u/PrecursorLabs

Literally just in shock right now, as the 3rd week post-launch just started and Precursor is at over 3k total downloads, almost 1k of that came in over night.

I built this for myself originally becasue I was frustrated that I kept blowing through my whole daily screen time limit in one sitting. So I got to work building an app that lets you set small hourly limits rather than one big daily budget you have to try to ration throughout the day.

Now I literally floored by how much people seem to enjoy Precursor but I am just so confused where this traffic is coming from ASC lags behind by about a day so all I know is that most of the traffic overnight is coming from outside the US.

Does anyone know how to find posts on social media about your app, when the posts might be in a different language? I don't think this is all coming from my posts alone, as the most they have brought in previously was about 400 downloads.

Beyond grateful, I just want to know how I can reach these people and make sure I do right by them, already working on 15 app localizations and pushing that this week so hopefully that helps.

Literally just in shock right now, as the 3rd week post-launch just started and Precursor is at over 3k total downloads, almost 1k of that came in over night.

I built this for myself originally becasue I was frustrated that I kept blowing through my whole daily screen time limit in one sitting. So I got to work building an app that lets you set small hourly limits rather than one big daily budget you have to try to ration throughout the day.

Now I literally floored by how much people seem to enjoy Precursor but I am just so confused where this traffic is coming from ASC lags behind by about a day so all I know is that most of the traffic overnight is coming from outside the US.

Does anyone know how to find posts on social media about your app, when the posts might be in a different language? I don't think this is all coming from my posts alone, as the most they have brought in previously was about 400 downloads.

Beyond grateful, I just want to know how I can reach these people and make sure I do right by them, already working on 15 app localizations and pushing that this week so hopefully that helps.

This community has been so supportive of Precursor and I want to say thank you so much, we are keeping the free lifetime train going!!

If you already have been trying Precursor I'd love to hear how its been going for you!

For anyone who hasn't seen Precursor before, it's not just another vibecoded screen time app:

I just pushed a big update this week that introduced:

1. easy, normal, and hard limit modes
2. the ability to have your limits active only during specified hours and days
3. as well as a new parent mode which locks down limits a bit more concretely for anyone trying to help someone else practice healthier phone habits!

Redeem in the app settings, no code necessary!

Here is free lifetime access to a screen time app that lets track usage per hour.

To my knowledge it's the first app on iOS that gives users the ability to set recurring screen time limits!

I built this out of frustration with other screen time solutions that only let you set a daily screen time limit which I would often use the entirety of in one sitting.

No accounts. No ads. Free to use with a couple of optional paid features.

Back in 2021 I was really frustrated with how much of my time and energy was being sapped by my phone. I had tried all the screen time solutions at the time. Daily limits, didn't work. Deleting the apps, didn't work. Giving my screen time passcode to someone else, didn't work.

All of these solutions felt too restrictive and the expectation that I wasn't going to just use up my whole daily limit in one sitting when these apps are designed to keep you endlessly scrolling was just so unrealistic to me. I wanted a screen time app that let me scroll whenever I wanted but would cut me off before it turned into a doomscroll.

So I searched for it on google, "Screen time limit that resets hourly". This was the first result. Yet no one had an answer. Then 5 years went by... and still no one had an answer.

So the same month I graduated I decided to put my newfound spare time and every educated braincell I had together to build Precursor, the first screen time app on iOS (that I know of) that doesn't lock you out for the whole day but rather lets you scroll whenever you need a break, without the worry of that break turning into a few hours.

I was happy that I got the thing working for myself, and tbh even just that milestone made Precursor a success in my mind.

But I am genuinely just so proud of myself and happy that Precursor seems to be helping others. From adults who want to be more productive to parents trying to keep their kids from falling into the same social media traps.

This is my first ever app and it's only week 2, I know this kind of growth is not the norm so I feel incredibly lucky to be here right now. Thanks for reading homies!

