Get off your phone

Hello again! Long time no see. In today’s digest, I’m covering a new app that wants to swap screen time dopamine for quality time dopamine. But first…

The headlines: 

📹 TikTok has pulled a feature of its Lite app in the EU.

🛜 Remember Net Neutrality? According to the FCC, it will soon be back.

💰 Meta’s revenue is up 27% in Q1 compared to last year

P.S. You can now add interactive demos to your product launch by using Arcade. Check out the change log to learn more.

"Those darn smartphones," right? I'm about to hit 30, and my parents are still on me to ditch my phone more often. And, well, they might be onto something. 

Recent data shows that folks aged 16 to 64 rack up an average of 6 hours and 37 minutes of screen time daily. That’s a whopping 25 years of your life, and with endless new apps begging for your eye’s attention.

But not every app is a time-sucker. Take BePresent, for example. It leverages psychology and gamification to swap the dopamine rush from mindless scrolling for the thrill of staying off your phone.

Founded by Gen Z siblings Charles and Jack Winston, BePresent aims to tackle smartphone addiction by smartly blocking apps when you should focus — like morning email checks or enjoying dinner without buzzes and beeps.

From there, you can set screen time goals. As an example, I set a goal to reduce my total screen time by 50% over the next month. Once you commit and start smashing that goal, you’ll participate in a leaderboard against others who are ditching the screen. If you’re consistent enough, you’ll earn points, which can be spent on rewards like subscriptions and discounts. 

BePresent also makes a habit of stepping in just as doom-scrolling starts to set in. Once the app feels like you’ve seen enough TikTok dances, it will give you a polite nudge to break focus and pull you out of the scrolling pit. 

According to the founders, the methodology behind BePresent is already showing results, with users reporting a 50% decrease in screentime — equivalent to over ten years of your life back. 

OUR PICKS 

Summie is an AI meeting assistant that generates summaries, takeaways, and more.

Palette is a social platform to curate all of your interests in one place. 

Amigos do Miles is a pet management platform for caring for your furry friend. 

MAKER’S CORNER

PaddleBoat helps you perfect your sales pitch with AI roleplay. 

Langtail helps development teams ship AI apps faster and with fewer bugs. 

BreezeDoc is an e-signature solution designed for freelancers and contractors. 

LEADERBOARD LIFTOFF 

Boom, a MacOS camera app aimed at keeping your meeting audience engaged, clinched the top spot yesterday. Expect much more energetic faces in your next Zoom call.

“The industry standard for a reason…” writes Tobias Renström, founder of Dropset, “a serious tracker for serious workouts.”

Any guesses what he’s referring to. It’s Figma. As of today, Figma has received more shoutouts than other tool, period. The makers of BePresent, featured in our highlight today, said “it would be hard to design the app without this incredibly important product.” We can’t think of any other product that has become more “core” or “essential” to the modern stack as Figma in the last decade.

Most social apps are built to do one thing — use an algorithm to constantly show you new content, most of the time from strangers. But what if you just want to go to basics and share only with those closest to you? 

Clik is a photo-sharing app without a feed. Instead, it uses AI to automatically share the photos you take with the friends you invite. You can set up different albums for different events and customize who gets notified when you snap a pic.