DetoxDroid: Digital Detox by Default

Most digital detox apps want you to sign a contract with yourself: no phone for the next X minutes, no more than Z minutes in app Y. A few of them take your money when you break it. DetoxDroid works the other way round. It strips the attention-grabbing tricks out of the phone, so that a calm phone is what you get when you do nothing at all. Nothing to start, no session to survive. The protection is simply on, and you pause it on purpose when you actually need something.

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

FEATURES

* Make Apps Boring (grayscale, dimmed, blurred). The color drains out of the apps on your list, and on Android 12 and newer they go soft and blurry too: a feed turns into shapes, still navigable and no longer worth scrolling. This runs from the minute you install DetoxDroid. No computer, no root, nothing to grant.
True grayscale it is not. An overlay can only ever paint on top of the screen, so it drags color and contrast towards a flat gray instead of taking the color out. A red notification dot stays recognisably red. The screen just looks dead, which is the entire point. For the real thing, see SETUP.
* Break Doom Scrolling. Notices when you are stuck in an endless feed (Shorts, Reels and friends) and interrupts you. After the break, that feed stays locked for a cooldown.
* Disable Apps. Put a blocking screen in front of a distracting app, or deactivate it outright, launcher icon and notifications included. Apps can also get a daily budget and lock themselves until tomorrow once it runs out.
* Automatic Do Not Disturb. On for as long as DetoxDroid runs. Notifications wait for you.
* Pause Button. From Quick Settings, from your assistant, or by holding a hardware button for two seconds. DetoxDroid resumes by itself afterwards, and a minimum gap between pauses keeps "just one more" in check.
* Commitment Password. Locks the settings behind a password. Keep it yourself, or hand it to someone who won't give it back the second you ask.

SETUP (optional, and worth it)

The system color filter is a secure setting: Android hands it only to apps holding WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS, and there is no dialog to tap. Grant it once and the wash turns into real grayscale, with Extra Dim on top, which pushes the screen below the minimum brightness Android normally allows. Three routes: from a computer over adb, on the phone itself through Shizuku (the app walks you through it, roughly five minutes), or in one tap if you are rooted. It survives reboots.

Grayscale, Extra Dim and the screen filter are separate switches. Run one, run all three.

The blur needs Android 12 or newer, and Android drops it while battery saver is on. Nothing I can do about that one.

KEEPING IT RUNNING

Some phones are ruthless with background apps, and a stopped DetoxDroid does nothing at all without telling you. There is a setting to keep it alive, and a notification for when your phone stops it anyway.

FREE AND OPEN SOURCE

No ads, no tracking, no account. Every feature is there for everyone. The extras (right now that is the longer usage history) sit behind a lock that opens when you donate, or when you tap "unlock without donating". The lock is a nudge. Nobody checks.

If DetoxDroid earns its place on your phone, LiberaPay and Ko-fi keep me working on it. Bugs and ideas: https://github.com/flxapps/DetoxDroid

Is DetoxDroid: Digital Detox by Default free to download?
Yes. The APK file linked from this page is free. The developer may offer in-app purchases once installed, but obtaining the installer itself costs nothing.

What Android version does DetoxDroid: Digital Detox by Default require?
Android 4.1+ or newer. Installing on older devices may cause crashes or refuse to install.

Is DetoxDroid: Digital Detox by Default safe to install?
We link to the exact APK published by flxapps. We do not modify the file. Still, as with any sideloaded app, scan it with a reputable antivirus before opening it, and only grant permissions the app genuinely needs.

How do I update DetoxDroid: Digital Detox by Default?
Install the newer version on top of the old one — Android will keep your data. If the signature differs, uninstall first (you may lose local progress).

Why is the app not installing?
Common causes: not enough storage, an older Android version than 4.1+, or a conflicting build already installed. Free up space, check your OS version, and uninstall any previous copy before retrying.

1. Tap the Download APK button above and save the file to your device.
2. Open your device Settings → Security (or Apps → Special access → Install unknown apps) and allow your file manager or browser to install unknown apps for this one file only.
3. Open the downloaded com.flx_apps.digitaldetox.apk file from your Downloads folder.
4. Tap Install and wait for Android to finish.
5. Open «DetoxDroid: Digital Detox by Default» by flxapps and grant only the permissions it actually needs.
6. Revoke the "unknown sources" permission once you are done installing.

Note: this page hosts or links to the installer only. The application name, icon and description are provided for identification. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.