Turn your iPhone into a dumb phone. Without buying one.
One tap: minimal home screen, distracting apps locked, grayscale on. To unlock, tap an NFC tag, walk 500 steps, or ask a friend.
Free early access for the first 500. No spam, one email when it ships.
How it works
- One tap. Your home screen becomes a text list of 6 apps. Everything else is locked with Apple's Screen Time, and the screen goes grayscale.
- Leaving costs something. Tap any NFC sticker you own (a $1 tag, not a $59 brick), walk 500 steps, or breathe for two minutes.
- Or ask a friend. Pick one person. Ending Dumb Mode early needs their OK. They get a notification. You get accountability.
Why not just buy a Light Phone or a Brick?
A Light Phone is $599–799 and you lose your camera, maps and banking. A Brick is $59 of plastic you'll leave at home. Your iPhone can already do all of this; nobody made it one tap.
FAQ
Does it block Reels inside Instagram?
No app on iPhone can block part of an app. Dumb Mode locks the whole app. You can keep DMs through Instagram's website if you need them.
Can I cheat?
Strict mode hides the escape hatches Apple leaves open, and the friend lock means the override isn't yours. We'd rather be honest: a determined you can always factory reset. The point is friction, not prison.
When?
We're deciding whether to build it based on this list. If 500 people want it, it ships in early 2027.