As others have said, the permissions required to make this work are scary and require a lot of trust.
The fact YouTube and Instagram don't allow you to disable endless algorithmic short form content is straight up evil.
Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
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Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
this is like putting a wall in front of, or just beyond the edge of, the slippery slope. the need to make an intentional choice or pause before doing the "getting stuck scrolling" behavior is an opportunity for you to catch yourself and see if that's what you really want. the platform is designed to capitalize on your slip ups in willpower. you can have great impulse control, but can you have it tirelessly, around th…
I guess my willpower just manifests itself in a different manner. If I lack the impulse control to prevent myself from opening up an app, it seems odd to me to start blocking particular features in the app to manage that impulse.
you mean as opposed to going cold turkey? That makes sense! I personally have wondered about something like this for just FB Groups - I want to read my neighborhood buy nothing page, but I don't want a curated attention-grabbing experience in the full app. So I'd love like, an RSS reader for just group posts that let me direct open a post in the app if I wanted to respond.
Like the chips by the checkout in the grocery store, the "path" you have to take into the app requires you to put on horse blinders if you want to complete what you came in for without getting "engaged". It's very tiring if you're at all susceptible to distraction.
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#53Using Accessibility Service is a very smart approach.
Could you adjust your app (or make a different version) that automatically covers up ads or automatically skips them (e.g. in Instagram stories). Would be great for TikTok too.
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#54Is there an alternate web client for iOS that's only videos from channels you've subscribed to?
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#55Is there an alternate web client for iOS that's only videos from channels you've subscribed to?
You can accomplish this in Firefox with the Unhook extension
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#56I just can't authorize an app to have full control on my phone if it's not open-source. What guarantee do I have that you are not selling all my user data?
I understand the position, but I think that's a silly concern here. This is an app that stops you from using social media features that absolutely farm every bit of data out of you they possibly can. Feels a bit like being afraid to install a smart lock on your front door, so instead you leave it unlocked all the time.
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Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#57> I wanted to find a way to use Instagram without ending up scrolling for two hours every time I open the app to see a friend's story. Why not just Chrome/Firefox/Safari to open the link instead of the Instagram app?
I deleted the YouTube and Instagram apps and I still end up scrolling / watching shorts - it doesn't matter, browser still lets you scroll
I use Unhook in Firefox on Android to eradicate Shorts from my YouTube experience, it works very well.
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#58Is there an alternate web client for iOS that's only videos from channels you've subscribed to?
Control Panel for YouTube lets you hide Home, Shorts, Related videos, plus anything you don't want to see in Subscriptions (including videos you've already watched), plus you can disable autoplay of random videos, block ads and more, in YouTube itself.
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#59I want this for YouTube.
Use libretube or grayjay.
Re: Show HN: I built an app to block Shorts and Reels
#60I use Brave Browser's "Block Elements" feature. Works nicely.