Websites get boring the longer you browse.

Boring Mode progressively fades sites to grayscale in Safari over your chosen time. The color comes back tomorrow.

your-favorite-site.com
Coming Soon to the App Store

How it works

1

Pick your sites

Add the websites that steal your time. Reddit in Safari, YouTube, Twitter — you know the ones.

2

Set your timer

Choose how long before things go gray. 10 minutes, 30, an hour — it's up to you.

3

Browse normally

The color drains so slowly you barely notice. Until suddenly, scrolling just isn't as fun.

Why grayscale works

Your phone is designed to grab your attention with color. Bright reds for notifications, vibrant thumbnails, saturated feeds — it's all engineered to keep you scrolling.

Research shows that switching to grayscale removes the colorful visual stimuli that trigger dopamine responses, making screens significantly less appealing. In peer-reviewed studies, participants who browsed in grayscale reduced their daily screen time by 20 to 50 minutes — and reported feeling more in control of their device use.

Boring Mode uses this insight — but instead of going cold turkey, it fades gradually. You barely notice it happening until the pull just… isn't there anymore.

"Daily screen time was significantly reduced, and participants reported improved perceived control over their smartphone use and decreased feelings of overuse."

— Dekker & Baumgartner, New Media & Society (2024). Peer-reviewed study, N=84.

Everything you need, nothing you don't

Per-site tracking

Different timers for different sites

Flexible timers

5 minutes to 2 hours

Daily reset

Fresh start every morning

Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Works everywhere you browse

No accounts

Install and go

Privacy-first

Zero data collection

Works great with Screen Time

Boring Mode handles the browser. Screen Time handles native apps. Use Apple's built-in app timers to set hard limits on Instagram and TikTok, and let Boring Mode make your web browsing progressively less addictive. They're better together.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work on native apps like Instagram or TikTok? +
Boring Mode is a Safari extension — it works on websites you visit in Safari. For native apps, pair it with Screen Time's built-in app timers. Boring Mode handles the browser side, where the real rabbit holes live.
Why Safari only? +
Safari extensions can change how websites look and feel — that's what makes the gradual fade possible. Native apps don't allow that level of customization. Most deep doomscrolling happens in the browser anyway: Reddit threads, YouTube binges, news sites on repeat.
When does it reset? +
Every day at midnight. You start fresh each morning with full color on all your tracked sites.
Can I reset a site manually? +
Yes. Open the extension popup and tap the reset button next to any active site.
Does it track what I browse? +
No. Boring Mode only checks whether the current site matches your list. No analytics, no accounts, no data leaves your device.
Does it work on Chrome or Firefox? +
Not right now — Boring Mode is built for Safari. Chrome and Firefox versions may come in the future.

Ready to make scrolling boring?

Available for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Coming Soon to the App Store

Just $1.99. One purchase, all your devices.