Nobody opens YouTube Shorts planning to lose an entire evening. You might be feeling lonely. You might just want some distraction of cat videos. Just for a couple of minutes, you tell yourself. Before your knew it, a minute of cute cat videos has turned into an hour, or maybe an entire evening of mindless scrolling. You are lying in exactly the position you started in. Your neck hurts. Your thumb hurts. Everything hurts a little. And you still can’t stop.
We've all been there. What makes doomscrolling so hard to beat: the feed is built so that stopping never becomes a thought you have. There is no end of the page, no credits, no natural moment where you surface.
Doomscrolling isn’t a decision you make. It’s a decision you never get the chance to make.
Why screen time apps don’t stop doomscrolling
Most digital wellbeing tools tend to block your screentime. Imagine you want to use Youtube to learn something, or your friend sends you a video that you genuinely want to watch. Screentime blockers will block that possibility as well. Usually it will take about a week before people turn on the blocker again.
DoomCat knows the difference between scrolling and watching.
DoomCat isn’t just another app timer. You first make a conscious choice of how long you are allowed to scroll each day. Ten minutes, twenty, whatever number feels honest. Then as you scroll, the cat watches.
When the time runs out, a paw sweeps across your screen, your phone buzzes, and you are out. DoomCat backs you out of the feed and drops you on your home screen. Go straight back in and the paw is waiting. It will keep putting you out for the rest of the day.
It may sounds silly. That is deliberately done. I wanted to build something that jerks you out of your mindless scrolling loop, and then makes you put the phone down to get back to reality.
A YouTube time limit is a blunt instrument, because YouTube is two very different apps wearing one icon. There is the video you deliberately sat down to watch. And there is Shorts, which you didn’t choose so much as fall into.
DoomCat only spends your budget on the second one. A forty minute documentary costs you nothing. Forty minutes of Shorts costs you forty minutes.
That turned out to be much harder than it sounds.
So DoomCat recognises Shorts by what is actually on the screen instead. Your daily budget runs while you are genuinely in the feed and stops when you are not. It is the difference between an app that polices YouTube and one that polices doomscrolling.
What DoomCat can and can’t do
Since I’m asking you to test it, here is the honest version.
It runs on Android. iPhone can’t do this — Apple doesn’t give apps the access it needs.
It is completely free during the beta.
Everything stays on your phone. No account, no tracking, nothing uploaded.
You can switch it off whenever you like. It will never hold your phone hostage.
It cannot force-close YouTube. Android does not permit any app to shut down another one. DoomCat backs you out and sends you home, and keeps doing it.
It is not finished. You will find rough edges. That is what a beta is for, and it is why I want testers.
It needs two permissions to work: usage access, so it can see which app is in front, and an accessibility service, so it can tell a Shorts feed from a video. That second one is the only way to recognise Shorts at all, for the reason described above.
DoomCat FAQ
Is DoomCat free?
Yes. It is free for everyone in the beta, and testers keep it free afterwards.
Does it work on iPhone?
No. Android only. iOS doesn’t let apps see which app is in front or what is on screen, so this approach isn’t possible there.
Does DoomCat read my screen?
It checks whether a short-video feed is on screen, and only in the apps you have chosen to guard. It doesn’t record, store or send anything. Nothing leaves your phone.
Will it block YouTube completely?
No, and that is the point. Once your scrolling budget is spent, DoomCat only steps in while you are back in the feed. Normal videos are left alone.
Which apps does it work with?
YouTube Shorts is the focus right now. Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and X can be guarded too. Tell me which one ruins your evenings and I’ll prioritise it.
How do I become a tester?
Leave your email below. You’ll get the app and a short note on how to set it up. Nothing else, and no list you can’t leave.
Get the beta
If you want to become a Beta user, fill the form below. And simply write: send me the paw in your message.
No spam, no newsletter, one email when the build is ready.
Thank you!