I am a little more than 1 week post launch and grateful that Precursor has been well received (just crossed 1.5k downloads today).

What I am already seeing is that while I am getting a lot of product page views only about 2% of those window shoppers actually come in the store to try the product.

I was suggested by a redditor in one of my comments to try PPO and I am already seeing some differences in traffic/conversion rate and was wondering if any of you maybe could help me spot why one treatment is doing better than the other (one actually performs worse than baseline which was surprising).

Appreciate the help!

I am a little more than 1 week post launch and grateful that Precursor has been well received (just crossed 1.5k downloads today).

What I am already seeing is that while I am getting a lot of product page views only about 2% of those window shoppers actually come in the store to try the product.

I was suggested by a redditor in one of my comments to try PPO and I am already seeing some differences in traffic/conversion rate and was wondering if any of you maybe could help me spot why one treatment is doing better than the other (one actually performs worse than baseline which was surprising).

Appreciate the help!

p.s.

Not promo but if you are curious lmk in comments I will send free lifetime!

In 2021, following covid, I recognized I and many others had really gotten swindeled by these shortform content apps. I had tried every way possible to stop myself from doomscrolling. iOS daily limits, didn't work. Deleting social media, didn't work. Only using social media in browsers, didn't work. Giving my screentime password to someone else, didn't work.

It was so bizzare that my mind so desperately wanted to stop scrolling but my brain had taken a liking to the habit (I mean free brain stimulation with little to no effort, why wouldn't the brain take that deal?).

All-or-nothing screen time solutions weren't working so I thought "wouldn't it be so much nicer if my brain could get the scroll breaks it has been so accustomed to getting throughout the day, but get blocked before it turns into a mind numbing doomscroll". Like a limit that would reset after some time, so no one scroll session ever cost me my whole day again.

So I did the thing and searched for it on google, "Screen time limit that resets hourly". This was the first result. Yet no one had an answer. Then 5 years went by... and still no one had an answer. I mean people are still asking this question regularly.

So post graduation I decided to put every educated braincell I had together to build Precursor, the first screen time app on iOS that doesn't lock you out for the whole day but rather lets you scroll whenever you need a break, sans the worry of that break turning into a few hours.

I was happy that I got the thing working and it was helping me, that is and always will be enough. But I am so glad my loved ones encouraged me to put this out there because it really seems like it's helping a lot of people already from adults who have gotten swindeled to parents trying to keep their kids from falling into the same social media traps.

Thanks for reading, this is not a promo post just genuinely proud and grateful that I was the one who ultimately got to bring this idea to the world.

(however if you want to try it out please do not pay for it, I dont care about money at this stage, just lmk in the comments and I will send free lifetime)

Officially launched on the app store on aug 1st, I think the downloads before that were Testflight?

I just launched Precursor: Hourly Screen Time on August 1st (a little more than a week ago), and to my surprise I have hit over 1k users already. Part of this is just that I think I executed on an idea that literally everyone can relate to and could benefit from.

However, I wanted to test out paid ads right from the start and what I found is that while they bring you a lot of visibility most of those people are just window shoppers and they do not trust your store front.

*social proof so you care about what I have to say*

On launch weekend I posted a ton here on reddit and tiktok organically and had such a good response from the community (the initial spike you see). Then I wanted to see how paid ads and ASO would fair so I deliberately did not post much about Precursor throughout the week (the dip you see).

During that period I saw about 20-40 downloads per day despite having quite a lot of impressions
and product page views.

My takeaway is that people see my singular 5 star review and say "uhhhhh somethings not adding up here", they dont think "hmm this must be a new app, I would love to be an early adopter".

So over the last weekend I decided to try engaging here on reddit again and saw another big spike in downloads, pushing me over 1.2k homies.

Going forward I think I am actually just going to scale down my paid ads (might just keep app store ads), and focus on providing as much free value as I genuinely can to communities on reddit and tiktok. My hope is that a few people gain so much value that they find it in them to drop Precursor a little review.

