Most software I've worked on had the same goal: remove friction. Fewer taps, faster load, smoother onboarding. So it felt strange to start a project whose whole point is to add friction, deliberately, in exactly the right places.
That project is ReClaim, a minimalist Android launcher for people who want to use their phone on purpose. This post is about why I built it as a launcher instead of yet another blocker app, the design decisions that shaped it, and what I learned about building software that wants you to use it less.
The problem: the friction is backwards
Here's the observation that started it. On a typical phone, the most distracting apps are the easiest to reach. They sit on the home screen with bright icons and notification badges, one thumb-tap away. Meanwhile the genuinely useful stuff — your notes, your calendar, your banking app — ends up buried in a folder on page three.
Nobody designed that layout to hurt you. It just accumulates. But the result is that the path of least resistance almost always leads to a feed.
I didn't want to rely on willpower to fix that. Willpower is a finite resource and it's usually lowest exactly when you reach for your phone: tired, bored, waiting in line. What I wanted was to change which actions are easy. Keep productive apps one tap away. Make everything else require a moment of intention first.
Why a launcher, not a blocker
There are plenty of app blockers on Android. I've used several. The recurring problem I ran into is that they sit beside your home screen rather than being it. You still see the icons. You still get the pull. The blocker only steps in after you've already tapped.
A launcher is different. It's the first thing you see every time you unlock your phone. If the home screen itself is calm, a lot of the problem disappears before any blocking kicks in. And because a launcher is your home screen, the rules apply system-wide — set them once, and they're enforced without you having to remember to open another app.
So ReClaim's home screen is intentionally boring: a clock, the favorites you choose, and a plain, icon-free alphabetical app list. No colourful grid, no badges competing for attention. Finding an app means reading its name, which turns out to be a tiny but meaningful speed bump.
Designing the levels of friction
The hardest design question was: how much friction is the right amount? Too little and it's pointless. Too much and people uninstall it in a frustrated moment. I ended up with several tools, each suited to a different relationship with an app.
1. Hard blocks with a timer
Sometimes you just want an app gone. In ReClaim you pick an app and a duration — anywhere from 5 minutes up to a year — and it's unavailable until the timer runs out. There are 18 preset durations, because I found that making people type a custom number was itself a decision point where they'd talk themselves out of it.
One small detail I like: when you block an app, ReClaim suggests other apps you'll probably want to block alongside it. If you block one social app, you're likely to just drift to the next one otherwise.
2. Daily and weekly limits
Not every app deserves a full block. Maybe 20 minutes of a given app per day is fine. With limits, once your time is used up, ReClaim closes the app automatically. No "five more minutes" prompt to negotiate with. And if you genuinely decide you need more, raising the limit lifts the block immediately — the control stays with you, it just requires a conscious choice.
3. Intention reminders
This one is my favourite because it's the gentlest. Before you open an app with a reminder set, ReClaim asks: "How long do you intend to use this?" Then it nudges you when that time is up.
It's a check-in, not a lockout. In my experience, just being asked that question is often enough to change what happens next. Sometimes the honest answer is "I don't actually need to open this."
4. Scheduled blocking
Work hours, bedtime, weekends — recurring windows where specific apps simply aren't available. This removes the daily decision entirely. You decide once, on a calm Sunday afternoon, and future-you doesn't have to fight about it at 11:40 PM.
5. Three levels of hidden apps
Some apps you want to keep installed but out of sight. ReClaim has three levels of hiding friction: hidden behind nothing (just out of the list), hidden behind a puzzle, or hidden behind a real deterrent. The idea is to match the friction to how strong the habit is.
Guardrails I refused to compromise on
Building something that restricts access to a phone comes with responsibility. A few rules I set early:
- Emergency apps are never blocked by default. A focus tool should never get between you and a call you actually need to make.
- Your other apps work normally. ReClaim changes how you reach apps, not how they behave once open.
- No ads, ever. It would be absurd to build a tool against attention-harvesting and then monetise attention.
- No account required. You shouldn't need to sign up for anything to have a calmer home screen.
That last two shaped a lot of decisions. If there's nothing to gain from keeping people on-screen, you stop designing for engagement and start designing for the moment someone puts the phone down.
What I learned about "anti-engagement" design
A few lessons that I think apply beyond launchers:
Friction is a design material. We usually treat it as a bug. But a well-placed pause is one of the most respectful things software can offer. The trick is placing it where the user would want it, if they were thinking clearly.
Choices beat walls. The features people (including me) stick with are the ones that preserve agency. A reminder that asks a question respects you more than a lock that assumes you can't be trusted.
Defaults matter more than features. The plain, text-only app list does more quiet work than any individual blocking feature, simply because it's what you see every single time.
Make the escape hatch honest. If raising a limit is possible, make it clear and immediate. Hidden escape hatches feel manipulative; honest ones build trust.
Where it's at
ReClaim is free, and you can follow along or join the waitlist at tryreclaim.io. If you've built anything in the digital wellbeing space, or have strong opinions about how much friction is too much, I'd genuinely love to hear them in the comments — this is the part of the design I'm still learning the most about.
The question I keep coming back to is the one the whole launcher is built around: does this make it easier to use my phone on purpose, or easier to lose an hour to it? It turns out that's a pretty good question for most software.
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