DigiPaws

DigiPaws is an open-source Android productivity utility designed to help users reduce screen addiction by regulating app usage through a gamified experience. The application offers three distinct modes—Easy, Adventure, and Hard—each with unique features and challenges to promote healthy screen time habits.

Important

This project is being re-written in kotlin with a new UI

Caution

This project is experimental and not yet ready for full production. Donate

Caution

If you are stuck and unable to uninstall the app. You can uninstall it via the safe mode. ]How to enter safe mode

Features

• Three Unique Modes: Tailor your screen usage experience with Easy, Adventure, and Hard modes.
• Gamified Challenges: Earn Aura coins through quests like walking and use them to unlock app usage.
• Open Source: Fully transparent and free to use, with the source code available for community contributions.
• Productivity Enhancement: Helps build healthier digital habits and reduce screen addiction.
• Versatile Blockers: Take control of your digital environment by blocking apps, keywords, and unwanted in-app screens (e.g., YouTube shorts, comments).
• Open Api: Turn your existing application into a digipaws quest!! Learn More

Screenshots

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Modes

Easy Mode

In Easy Mode, DigiPaws provides gentle reminders to help you manage your screen time. When you attempt to access a blocked app, a warning screen appears. If you choose to proceed, a cooldown period starts. After the cooldown, another warning is displayed to remind you of your usage.

Adventure Mode

Adventure Mode introduces a gamified experience to control screen time. To access a blocked app, you need Aura coins. These can be earned by completing quests such as quick walk. Each Aura coin grants 20 minutes of usage time for any blocked app, encouraging physical activity and mindful screen use. With every quest you perform, the difficulty rises.

Quests

1. Touch Grass - Displace yourself out of the red zone on map. Verified using GPS.
2. Squats - Simply perform squats. Verified using AI.
3. Pushups - Simply perform pushups. Verified using AI.
4. Focus Quest - Apply the 90/20 study rule: Digipaws blocks all unnecessary applications except basic and productive apps like calling and SMS.
5. Open API - Learn how to use our API

Important

A custom time can be set for Focus quest when on Hard or Easy mode.

Important

Remember that only focus quest is available on lite version (same as the fdroid version) to reduce app size. Download the full version to enjoy all inbuilt quests. Download

Hard Mode

Hard Mode offers the most stringent control over app usage. In this mode, when you try to open a blocked app, the back button is automatically pressed without any warning or cooldown, preventing access entirely.

Variants

There are two build variants with different features:

• fullMode: Contains additional inbuilt quests like touch grass, and workout. Requires google play services.
• liteMode: Contains a bare version without additional quests except focus quest. Relatively smaller in size and doesn't require google play services.

Note that the quest api works with both variants

Configuring

1. Launch DigiPaws on your Android device.
2. Provide all necessary permissions like Accessibility service, Notification, Draw over other apps etc
3. On Android 13+ devices, you need to additionally allow restricted settings before enabling the accessibility permission. Watch a tutorial here
4. Choose your preferred mode: Easy, Adventure, or Hard.
5. Configure the apps and views you want to block and set your preferences.
6. Start using your device with DigiPaws managing your screen time.

Tip

This app relies exclusively on accessibility services to function. Because it requires sensitive permissions, please avoid downloading it from untrusted sources.

ToDo

• Block reels
• Block comments
• Block explicit context
• App blockers
• Focus Quest
• Anti-Uninstall
• Customisable warning screen
• Api for other developers to transform their existing apps into digipaw quests!
• Geoblocker (basically block things when a certain area is entered, like workplace)
• Block cusomtom user defined keywords
• Modular and downloadable view blockers
• expand the app to ios and desktop.

Thanks

• Osmdroid : Mapview used in Quest "TouchGrass"
• Digital Wellbeing Experiments Toolkit : some ideas ig, basically the geoblocker one.
• Undraw : illustrations on intro page
• Special thanks to all the premium apps on the Play Store that inspired me to create a free and open-source alternative. imagine making money out of miserable people.
• Ml Kit QuickStart : ML models and multiple classes were used from this repository.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! If you'd like to contribute, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bugfix.

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

3. Commit your changes.

   git commit -m "Add some feature"

4. Push to the branch.

   git push origin feature/your-feature-name

5. Create a new Pull Request.

Please ensure your code adheres to our coding standards and includes relevant tests.

Contributors

• Henry Delallal: assisted in setting up fdroid version
• Remaker17: setup workflow files
• Error 404: helped reaching larger audience

HELP REQUIRED!!

1. Implementing dyanimic colors inside the warning overlay.
2. Expanding the list of explict keywords
3. Expanding the list of Blocked view items so that more apps can be supported. You can scrape the view ids of a screen with the help of Developer Assistant. Remeber that these view ids must be unique and only present on the screen to block!!
4. Adding more info about other packages here

License

DigiPaws is licensed under the GPL 3 or later licence. You are free to use, modify, and distribute this software in accordance with the license.

Contact

For questions, suggestions, or feedback, please open an issue on the GitHub repository or contact me at:

1. Discord: @nethical
2. Telegram: @nethicalps

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Thank you for using DigiPaws! Together, we can create healthier digital habits.