Roots, a screen time tracking app targeted at battling phone addiction has been released. This innovative startup is launching a new set of tools that puts the power to fight app addiction into users’ hands. 

Roots is backed by $550,000 in pre-seed funding from Wildwood Ventures and other Atlanta-area angel investors. Clint Jarvis, co-founder of this startup states, “If you think about the mission of the product, it’s to help people find better balance with technology”.  

Roots is designed to help reduce a user’s phone screen time by 2+ hours a day by applying various methods. The app sets better intentions by allotting a time limit for users to spend scrolling. Created app limits cannot be skipped by the user.

The built-in digital dopamine tracker measures the quality of a user’s screen across various apps and turns the data collected into actionable insights. This helps a user make decisions about their use of technology. 

Roots helps people get a better handle on what apps are worth spending on and those which are not. This app also features tools to break the cycle of scrolling such as downtime scheduling and app limits by specific apps or categories. Roots integrates Apple’s Screen Time API to help configure some of these settings. 

More Features in Roots

“Monk Mode” is another feature that helps users get serious about stopping app scrolling by offering the ability to set limits and blocks that cannot be overridden. While using this feature, users cannot log out of Roots. Users’ phone’s date and time cannot be changed nor can any other methods to bypass Monk Mode.

“Balance Score” is a feature that quantifies phone use in a personalised manner. It helps users to see where and how they can improve. Another feature can pop up as a reminder to stop scrolling. This feature can be customised with personalised messages or suggestions to do a different activity. 

Paid plans offer advanced features such as the Monk Mode and the digital dopamine report. Users can also build streaks as they stay under screen time limits which rewards cheat days. Premium subscribers who practice good habits will also be gifted a physical scroll stopper, which introduces a “speed bump” that users can place on their phones. 

Suggested:

Social Media Addiction – Are our phones taking over our lives?

5 Things to Overcome Your Tech Addiction.