u/Historical_Chair_500

I'll start with a disclosure: I'm one of the two founders building this. I'm posting because this community seems to actually engage with new productivity tools, and because I genuinely want feedback from people who've tried more solutions than I have.

Quick context on why we're building it.

I'm a software engineer. I've spent most of my career building apps that run on phones. About a year ago I realized I was losing most of my evenings to TikTok and Reddit, despite knowing exactly how the engagement loops work because I've shipped them. I tried Screen Time (turned it off in three days), focus apps (uninstalled when I needed the focused-blocked app for something legitimate), browser extensions (didn't cover my phone), and deleting apps from my home screen (re-downloaded the next morning).

The pattern I noticed: every solution lived on the device that was the problem. The thing I was using to enforce discipline was the same thing I was using to break it. That's not a winnable fight long-term.

So we built a small device that plugs into your home Wi-Fi router. It sits between your home and the internet, and it lets you set rules at the network level: TikTok blocked between 7pm and 10pm, social media blocked during work hours, adult content always blocked, blocks online ads. etc.

The honest tradeoffs:

It only works on your home network. If you switch to mobile data, the blocking doesn't follow you. For me this is actually a feature (it makes "going outside" or "leaving the house" a way to escape blocks), but for some use cases it's a limitation.

It doesn't solve everything. If your problem is doomscrolling at the office or on the train, this won't help. If your problem is hours lost in your living room or bedroom, this works.

It's not better than discipline for people who already have discipline. It's better than discipline for people who, like me, have tried discipline and lost.

We're at pre-order stage right now. The first 100 customers get the device at €45 one-time (founding supporter pricing); standard pricing will be higher and subscription-based once we launch publicly.

The reason I'm posting: I'd genuinely value feedback on whether this addresses a real problem you have, or whether it sounds like another productivity tool that won't survive contact with reality. Specifically:

For people who've tried network-level solutions before (Pi-hole, NextDNS, router parental controls): what made you give up on them, and would a polished consumer version actually solve that for you?

For people who haven't tried network-level: does this concept appeal to you, or does it sound like overkill for a problem an app could solve?

Thanks for any honest reactions.

Hey there,

I am writing this message with the sole purpose of finding a way and becoming better. In the past few months I have worked on a product that you can plug into your router and it blocks ads, social media (keeps message functionality), disables 18+ content and notification, all on a set schedule if needed.

We were not dumb enough to create the fully functional device to later struggle to sell. We did some validation and overall people were happy with the mvp. I am looking to further validate the product now with a pre order but we barely have any success in putting it in front of the people.

I have watched a few yt videos, decided to go organic since I want to become better at creating content anyways. I am afraid to do ads since with the lack of knowledge I wouldn't know if the product is not desirable or if my ads just suck.

Was anyone in this situation? How did you maneuver it? How would you do it now? How can I learn as fast as possible? (I don't mind 16 hour work days)