Shutout locks you out of Screen Time so that you don't have to rely on willpower to beat your screen addiction. No "Ignore Limit" button, no turning off your limits, and no workarounds. Set it, forget it, and enjoy a life without doomscrolling.
👋 Hey Product Hunt!
I'm Aditya, the solo creator of Shutout.
Why I built Shutout:
I was tired of mindlessly scrolling on my phone, so I opened Settings and set a Screen Time limit to try and stop myself.
The next day, I saw the "Time Limit" screen pop up as I scrolled, and without so much as a second thought, I pressed "Ignore Limit" and moved on.
I tried third-party blockers, like Opal and Clearspace. Those were just as easy to get around, all I had to do was flip a switch in Settings and they were completely useless (Proof: www.bit.ly/opaldoesntwork—it literally took me 5 seconds to instantly brick both apps) and were super expensive.
I looked for something different: an app with no workarounds at all, something I could set up and forget about. I couldn’t find one.
So I built my own. Shutout locks you out of iOS's built-in Screen Time—with NO workarounds.
How it works:
1. You set up app limits in Screen Time on your phone, like normal.
2. Shutout has you set a password in a confusing way, so that you won't remember it ("enter 12/3...enter 4*2...press delete...enter 49/7..."). This removes the "Ignore Limit" button and stops you from turning off your limits—you don't know the password anymore.
3. The password is saved without being shown to you. To access it later, you’ll face a “willpower wall”—entering, say, 600 random words to retrieve it. Tedious enough to stop you, but still accessible for emergencies.
Beat the attention economy, stop doomscrolling, and make 2025 the most productive year you've had yet—www.shutout.app.
👉 Just $14.99 for life, or $1.99 per month—only for launch.
That's 26x cheaper than Opal's lifetime plan ($400), and 4x cheaper than their monthly plan ($8.29)!
You're definitely doing a great deal with this Aditya. I think it is really important for people to understand how bad doomscrolling is - It is important to have a foolproof way to make sure that people don't bend the rules and instead follow them!
Its definitely something I needed, to focus on my products! Congrats for this launch!
Looks cool. I've instead had to ask my wife to set a screentime password that I cannot guess. This would have been much appreciated back then...
congrats on the launch!! will try this one in the new year. i have been using opal but i always click just ignore haha
Hey Congrats on the launch! I've been looking for something like this. Glad you made it
Interesting product! I tested it and I was able to by-pass the word typing quite easily though (I'm not explaining how over here to avoid people misusing it). I suggest you find an alternative to the word typing.
Perhaps you could automate an email that will send the password 24hrs after they requested and if they need it urgently, they need to pay an x amount like 10 dollars to a charity.
This is a really interesting app! I need to ensure I can use my phone in emergencies. How can I ensure access when the app is active?
Answering or dialing a phone call. Quickly capturing a photo of my cat in a cute pose.
This is such a great idea! Shutout seems like the perfect solution for anyone struggling with screen addiction. I love how it eliminates all the usual workarounds and puts control back in the user's hands. The simplicity of 'set it and forget it' is so empowering. Can’t wait to recommend this to friends who are trying to cut down on screen time!
I recommend the Shutout app to anyone who wants to break the habit of endlessly scrolling through social media feeds and spending too much time on screens. This app completely blocks access to screen time, making it impossible to bypass the restrictions, which helps you control your digital addiction effortlessly.
It's an interesting idea to prevent people from looking at their smartphones a little more, as if they had disabled the alarm snooze function. I'm curious how they made it so that you can reconnect if you stop while sending a message or doing something important.
Congrats on the launch! Been using time limit product for a while and would def have a try on this one!
This looks incredibly promising compared to similar products I've used recently. Great job, Aditya!
Congratulations on the launch, @adityasaravana! Shutout is such a practical tool for those of us guilty of endless scrolling. The pricing is also very appealing compared to other alternatives. I'm wondering, how does Shutout handle emergency situations where immediate access might be needed quickly?
