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Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

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Re: Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

#121

Post by e12e »

halapro wrote: post #76
e12e wrote: post #72

Not sure what this app does for Facebook - but I'm a quite happy user of: https://www.beeper.com/ Allows me to use Instagram messages without the app - as well as (Facebook/meta) Messenger (and others). I do wish they had a "support us" subscription tier, as I think the base price is a little steep - and I don't really need any of the paid features. Maybe something around the third or quarter the price. I would hope…

Beeper is a good solution. To bad I still have Instagram next to it and prefer it because my friends send me reels anyway

One thing I like is the possibility to turn off notifications on other apps - and then dms become/remain push (beeper) other SoMe crap become pull (check when actively opening the app).

Re: Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

#122

Post by mtrifonov »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #35

Congratulations on creating a slightly healthier cigarette.

the problem isn't that these apps are engaging. it's that the engagement has no nutritional value. scrolling reels is the digital equivalent of eating sugar, leaving you emptier than when you started. the apps that actually work for people long-term are the ones where the engagement is the byproduct of something real happening. filtering out the sugar doesn't fix the diet.

Re: Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

#124

Post by AlexeyBelov »

latexr wrote: post #81
qq66 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does it have to work long term? Claude Code probably built it in 2 hours. Sell it for as long as it works. If it provides some value to some people during that time, good for them.

What a rotten state of affairs that we’re now openly suggesting producing garbage with the least effort possible and selling it until caught. We used to criticise those who did that, calling them spammers and scammers and worse. Now, “telling some LLM to take a dump and trying to sell it to some chumps without a sense of smell” is viewed as a smart business model. Anything for an extra buck.

> are now openly suggesting producing garbage with the least effort possible and selling it until caught

Well, this is a VC adjacent forum, so...

Re: Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

#125

Post by AlexeyBelov »

williamdclt wrote: post #75
tim-projects wrote: post #44

> I kept deleting and redownloading Instagram because I couldn't stop watching Reels but needed the app for DMs. Using Instagram only for DMs just means you shouldn't be using it.

I don't make the choice of how individuals in my social circle uses to communicate. Giving up being in contact with some of my friends/acquaintances is too bad a trade-off.

Your friends don't have WhatsApp or Telegram?

Re: Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

#126

Post by nashashmi »

userbinator wrote: post #49
danpalmer wrote: post #4

Doing this as a browser extension is one thing, but selling an interface to Instagram and YouTube sounds like it's very risky. What's your basis for thinking this will work long term? I see you're selling yearly or lifetime subscriptions, suggesting you think the product can exist. There have been many attempts at this in the past that have been taken down, why is Dull different?

In the same vein as adblocking, the fundamental question here is, does a service have the right to control how you DON'T use their service? Are you legally obligated to be mentally influenced by adverts and cannot close your eyes or look away? I'd love to see the EFF or similar take on Big (Ad)tech and settle this in court. They've gone after youtube-dl and lost, Invidious is still there, etc. A somewhat related lega…

Adblocking is an extension that is not necessarily paid for.

Providing a paid interface to a service is very different. You might be taking the browser only part of it and combining it with an extension and selling it as a product. To me that is a new interface.

Re: Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

#127

Post by kasparnoor »

vishalvi wrote: post #55

Smart approach using MutationObserver to catch dynamically loaded content. Though I wonder if blocking the content only treats the symptom. The real problem is the shortened attention span. Could also be really useful for parents trying to manage screen time for their kids.

I think the symptom is a self repeating loop that gets worse. they watch the short form content, which makes them more and more addicted to it. So breaking out of it, may get some of that attention span back. I already feel mine starting to return a bit. Been reading more books lately and just feeling a bit happier

That's an interesting angle on the parental control, by the way.

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