Launched this week
Dumbify: Minimal Launcher
Minimal Launcher
5 followers
Minimal Launcher
5 followers
The cluttered home screen with numerous apps can lead to cognitive overload and distraction, increasing your screen time. Minimal Launcher aims to solve this by creating a streamlined home screen featuring only essential apps. Benefits: Decrease mindless scrolling and phone usage Remove distractions Curb impulsive app-opening habits
Like many people, I noticed how smartphones had quietly shifted from being useful tools to constant sources of distraction. My own home screen was cluttered with apps, notifications, and visual noise and I found myself unlocking my phone far more often than I intended.
I was drawn to the idea of “dumbing down” the smartphone: keeping its utility while removing the addictive interface patterns that encourage mindless scrolling. The inspiration for Dumbify came from this simple question:
What if your phone only showed what actually matters?
What problem was I trying to solve?
Modern smartphones are intentionally designed to capture attention with colorful icons, badges, feeds, and endless content loops. A cluttered home screen increases cognitive load and impulsive app-opening, which ultimately drives higher screen time and distraction.
Dumbify aims to solve this by replacing the traditional launcher with a clean, minimal interface that surfaces only essential apps. Reducing visual stimuli and decision fatigue, it helps users:
- Decrease mindless scrolling
- Curb impulsive app usage
- Lower screen time
- Feel less overwhelmed by their phone
The goal wasn’t to remove functionality It was to restore intentionality.
How did I approach or process evolve while working on this launch?
Initially, Dumbify started as a very simple minimal launcher concept. But as I tested it myself and gathered early feedback, I realized that minimalism alone isn’t enough it has to be practical and flexible for real daily use.
So the product evolved in a few key ways during development:
From static minimal -> customizable minimal: users can choose essential apps and layout
From aesthetic simplicity -> behavioral design: focus on reducing impulsive habits
From concept -> daily tool: optimized for real-world routines, not just detox experiments
Throughout the launch process, I kept coming back to one principle:
The phone should serve the user not the other way around.
Dumbify today reflects that philosophy a minimal interface designed not just to look calm, but to change how people interact with their phones.