Precursor: Hourly Screen Time Control - Stop doomscrolling w/ screen time limits that actually work
by•
Daily screen time limits hand you the whole budget at once, and most of us spend it before we get out of bed.
Precursor gives you a recurring allowance instead: 5 minutes of Instagram per hour, then the limit resets at the start of the next hour. Enough to check in, never enough to fall in.
Built on Apple's Screen Time framework, so your app choices stay private.
Solo developer on a mission to improve digital wellbeing and human-machine interaction.
Free to use, optional paid tier.
Replies
Hey Product Hunt,
I'm a recent first-gen graduate and first-time solo developer, excited to share with you a completely new approach to managing your screen time habits on iOS!
I built Precursor because every screen time solution I have tried never stuck. Daily limits hand you the whole budget at once, and most mornings my own budget was gone before I even got out of bed.
Before Precursor, my actual "system" was offloading the problem to a friend. They set my screen time passcode, and whenever I needed a fix of brainrot doomscrolly time I would ask them to unblock me. Fifteen more minutes, or an hour, or worse, the whole day. Existing screen time apps feel more like bandaids rather than true solutions that get at the underlying problem:
Moderation.
Precursor helps you practice moderation without even having to think about it. Daily limits fail because they expect that you can magically start moderating your screen time perfectly. Which is just unlikely since most apps on your phone are designed to keep you scrolling. Additionally, unhealthy screen time habits don't develop overnight; so we shouldnt expect ourselves to break them overnight either.
With five minutes of Instagram per hour you get enough time to check in, but never enough to fall into a doomscroll. You get the scroll break you needed and your brain can rest easy because it knows that in just a short hour you can have more time to scroll if you need it.
If this idea sounds familiar, it's because it shares some principles with the Pomodoro technique: you do not need willpower if you have a rhythm you can lean on. Work, break, work, break. Precursor just runs that loop on your phone habits instead of your to-do list.
I'd love to hear from anyone else who has been trying to find a screen time model that actually helps them reduce their phone usage long term!
I know school is starting back up soon and I would love for you to spread the word to anyone you know in your life that could benefit from better screen time habits, and as thank you I'm offering 3 months of Precursor+ for free just use the promo code here on Product Hunt!