I built an app that blocks social media until you read Quran daily
Hey HN, I'm a solo developer from Nigeria. I built Quran Unlock - an app that blocks distracting apps (TikTok, Instagram, etc.) until you complete your daily Quran reading. The idea came from my own struggle with phone addiction. I wanted to read Quran daily but kept getting distracted. So I built this for myself, then shared it. Some stats after 2 months: - 123K+ users - 64.9% returning user rate - 31M events tracked Tech stack: - React Native - Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Analytics, Cloud Messaging) - RevenueCat for subscriptions - iOS Screen Time API + Android UsageStats App Store:…
What it does
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey HN, I'm a solo developer from Nigeria. I built Quran Unlock - an app that blocks distracting apps (TikTok, Instagram, etc.) until you complete your daily Quran reading. The idea came from my own struggle with phone addiction. I wanted to read Quran daily but kept getting distracted. So I built this for myself, then shared it. Some stats after 2 months: - 123K+ users - 64.9% returning user rate - 31M events tracked Tech stack: - React Native - Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Analytics, Cloud Messaging) - RevenueCat for subscriptions - iOS Screen Time API + Android UsageStats App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/quran-unlock/id6754449406 Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.quranu... Would love feedback from the HN community!
Does the same job
all alternatives →- IBI built an app to block Shorts and Reels2025 · scrollguard.app · ▲690
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. Most screen time apps I found focus on blocking the app itself instead of the addictive feed, so I created this app to allow me to keep using the "healthy" and "social" features and block the infinite scrolling (Reels) After implementing the block on Instagram Reels, I got addicted to YouTube Shorts and Reddit feed. So, I extended the app to cover these as well. To avoid replacing the scrolling for regular feeds, I also added a feature that shows a pop-up when…
- IMI made a app that uses NFC as a physical switch to block distractions2025 · foqos.app · ▲225
Hi HN! Super proud to showcase Foqos! I wanted to create a way to physically block apps on my phone, always had a bunch of NFC tags, combined the 2 together over the holiday break and Foqos was born. You can create profiles, write them to NFC tags and track your weekly focus. Its completely open source and will always be free! There is an affiliate link in the app for nfc tags and donations are completely optional Link here: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/foqos/id6736793117
- IMI Made the Hardest Focus App2025 · apps.apple.com · ▲43
my phone secretly robbed all my dreams and i didn’t even knew it got so bad. when i saw my screen time being about 11hrs with ~95 phone pickups per day, i realized how bad it got. my problem is that i could not avoid social media entirely as i post actively because i’m involved in marketing and branding. I tried the usual, app blockers & time limits, but i always find myself hitting “one more minute” like a junkie. i’m not looking for a complete social media absence or deleting everything as these radical solutions don’t fit my lifestyle and needs and i tend to come back needing even more.…
- IBI built a smart blocker after destroying my dopamine baselineNov 2025 · chromewebstore.google.com · ▲20
I'm a solo dev. A few years ago, I got addicted to Reddit. Spent months in that loop. Being a programmer, I thought I'd be clever. Redirected Reddit's domain to nowhere in my DNS file. Worked great until I'd just... open the file and undo it 20 minutes later. So I made it irreversible. Locked the DNS file so it can't be edited unless I boot my Mac in safe mode. And if I do that, there's a script that instantly locks it again. Haven't used Reddit since last year. Problem solved, right? Wrong. I just replaced Reddit with Twitch and YouTube. Started keeping streams running in the background…
- 1F18yo first iOS app: blocks distracting apps and unlocks with QR/barcodeOct 2025 · apps.apple.com · ▲30
I built Recode because I realized I was spending 8-10 hours a day on my phone pretty consistently. I tried other screen time apps but I found them too easy to bypass and end my blocks whenever I wanted to use an app. My solution was to build an app blocker app that makes users have to scan a physical QR/barcode to take a break from their app blocks. This helped me be able to get my screen time down to just a few hours everyday since I didn't want to physically get up and go across the house to get my barcode. Anyways, since it worked for me I felt like sharing it. App store link:…
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Hey HN! I wanted to share something I built over the last few weeks: isometric.nyc is a massive isometric pixel art map of NYC, built with nano banana and coding agents. I didn't write a single line of code. Of course no-code doesn't mean no-engineering. This project took a lot more manual labor than I'd hoped! I wrote a deep dive on the workflow and some thoughts about the future of AI coding and creativity: http://cannoneyed.com/projects/isometric-nyc
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