Small Steps: Stop Scrolling

Muhammad Haris Khokhar

About this app

Do you pick up your phone "for a minute" and lose an hour? Do your plans fade after a few days of motivation?

Small Steps was made by one person with exactly that problem. It doesn't shame you or lock your phone. It gives you a moment to choose, and helps you build habits so small you can't fail at them.

⏸️ A PAUSE BEFORE YOU SCROLL • Open Instagram, TikTok or another app you pick, and Small Steps shows a short, calm pause first • Breathe for five seconds, see how many times you've opened it today, then choose: do something better, or open it on purpose • YouTube: only Shorts get the pause; normal videos and learning stay free • A guilt-free scroll budget each day (30 minutes by default) for when you just want to relax

🆘 THE URGE BUTTON Feeling the pull to scroll? Tap it. A 10-minute timer and a short list of better things to do: stretch, drink water, step outside, or simply do nothing on purpose. Urges you ride out are counted as wins.

✅ TINY HABITS THAT STICK • Every habit has a 2-minute minimum, so even a bad day still counts • Tie each habit to something you already do: "After lunch → read 2 pages" • Never miss twice: miss one day, and Small Steps helps you come back the next • Level up slowly: new habits open only after about 14 days at 80% • Make your own phases, or keep the ready-made ones

📊 SEE WHERE YOUR TIME GOES • Your phone today, by app, with unlocks and notifications • Today vs yesterday at the same time of day • "Where am I slipping?": simple cards that spot your patterns, each with one small fix • Streaks, a habit heatmap, badges and a weekly review

📓 JOURNAL AND NOTES • One question a day, picked from your own day. Even one line counts • Close your day in a minute: what went well, what to try tomorrow • Notes and to-do lists with reminders, subtasks and repeats • Add photos, or snap a page from your paper notebook

🌱 KIND, NOT STRICT No red warnings, no guilt. Missed a day? That's normal. The app is built on ideas from Atomic Habits, Tiny Habits and Indistractable: make it small, make it easy, and keep going.

✨ SIMPLE WHEN YOU WANT IT Want less? Simple mode keeps just the pause, your phone time and notes. New features stay off until you choose them, one at a time.

🔒 PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No ads. No tracking. No account needed • Your data stays on your phone • Optional: sign in with Google to back up to your own Google Drive, and use it on another phone or your computer. We never see it

♿ HOW SMALL STEPS USES THE ACCESSIBILITY SERVICE Small Steps uses the AccessibilityService API. This is needed for the app's main feature, the pause before scrolling. • What it does: it notices when you open an app you chose to pause (for example Instagram) or YouTube Shorts, and shows the pause screen over it • What it does not do: it only checks which app is open and whether a Short is playing. It does not collect, store or share your messages, passwords or anything else on your screen. Nothing leaves your phone • You are in control: it is off until you turn it on, Small Steps explains it and asks first, and you can turn it off any time in Android settings • Small Steps is not an accessibility tool for people with disabilities; it uses this service only for the pause

🕌 OPTIONAL PRAYER REMINDERS If you like, turn on prayer-time anchors and reminders (based on your city). They are off by default.

Less scrolling. More living. One small step at a time.

What’s new

• Scrolling, counted right: Instagram and other feeds now count even with their pause off, and YouTube Shorts time counts too.
• Five new home-screen widgets: screen time, scrolling today, where your time went, scroll budget, and this week.