Friction: Mindful App Pause

Friction doesn't block your apps. It just makes you stop and think for a moment.

Most of the time you don't decide to open Instagram. Your thumb just goes there. Friction puts a short, deliberate pause in that gap, so the choice becomes yours again.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Pick the apps that pull you in.
2. Choose what you have to do before they open.
3. The next time you tap one, Friction appears first.

"Turn Back" is the big, easy button. Opening the app is still possible. It just isn't automatic anymore.

FOUR KINDS OF FRICTION
- Breathe. Watch a circle expand and contract for a few seconds. Free, always.
- Type a phrase. Write out your own reminder, word for word.
- Number grid. Tap scattered numbers in order. Needs real attention.
- Take 10 steps. Get up and move. The strongest one.

You can write your own phrase for the typing barrier. Make it something you would actually want to read at 1 a.m.

SEE WHAT YOU GAINED
A simple dashboard shows how many times you turned back today, your success rate, and how many days in a row you have held the line. No shaming, no red numbers. Just what you did.

FREE, AND NOT A SUBSCRIPTION
- Protect as many apps as you like. No limit, no paywall.
- Supported by a single small banner on the dashboard.
- One optional one-time purchase removes ads for good and unlocks every barrier permanently. No recurring charge, ever.

YOUR DATA STAYS ON YOUR PHONE
Friction has no accounts, no sign-up and no server of its own. Which apps you chose and how often you turned back are stored only on your device and are never uploaded. Uninstalling the app deletes all of it.

WHY FRICTION NEEDS TWO SPECIAL PERMISSIONS
- Usage access, to notice the moment a selected app comes to the front. Nothing about your usage leaves the device.
- Display over other apps, to show the pause screen before the app finishes loading.
Both are granted by you in Android's settings, and Friction stops working if you revoke them.

A NOTE
Friction is a self-management tool, not a medical product, and it makes no health claims. It is a small barrier. Sometimes that is all it takes, and sometimes it is not.