Isn't making it a subscription more honest? Don't pay an outright price for this, just pay monthly until it stops working

I don't think it's a scam at all. Will it be around in a week? Probably not. But it's not a scam.

Not in Chrome or iOS probably. But Firefox for Android supports extensions.

Obviously it isn't, but also obviously: this isn't a web browser in anything but technical implementation. It's a packaged, sold, interface to a proprietary service with a set of T&Cs that they are free to enforce.

Also every single one of these that I've seen before has fallen down in the same way. Chat apps that embed Facebook, third party YouTube viewer for Apple's VR headset, various other third party Instagram apps, etc.

Even if it is legal, meta and google will just block you from accessing the service.

Yes, I think it's good to uninstall these apps from time to time as well.

Deleting and never using them again doesn't work for everyone though. For me it's useful to stay in contact with people, I also use them to promote work as well as find cool events.

I’ve gone cold turkey to preserve my mental health, and it’s been amazing. FB & IG completely screwed my dopamine / reward cycle.

I only miss FB marketplace. Rest, I’m crushing it.

It doesn't seem to work for even a week though. In fact I'm not sure it lasts even a day; I feel like I'll do "show fewer shorts" and still see a bunch of shorts recommendations a few hours later.

I wish they would just have a "don't show shorts at all" option.

Such a scummy UX pattern, a long with the "not right now" or "maybe later" stuff.

The argument I have heard is that a user might forget they disabled the feature, but perhaps they actually wanted it. Apparently we're all too stupid to use a Settings section.

I am definitely seeing a dichotomy in software, there is software that accepts you have your own brain cells capable of operating the software. Then there is the software that expects, hopes even, that you only spark enough neurons together when the jolt of a video finishing rattles your brain, enough to scroll to the next one.

We should stop using the dumb software, lest we be trained to be dumb too.

My favourite recent discovery is Assistive Access in the iOS Accessibility settings. You pick the apps you want access to (and set privacy permissions), then when you launch the mode your iPhone only shows those apps.

If you feel a sudden compulsion to access something you didn't allow yourself, you have to exit the mode, which takes as long as a reboot.

There are quite a few limitations of this mode, so it won't be for everyone (or maybe anyone on here?) but it's a pretty good detox. A lot stronger than screentime restrictions.

Well supermarkets do have high-sugar ultraprocessed snacks right next to the check-out counter, so I think your analogy is spot on.

Now I just need to vibecode a plugin for my smart glasses to filter out those snacks.

If someone is already sold on the idea of uninstalling the Instagram app and using something else to access Instagram, how is it better to install a different app, vs. using the already-installed browser, with an extension?

The use case for this app (Dull):

1. Uninstall Instagram

2. Install Dull

3. Use Instagram via Dull

The use case for a Safari extension:

1. Uninstall Instagram

2. Install the Safari extension

3. Use Instagram via Safari

Am I missing something that is obviously better about Dull (which couldn't be replicated by a Safari extension)?

(P.S. this is not meant to discourage the developer of Dull; I like the idea and your implementation seems really good.)

Isn’t this just WebKit with some user scripts anyway?