often unconscious reflex to open XYZ app and proceed to get sucked in.
In my case I both set a daily time limit and block certain apps to only certain hours of the day
I take a medium approach and turn off almost all notifications, do not install “social” addictionware apps or similar junk, turn off background refresh for almost everything, and if I need some gratuitous app on a trip I uninstall it as soon as I don’t.
I haven’t tried their lock down mode yet whatever it’s called.
[+] [-] simonbarker87|1 year ago|reply
Even a small amount of friction to getting to slot machine apps does wonders for reducing the amount of time spent on them. But likewise it’s nice (and useful) to still have access to these apps for some people so deleting isn’t a viable option.
Like any other “everything in moderation” suggestion if it’s not all or nothing, just use self control, the internet hates on it.
[+] [-] dangus|1 year ago|reply
Turning off notifications is stupidly simple to a fault. Sorry, people can’t just turn off notifications from their spouses or day care apps or school/kids’ phone numbers or other important stuff like that.
But this article doesn’t really get into the stuff that the OS has built-in to manage notification priority, it just tells you to turn it all off as if they’re telling the government to print more money to end poverty.
Kind of crazy that a blog post on this subject doesn’t even mention the Screen Time feature.
[+] [-] throwaway920102|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Brajeshwar|1 year ago|reply
Besides that, I have been disabling Notifications for ages, and that is the one decision that I believe was one of the best decisions of my phone life. I wrote an article in 2014[1] that needs a serious update, but it still makes sense.
Make it a habit to turn off Notifications as soon as you install a new app unless they are critical, such as Medical or Kid/school-related.
My Home page has a minimal wallpaper that I did a few years back, and it stayed. I usually leave one row at the bottom for beta-testing and region-specific Apps I use while traveling.
Of course, none of the Social Media Apps are on my phone. I checked my screen time to include this comment, and I've 37 minutes Daily Average. So, on most usage, I should still likely be averaging less than an hour daily.
1. https://brajeshwar.com/2014/missing-step-productivity-activi...
[+] [-] Kiboneu|1 year ago|reply
I had the same annoyance as you, switching back and forth wasn't pleasant, and I'd forget. I think part of the reason is that switching between 0% <-> 100% saturation doesn't give room to adapt. It feels like a bandwidth of information is missing. But, if the colorspace is barely noticeable, your brain will fill in the colors for you with the information it gets... and the high-saturation default color-set would start to appear abrading and unnatural.
[+] [-] cricalix|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] captn3m0|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] photonthug|1 year ago|reply
Even though phone manufacturers and service providers are doing everything they can to limit the availability of smaller, reasonably sized phones.. even the huge phone I get forced into using is just incredibly frustrating to browse the web with. Besides the usual gdpr harassment taking up a third of every screen, mobile just increases the thirsty demands for me to install apps, etc.
Might as well drive home the point that friction is inevitable rather than making it easier to start an interaction that’s only going to annoy me. If I need to do anything other than view simple text, I already know I’ll have to get out the laptop
[+] [-] dewey|1 year ago|reply
The described solution is just someone procrastinating by spending even more time on their phone trying to customize things and fiddle with apps.
Same category as building a todo app to become more productive or building a blogging engine to write more instead of just writing.
[+] [-] Terretta|1 year ago|reply
Photos and Maps, while deleting the unneeded Google apps, keep the dumb phone from informing third party adtech of your day.
The minimal launcher is cool; this is built in: https://support.apple.com/en-nz/guide/assistive-access-iphon...
[+] [-] 542458|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] conception|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] echelon_musk|1 year ago|reply
May as well rename the article to 'how I changed the appearance of my iPhone'.
[+] [-] iamkonstantin|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] smeej|1 year ago|reply
If you don't go after the underlying reason you want to distract yourself from real life by entering the portal in your pocket, all the tips and tricks in the world won't fix the problem.
[+] [-] 10729287|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] throwaway290|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] asimpletune|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] dot5xdev|1 year ago|reply
But, seriously, I've tried launchers, leechblock, and other software solutions. For me, they don't work long term because I end up just reverting and unblocking. I always have some justification in my head as to why I need to reinstall Discord or browse YouTube and then it's over.
For me, I've had much better luck with a device where those types of slips are impossible. Mostly... although sometimes I really do need a smartphone to scan a QR code or to pay a foodtruck with Venmo.
The Jelly Star seems to be the best compromise for me so far. It's still a smartphone, but the screen is so small that it's a lot harder to be on it for hours.
[+] [-] rhplus|1 year ago|reply
https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welc...
[+] [-] layer8|1 year ago|reply
It has some major limitations though, like you can’t zoom into photos, and you can’t use Bluetooth headphones or AirPlay.
[+] [-] adamors|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mwidell|1 year ago|reply
Another solution is to just use an apple watch with cellular as your primary phone. It has everything you need (spotify, imessage, etc.) but nothing that distracts you like youtube, tiktok etc.
[+] [-] surfcao|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Zambyte|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] dools|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Hendrikto|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Lockal|1 year ago|reply
It is a pity that it is not as well thought out as it appears. For example, the suggestion to remove system applications will almost immediately lead to a bootloop.
I, for example, have a hard time imagining how to protect elderly parents from a text message that will send them a link that, when clicked, will bombard them with suggestions to enable notifications, and then notifications will bombard them with suggestions to do something else.
[+] [-] hbroadbent|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mikecarlton|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] lazamar|1 year ago|reply
Together with taming notifications this provides enough friction to discourage me from reaching for it at every spare second.
Once the phone reaches my hands the tricks in the post are not enough to remove the need for conscious effort to let go of the thing and put it back in its inconveniently positioned place.
[+] [-] NietTim|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] kemayo|1 year ago|reply
It's sort of like people with clinical depression. Advice from people who're not clinically depressed is often terrible, because it's stuff that'll work great if you're a neurotypical person. And it's legitimately hard to get in the mindset of someone whose brain works differently than yours for things like this, and understand what's incredibly difficult for them despite being trivial for you.
[+] [-] pflenker|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] pxmpxm|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] eurvin|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] dave84|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] cocoa19|1 year ago|reply
I recently finished Atomic Habits and these actions pair well with it. Especially the points about making the bad habits less accessible and make them less satisfying.
[+] [-] hbroadbent|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] cjk2|1 year ago|reply
The reason I buy an iPhone is that I want all the non dumb things. If I wanted all the dumb stuff I'd just not bother.
[+] [-] prmoustache|1 year ago|reply
So there is a case of having the capabilities of the smartphone but not wanting the distraction that are part of the ecosystem. In my own experience, I don't have any social media accounts anymore except one one the fediverse but I only access it from the browser and don't get distracted by notifications.
I just wish there was an easy way to mute everyone but a selected number of contacts (you can sorta do it but you need to go through all your contacts, it doesn't work for unknown numbers or for calls). The only real people I want a phone/message tone is my partner, my daughters and their school numbers[1]. I want everyone else to be silent and when calling being redirected to voicebox immediately.
[1] which doesn't work as usually people from school use their private smartphones.
[+] [-] zahma|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] lying4fun|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] someluccc|1 year ago|reply
In my case I both set a daily time limit and block certain apps to only certain hours of the day
[+] [-] api|1 year ago|reply
I haven’t tried their lock down mode yet whatever it’s called.