DetoxDroid: Grayscale & Focus

About DetoxDroid: Grayscale & Focus

Your phone is designed to hook you. DetoxDroid is designed to unhook you.

Most digital detox apps make you sign a contract with yourself: no phone for the next X minutes, no more than Z minutes in app Y — and they punish you when you fail. DetoxDroid flips that approach. Instead of relying on willpower, it strips the attention-grabbing tricks out of your phone, so healthy screen time is your default — not something you have to opt into every day.

Use your phone. Don't let your phone use you.

WHY DETOXDROID?

★ Opt-out instead of opt-in: protection is always on — take deliberate breaks with the pause button
★ No punishments, no guilt-tripping, no "fines" when you slip
★ Open source, no ads, no tracking, no account
★ A one-time premium unlock instead of yet another subscription

FEATURES

🎨 Automatic Grayscale
Color is a big part of what makes feeds addictive. DetoxDroid turns your screen grayscale to dampen compulsive scrolling — with exceptions for apps that need color (camera, gallery, maps), an optional daily budget of colored screen time, and an extra-dim mode for calmer evenings.

📵 Doomscroll Breaker
A scroll guard for endless feeds: DetoxDroid detects when you are stuck doomscrolling (Shorts, Reels, TikTok & co.) and steps in with a prompt to stop. Sensitivity, warning time and cooldown are configurable — after a break, the feed that trapped you stays locked for a while.

🚫 App Blocker
Block or fully deactivate distracting apps — including their launcher icons and notifications. Or give them a daily screen time budget after which they lock until tomorrow.

🔕 Automatic Do Not Disturb
Make Do Not Disturb your default. Notifications wait for you — not the other way around.

⏸️ Pause Button
Need a distracting app for a moment? Pause DetoxDroid for a set time from Quick Settings, your assistant, or by long-pressing a hardware button. It resumes automatically, and a minimum gap between pauses keeps "just one more pause" in check.

🔒 Commitment Password
For the moments when future you shouldn't trust present you: lock DetoxDroid's settings behind a password — keep it yourself, or hand it to a partner or friend for real accountability.

PREMIUM

DetoxDroid is open source and its core features are free to use. A single one-time purchase — no subscription — unlocks the power-user extras and directly supports development.

HOW DETOXDROID USES THE ACCESSIBILITY SERVICE API

DetoxDroid uses Android's AccessibilityService API — with your explicit consent during setup — to power its core self-control features. The service detects scroll events in the apps you use, so the Doomscroll Breaker can recognize endless scrolling and prompt you to take a break. It also detects which app is in the foreground, so DetoxDroid can apply the rules you have configured: block or budget distracting apps, keep color on in your grayscale exception apps, and react to a long press of your hardware pause key. Everything is processed locally on your device — DetoxDroid does not collect, store, or share any personal or sensitive data, and nothing ever leaves your phone.

ONE-TIME SETUP REQUIRED

For the grayscale feature, Android requires a special permission (WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS) that has to be granted once from a computer — or directly on the phone if it is rooted. It usually takes only a few minutes, and there is a step-by-step guide: https://github.com/flxapps/DetoxDroid#installation

Cut your screen time, break the doomscrolling habit, beat phone addiction — and get your focus back. DetoxDroid is developed openly on GitHub; issues, ideas and contributions are always welcome.