take the 3-minute quiz
Tell Recess where your phone pulls you in. Your plan starts personal, not generic.
Doomscrolling in the morning
Checking without thinking
Phone in bed
the yard · live screen · for iphone
stop doomscrolling.
stop doomscrolling.
keep your dot happy.
Recess uses real iOS app blocking to make your scroll traps harder to reach — and gives you a small pixel pet, dot, who lives off the time you take back. Finish today's mission and dot opens a box.
free to start · no account needed · your patterns stay on your phone
the yard · mission 012 running_
the yard
21:32 left
mission 012 ........ running_
scroll traps ....... harder to reach
calls · maps · 2fa . open
reward ............. box no. 012
dot
"you made it back. i saved you something."01 — the problem
loophabit trigger
one tap can pull a quiet moment off course
how it happens ........ automatic reach
thumb on the app before you decided anything ... every time
The hard moment isn't motivation — it's the second a feed opens out of habit. Recess meets that second with structure instead of willpower, and keeps the rest of your phone exactly as useful as it was.
02 — how it works
three minutes to a plan.
one mission a day after that.
No account, no lecture. Answer a short quiz, pick your scroll traps, and start your first mission today.
pick your scroll traps
Choose the apps that catch you. During missions they get harder to reach — everything else stays open.
your plan — protected time
social loops ...... harder to reach
binge video ....... harder to reach
calls · maps · 2fa open
social loops ...... harder to reach
binge video ....... harder to reach
calls · maps · 2fa open
run missions, feed your dot
Finish the mission. Dot opens the box. Your egg hatches into a pet that lives off the time you take back.
incubating_ · first hatch after mission 001
03 — try it
run a mission right now.
a tiny one.
This is the whole loop in ten seconds: press the key, the traps step back, the clock runs, dot opens a box. Real missions are 30, 60 or 120 minutes.
toy mission
00:10
scroll traps ....... reachable
box no. 001 ........ sealed
no sign-up. it's a toy. dot doesn't know that.
dot
"you did one. imagine 30 whole minutes."04 — what's inside
an instrument for your attention,
with a pet in the corner of it.
scroll traps
real ios blocking, honestly framed.
Not a "remind me in 15 minutes" nudge. During protected time your chosen apps actually close behind Apple's Screen Time framework. We say harder to reach — not impossible — because trust survives the first emergency unlock only if we never overclaimed.
built on the same framework as ios parental controls
Social loopsharder to reach until 6:00 pm
Binge videoharder to reach until 6:00 pm
Calls · Maps · Bankingalways open — your phone stays useful
missions
30, 60 or 120 minutes. press the key.
A mission is a stretch of protected time you choose and start yourself. The traps step back, the clock runs, and the rest of your phone works like normal. Finish, and there's a box waiting.
you pick the length. you press the key. recess holds the line.
30min
60min
120min
pre-flight — mission 013
length ....... 30 min
traps ........ harder to reach
reward ....... box no. 013 opens
length ....... 30 min
traps ........ harder to reach
reward ....... box no. 013 opens
dot & the boxes
finish the mission. dot opens the box.
Dot is a tamagotchi-style pixel pet who lives in the yard and runs on your finished missions. Boxes are earned, never paid-random. Dot mirrors your behavior — it never blames you, and it never negotiates with a feed on your behalf.
four voices to choose from: deadpan buddy · sweet caretaker · chaotic mascot · coach
mission 012 ........ survived
box no. 012 ........ opened
dot ................ happy
dot
"30 WHOLE minutes?? opening the box immediately."
keep your phone useful
only the traps step back.
This isn't dumb-phone cosplay. Calls, maps, banking, music, 2FA — everything that serves you stays one tap away, missions or not. And there's no feed, no followers, no leaderboard of shame: your patterns stay on your phone.
private by design · no social graph · nothing leaves your device
always open
messagesopen
mapsopen
banking · 2faopen
musicopen
feedsback at 6:00 pm
05 — the boxes
every mission ends
in a box.
Earned, never paid-random. Some hold snacks for dot, some hold furniture for the yard, some hold things nobody's unlocked yet.
a few of the boxes — sprites from the yard.
