YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, without the endless scroll.

Decaf is a free iPhone app I made to stop losing hours to my phone. It opens the normal websites for YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, but with Reels, Shorts, suggested posts and the never-ending feeds taken out. Messages, search, posting and stuff your mates send you all still work.

Free. No ads. No account. Nothing leaves your phone.

Coming to the App Store soon.

What it does

• Gets rid of Reels, Shorts, the Explore grid, suggested posts and YouTube's home feed. If someone sends you a reel or a Short, it still plays, just one at a time.
• If you turn Reels or Shorts back on, it slows them down. After 10 videos you have to wait a bit longer before each next one, up to 10 seconds.
• Shows how long you've been on each site today and this week, right in the site's own header.
• Gives you a little buzz every minute (you pick how strong and how often) and a nudge every 15 minutes straight.
• Lets you set a daily limit. Making it stricter happens straight away. Loosening it means typing a number and waiting, so you can't just undo it on a whim.
• Keeps a record of your time on your phone, so you can see if you're actually cutting down.

Questions

Why is it free?

Charging for this doesn't sit right with me. If you're trying to get off something addictive, there shouldn't be a price on the way out when there wasn't one on the way in.

Why did you make it?

I've struggled with social media for years. I want to be more present and actually get out and do stuff, but I find it hard. Most of the time I don't even notice I've been scrolling until the evening's gone, or the whole day, and then I feel rubbish about it. I'm in my twenties, and if I don't sort it now I can see it eating most of my life.

You've probably deleted these apps and ended up back on them too, because bits of them are genuinely useful: messages, tutorials, the people you actually follow. So I looked for something that kept the useful bits and took the hooks out. There were a few, but they all put the good stuff behind a paywall. So I made my own, and anyone can use it.

Is Decaf made by any of these sites?

No. It's just me, and it's got nothing to do with Meta or Google. It shows their normal mobile websites with some bits hidden.

Is it safe to log in? How do I know you're not taking my details?

Decaf works like a web browser. When you log in, you're on the site's own login page (Google's, for YouTube), and your password goes straight to them, same as in Safari. Decaf adds a small script to each page to hide things like Reels. It never reads what you type, and there's no Decaf server for anything to go to anyway.

Do you store any of my data?

No. There's no account and no server. Your settings, your time record and the sites' login cookies stay on your iPhone, same as with any browser. Decaf doesn't connect to anything for itself, only to the sites you open.

Your settings are saved in the iPhone's keychain, which iOS keeps even if you delete the app. That's on purpose, so deleting and reinstalling Decaf doesn't reset your limits.

Are you tracking what I do?

No. There's no analytics or tracking in Decaf, and nowhere for it to go anyway.

The sites can still see what you do on them, like in any browser. But a website in Decaf can't do a lot of what their apps can: it can't run in the background when Decaf's closed, send you notifications, see your contacts or photos (only ones you choose to upload), get your exact location or use your iPhone's advertising ID.

What if the platforms add these options themselves? Won't Decaf be pointless?

Honestly, I'd love that. Making Decaf pointless is the goal. I don't see it happening though, because their whole business is keeping us scrolling. Hopefully one day regulators step in and make this kind of control standard.

How can I support it?

Decaf is free and it's staying free. If it's helped you and you fancy chipping in, you can buy me a coffee. Totally optional, and it doesn't unlock anything.

Help

Something stopped working or looks off? Email me at support@decafapp.net and say which site and what you were doing.