Stop doomscrolling in bed
You pick up the phone before your feet hit the floor. The feed is already there, and your step count is still zero.
Direct answer
brb locks the apps you chose before the morning starts. At zero steps they stay locked. Walking is what opens them. A Downtime schedule that ends at a clock time still leaves the apps available while you are under the covers. A step lock does not open until you have actually moved.
What to do now
- Block the apps you open in bed. If you only block one, block the one that eats the first ten minutes.
- Set the step goal the night before, while you still mean it.
- Leave Strict Mode on, so the first thing you see is the lock and not a button that grants fifteen more minutes.
- If you still reach for the phone, put it where you have to stand up to touch it. The lock helps. The distance helps too.
What not to rely on
- Downtime that expires while you are still in bed.
- Grayscale. The feed is still one tap away.
- A promise you make after the app is already open.
- Deleting Instagram at midnight and installing it again at 7am.
The morning is the hard part
Most screen-time advice assumes you are awake and making a decision. Doomscrolling in bed happens before that. The phone is in your hand, the app remembers where you were, and nothing on the lock screen asks you to stand up.
brb's count starts over each day. Before you walk, the goal is unmet, so the apps you selected are blocked. That is the whole mechanism. You can look at the phone. You cannot drop into the feed until the steps are there.
What you will see
You choose the apps from a list ranked by how much time they already take. You set the number of steps. A ring fills as you walk. At the goal, those apps unlock. Miss the goal and they stay locked.
Emergency Unlock is still there if something is actually urgent. It lasts five minutes and you get it once a day. It is not a way to read the timeline from the pillow every morning.
How brb does it
Block the apps
Pick the ones that take the time. brb can show them ranked by screen time.
Set the step goal
The apps stay locked until that number is real.
Walk to unlock
The ring fills as you move. Hit it and the apps open. Miss it and they stay locked.
Setup checklist
- The night before, block the apps you open in bed.
- Set a step goal you can reach before the day gets away from you.
- Turn on Strict Mode.
- Charge the phone somewhere that makes you stand up.
- In the morning, walk first. The apps come back after the goal.
Questions
Will the apps be locked as soon as I wake up?
Yes, if you blocked them and have not hit the step goal yet. A new day starts at zero steps, so those apps are locked before you get up.
What if I use Downtime overnight already?
Downtime can end at a time you chose, even if you have not moved. It can also conflict with brb. If apps are not locking, remove the overlapping Downtime schedule and use the step goal instead.
Can I still check one app from bed?
Emergency Unlock opens every locked app for five minutes, once a day. If you use it to scroll, you have spent the exception. The ordinary path is to walk.
Keep reading
Walk first. Then the apps.
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