Brainrot: Screen Time Control

I really like this app. It is effective in reducing screen time and is enjoyable to use. However, there are a couple of flaws and, for me at least, they are significant enough that I plan to stop using the app even though I paid for it! Here are the two flaws to be aware of: 1) Block Limit is 50 apps. You can use Categories to block several apps at once and reduce the app count (categories count as 1 app). But the odd categorization of apps makes blocking whole categories challenging. 2) List of blocked apps is all or nothing! You are only permitted to create a single group of apps to block. You can setup different blocking periods (eg times of day) but the app only allows you to create a 1 “mix” of blocked apps. There is no variability to block a group of apps in the morning and a different group of apps in the evening or to block individual apps. Those are just killers for me. I appreciate the idea and attitude of going all-in when you are “desperate” to reduce screen time and nothing else has worked. Brainrot is effective in that manner. However - if you need even just a little flexibility to make adjustments then it isn’t likely to be the right product for you.

Scrolling on social media like Instagram and TikTok is incredibly addictive. I tried a few other screen-time reduction apps and methods with little success. This app works for me because there are so many intervention walls which help me pause before opening the addictive apps. Then you can choose 5, 10, 15, or 30 minute sessions so you don’t get carried away. Plus, the cute brain mascot gets hurt every time you scroll, and I don’t wanna hurt him!! Now I’m spending less than an hour per day on these apps instead of 5-7 hours! I’m reading books, going outside, and working on creative projects. I don’t know the latest TikTok trends. My brain is healing! That being said, I wouldn’t say this app is perfect yet. I’ve noticed a few minor glitches (nothing that interrupts the app function). The addition of a few extra features could make it more functional and useful. Plus, the price is a bit high. I’m still leaving 5 stars because this app works! Its fundamental design is high effective, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone struggling with phone addiction.

I downloaded the app to help with my screen time. I was surprised and a bit annoyed when a subscription was needed. I wasn’t going to pay but when exiting out there was a 50% off the annual plan. 1) that feels scammy. Just offer the $25/year subscription straight away instead of baiting people in with the higher rate. 2) $5/week is insane! For a screen time app that is available default on iPhone? Either way I decided to try since my screen time is out of control. The interface is a bit clunky and there’s a lot of tabs at the bottom that can be confusing to navigate. The default start is to brick your phone. I don’t find this helpful or useful. I think it’s an exaggeration to expect people to brick their phone. I tried to set up some automations for when to limit my screen time. None of them would stay. I had multiple instances of automations I set up disappearing or reverting back to the default. Super annoying! I decided to add the widget to my Home Screen but it would never update. It would always stay at 99 even if it was something much lower. I tried restarting the app but that didn’t help. There were multiple times where the app would say it could not connect to the apps and I needed to refresh things. I really was hoping this could be useful. But with the scammy feeling with the discount, the automations not working or resetting, the broken widget, and the clunky interface, it’s not good.