06 — what comes back
the time shows up first.
the calm follows.
where change starts
the tap
Selected traps meet an extra step before they open, so the automatic reach has room to break.
what missions protect
time blocks
Choose a protected stretch, keep essentials available, and let the feed wait outside the mission.
when to review
daily
Recess is built around short missions, repeatable check-ins, and clearer boundaries over time.
Prototype goals, not verified outcomes.
07 — early notes
what the first mission should feel like.
Prototype copy for design review, not customer reviews.
deleted nothing, made three apps harder to reach, got my evenings back. why was this so hard before??
prototype note
Maya R. concepti tapped instagram out of habit and it just… didn't open. ten days in, the habit is gone.
prototype note
Noah S. concepti still use my phone for normal life. i just don't fall into the same loop as easily.
prototype note
Amara L. conceptthe daily missions made it feel doable instead of strict. 30 minutes a day, and my dot gets fed. that's it.
prototype note
Jamie K. conceptfirst morning in years i made coffee before touching my phone. felt like a superpower.
prototype note
Priya D. conceptscreen time always had that "ignore limit" button. recess doesn't negotiate mid-mission. that's the whole point.
prototype note
Tom W. conceptmy sleep stopped leaking into 2am feeds. i didn't need more willpower, i needed the trap moved out of reach.
prototype note
Hannah B. concepta strict-but-fair gym coach for my attention span, except it's a pixel pet and i'd do anything for it.
prototype note
Leo M. conceptmy egg hatched on day three and now there's a small creature whose whole life depends on me not opening tiktok. incredible design.
prototype note
Sofia M. concept08 — compare
better than another
"i'll just scroll less" monday.
Better than screen time settings, too — because there's no "ignore limit" button mid-mission, and someone small is counting on you.
| willpower alone | ios screen time | recess | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traps actually harder to reach in the moment the habit fires | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| No "ignore limit" escape hatch mid-mission | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Keeps calls, maps & banking open | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| A personal plan from a 3-minute quiz | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| A pet whose day depends on your missions | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| What it costs you | every evening | one tap to ignore | 30 min/day, protected |
| Best for | another monday | seeing the damage | actually stopping |
| start the quiz | |||
09 — faq
the stuff people ask
before they start.
What is Recess?
Recess is an iPhone app that stops doomscrolling with real iOS app blocking and a pixel pet named dot. A 3-minute quiz builds your plan; your chosen scroll traps get harder to reach during missions, and finishing missions feeds your dot — while everything useful on your phone stays open.
What if I don't have enough willpower?
That's the point. Recess reduces reliance on willpower by making selected scroll traps harder to reach — the hard moment meets structure instead of negotiation. And dot gives you a reason to finish that has nothing to do with discipline.
Will my phone still be useful?
Yes. The goal is to keep your phone useful, not punish it. Calls, maps, banking, music and essentials stay one tap away. Only the scroll traps you chose step back during protected time.
Is the blocking really unbeatable?
No, and we won't pretend it is. It's built on Apple's Screen Time framework — the same one behind parental controls — and it makes traps genuinely harder to reach. Honest framing matters: there's always an emergency path, and dot never shames you for using it.
What exactly is dot?
Dot is a tamagotchi-style pixel pet that hatches from an egg after your first missions and lives in the yard. Dot runs on finished missions: finish one and dot opens a box. Dot mirrors your behavior but never blames you. You can pick its voice — deadpan buddy, sweet caretaker, chaotic mascot, or coach.
Can I change which apps are scroll traps?
Yes. You can adjust your traps and make the plan stricter or lighter as your routine changes — outside of a running mission.
When should I expect to feel a difference?
The first intended difference is simple: your usual one-tap loop meets a real pause before it opens.
Is my data private?
There's no feed, no followers, and no "share your progress" button. Your patterns stay on your device unless you choose otherwise.
Is this therapy or medical care?
No. Recess is a behavior-design tool for phone habits. It is not a medical or mental health service.
Is it on Android?
Recess is iPhone-only for now — real blocking depends on Apple's Screen Time framework. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment Android lands.
recess — the break you earn
your feed can wait.
your feed can wait.
your dot can't.
Take the 3-minute quiz. Get your plan, pick your traps, and meet the egg waiting in the yard.
start the 3-minute quizfree to start · no account needed · cancel anytime
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