How to stop doomscrolling
Doomscrolling works because the feed never gives you a reason to stop. Three real features attack that directly, each in a different way — pick whichever fits how you actually use these platforms.
Hiding Shorts and the Daily Limit are free on every platform. Deep Work Mode and non-YouTube filtering are Pro.
Three approaches, not one
Doomscrolling is not one problem with one fix — it is a feed with no edges, and there are a few genuinely different ways to give it one. These are not steps to do in order; they are options, and which one fits depends on which part of the feed actually gets you.
Remove the worst offender outright
Shorts and Reels are built with essentially no natural stopping point — one ends and the next one is already loading. Hiding them entirely removes the specific format that scrolls the longest, while the rest of the platform stays normal. Free on YouTube; part of Pro on TikTok, Instagram and X.
Narrow the feed instead of removing it
Deep Work Mode locks your entire feed to a single category you choose — only Coding, only Fitness, whatever fits. There is technically still a feed, but nothing to endlessly wander through, since everything outside that one category is gone.
Put a hard stop on the clock
A Daily Limit per platform ends the session outright once your minutes are up — a full-screen overlay, not a notification you can dismiss without reading. Works the same, free, on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X.
Why not just delete the app
Deleting the app works, and for some people it is the right answer. For most people it gets reinstalled within a week, because the underlying reason for opening it in the first place — boredom, a break between tasks, wanting to see what is new — did not go away. These features aim at the mechanism that turns that reasonable impulse into forty minutes, rather than removing the option entirely.
Questions about doomscrolling
What is doomscrolling, specifically?
Continuing to scroll a feed well past the point of getting anything from it, usually on a feed built to have no natural stopping point — TikTok's For You page and YouTube Shorts are the clearest examples. There is always a next item, so there is never an obvious moment to stop.
Which feature actually stops it?
Three different ones, depending on what you want: hiding Shorts and Reels removes the feeds with the least natural stopping point outright; Deep Work Mode narrows your whole feed to one topic so there is nothing to endlessly scroll through; a Daily Limit puts a hard stop on total time regardless of what you do.
Do I need all three?
No. They solve slightly different versions of the problem and are independent switches — use one, some, or all of them.
Which platforms does this cover?
Hiding Shorts and Reels and the Daily Limit both work on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X. Deep Work Mode is available wherever Algoright filters — free on YouTube, part of Pro elsewhere.
Is any of this free?
Yes. Hiding Shorts on YouTube and the Daily Limit on every platform are both free, with no account required. Deep Work Mode and filtering on TikTok, Instagram and X are part of Pro.
Start with hiding Shorts — it's free
The single change with the least setup: turn off Shorts on YouTube and see if that alone changes how a session feels.
Deep Work Mode and the Daily Limit are available from the same popup once installed.