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iPhone dumbphone

stopa.io

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Re: iPhone dumbphone

#151

Post by amilios »

marklar423 wrote: post #41

I've been trying to do this too - paring down distracting apps, leaving only essentials like communication, maps, uber, etc. But my problem is what to do about the browser? I feel it's too essential to the "long tail" of uses (as the author put it), but also among the most distracting apps on my phone. If anybody has any ideas I'd love to hear them.

What works for me, and this might not be palatable to everyone, is to intentionally downgrade my phone to a worse experience to add friction. I am currently using an SE 2020 on purpose. This thing overheats like hell, if I try to do anything too intensive with it it starts stuttering like crazy. But that's actually perfect, it's what I want. It naturally reduces my use time because it can get annoying to use.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#152

Post by amilios »

amirathi wrote: post #25

Just uninstalling the endless scrolling apps (Twitter, Reddit, Instagram etc.) was enough for me.

Unfortunately some of us use Instagram specifically to keep in touch with people (IG DMs). and Meta does not seem to want to split off the messaging from the main app the same way they did with FB messenger for some reason (I would love it if they did). For Twitter, some of us need it for work as well (lots of interesting AI research published directly to Twitter). Reddit is definitely pure entertainment yeah. But there are nuances.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#153

Post by madaxe_again »

jaysonelliot wrote: post #130

Before installing all those apps the author listed, I'd recommend this exercise: Let the battery die on your phone, and live one week without it. Cold turkey. Tell people in advance if you need to, give them an alternate way to reach you. Replace your phone for that week with a small notebook that fits in your pocket. During that week, every time you want to do something that requires a smartphone, jot it down in you…

There’s an even more straightforward exercise.

Step 1: delete your social media

There is no step 2.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#154

Post by duderific »

bapak wrote: post #114
modeless wrote: post #36

I don't understand why people leave email notifications enabled. There is almost no email I get that needs instant action. The one exception is delivery notifications, so I can retrieve the package immediately, and I used a filter to get notifications just for those.

Email and chat apps are just about the only notifications I keep. I "archive" any unwanted email right from the notification screen, I report as spam anything I don't like. I hate people who have 4 digits in their email bubbles. I really wish Apple/Google would do something about notifications, use AI for something useful. "Hey you haven't read any of your 3454 emails, should I disable notifications for Gmail?" "Hey…

Four digits? Rookies.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#155

Post by madaxe_again »

amilios wrote: post #152
amirathi wrote: post #25

Just uninstalling the endless scrolling apps (Twitter, Reddit, Instagram etc.) was enough for me.

Unfortunately some of us use Instagram specifically to keep in touch with people (IG DMs). and Meta does not seem to want to split off the messaging from the main app the same way they did with FB messenger for some reason (I would love it if they did). For Twitter, some of us need it for work as well (lots of interesting AI research published directly to Twitter). Reddit is definitely pure entertainment yeah. But th…

Twitter, I uninstalled the app and used via the browser for about a year until I finally gave it the boot outright.

Similarly, I felt I needed it to “keep in touch” with people, but I ultimately decided the psychic tax was too high to maintain some lukewarm friendships when I have perfectly good ones in meatspace.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#156

Post by oever »

wpm wrote: post #37
LeoPanthera wrote: post #7

If you disable the App Store, as OP claims to, does that also stop installed apps receiving updates?

No. Source: Used to do enterprise Apple MDM for a living.

Does it block installing PWA's? Or are those linked to safari?

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#157

Post by ghiculescu »

sombrero_john wrote: post #142
jaysonelliot wrote: post #130

Before installing all those apps the author listed, I'd recommend this exercise: Let the battery die on your phone, and live one week without it. Cold turkey. Tell people in advance if you need to, give them an alternate way to reach you. Replace your phone for that week with a small notebook that fits in your pocket. During that week, every time you want to do something that requires a smartphone, jot it down in you…

Way too much friction. I don't have the luxury of going "off the map" for a week.

Why not?

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#158

Post by nomel »

ghiculescu wrote: post #157
sombrero_john wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Way too much friction. I don't have the luxury of going "off the map" for a week.

Why not?

Some people have jobs that require phone contact.

Some people have family juggling/concerns that requires frequent contact (usually involving children being remote places).

There are many, many, not so strange reasons that someone might need to maintain contact. Thinking it's not possible suggests a very naive perspective.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#159

Post by duderific »

isolli wrote: post #54
parhamn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do this too, and have them set the recover apple id to their own. Been averaging ~1.2 hours per day screentime the last few months (mostly messaging apps). Basically in "downtime" mode all the time with a few "Always allowed" app. One thing is, you're phone (and it's browser) is pretty damn useless. Overtime you realize that a lot of things you need to lookup don't need to be looked up, etc but it can be frustratin…

That's how my children's iPads are too. Permanent downtime, with a few always allowed apps, and the rest on demand. And indeed, the most frustrating part is when my daughter needs to do some research for school. I'd have to allow each and every website she visits, so I temporarily un-downtime her phone instead... Edited to add: for some reason, time limits never worked for my kids (they could always override them wit…

> time limits never worked for my kids (they could always override them with one click).

Huh, that's weird. Seems to work ok for mine in limiting their iPad use. They can request more time and I can decide to grant it or not, I get choices of 15 minutes, 1 hour or all day.

Re: iPhone dumbphone

#160

Post by samhclark »

I really like this setup. I think it balances friction and usefulness in exactly the way I've been aiming for.

Still, I have a couple questions about it, since I don't own an iPhone but am considering buying one soon.

1. How does this affect backup and restore? Could I still restore from a backup on a new phone, if needed? I've lost my phone while traveling before and buying a replacement was pretty seamless.

2. Is the ability to disable the profile bound to the Mac you use Apple Configurator on? I don't own a Mac, but if I could use a friend's Mac when I need to make changes this could maybe work.

Great writeup, thanks for posting it!

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