Curious to here about your thoughts/experiences on this topic, this is my first foray into software development so I am entering the space egoless and eager to learn!

First, I think a ton of the features coming in iOS 27 like the ability to hide and block certain apps during different times of the day is hugely beneficial. I think removing the app icon from the home screen during those scheduled times will help in a "out of sight, out of mind" kind of way.

Now, where I think it misses the mark is that expecting people to learn to ration a daily budget of screen time is unreasonable when the point of all the problem apps are to keep you scrolling and engaging habitually. I mean adults struggle with this, how can we expect kids to manage?

I think screen time would be so much more useful and help people practice moderation, if limits tracked usage per hour. It's too easy scroll through your whole daily limit in one sitting. Being able to take short scroll/game breaks throughout the day without having to worry about that break turning into a doomscroll seems like a much more realistic and sustainable solution to me.

I know I'm not the only one either (source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5).

We should be teaching people self-regulation, top down control has it's place but it doesn't entirely teach you how to make good decisions and mange your own impulses (You ever read about the marshmallow test?)

Hey!

Looking for some advice from more experienced app devs/founders, I am 1 week post launch and I definitely feel like I have good buzz and a lot of intrigue in my app but it seems like now that the dust settled from my huge launch push to get the app out there the conversion rate is making me think I'm not communicating enough to get people to move from the window shopping to actually coming into the hypothetical store lol I am not concerned with them purchasing anything really I think my app is something you have to use for awhile to see the real value.

So the main question what am I not communicating well enough to get people to actually try the app out?

My next app store listing is going to contain this app preview and I am curious to know if the unique feature of screen time limits that reset each hour, rather than daily is communicated?

p.s.
I currently have almost 600 downloads but my conversion rate on the app store is settling to about 2%. Which I am feeling decently good about. For others out there getting ready to launch the advice is so true Ads do a great job of getting eyes on your product but I would say 350 of the downloads were from organic posting here on reddit and tiktok comments. In a world of AI-dead internet space, a little elbow grease and manual labor go a long way.

Hey!

Looking for some advice from more experienced app devs/founders, I am 1 week post launch and I definitely feel like I have good buzz and a lot of intrigue in my app but it seems like now that the dust settled from my huge launch push to get the app out there the conversion rate is making me think I'm not communicating enough to get people to move from the window shopping to actually coming into the hypothetical store lol I am not concerned with them purchasing anything really I think my app is something you have to use for awhile to see the real value.

So the main question is what has helped you get people who view your app to actually download it?

p.s.
Also for others out there getting ready to launch the advice is so true Ads do a great job of getting eyes on your product but I would say 350 of the downloads were from organic posting here on reddit and tiktok comments. In a world of AI-dead internet space, a little elbow grease and manual labor go a long way.

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to share something I am very proud of, Precursor is the first and only screen time app to implement screen time limits that reset every hour (to my knowledge I have tried a lot of screen time apps in search of this feature and so have a lot of other people).

In my opinion daily limits put too much faith in users to be able to combat the billions of dollars of psychological and behavior research that has been poured into social media apps. These apps (including reddit) are designed down to every click in such a way to keep you scrolling endlessly in search of more fast and cheap dopamine.

The brain does not care where the stimulation comes from, but your mind does.

So I built Precursor to help you practice moderation without even having to think about it. You set a per hour screen time budget, lets say 5 minutes, and then once that time is used up the app blocks. However, unlike with a daily limit that sends your brain into a panic and pushes you to bypass your limits, Precursor jus gently reminds you that if you need some more screen time it's just a short hour away.

This way you can get the scroll breaks you want throughout the day without the fear that they will spiral into full on doom scroll sessions.

No accounts. Privacy first. No selling of your data.

With that being said, I just launched the app and I have a promotion for you all as early adopters!

FOR TODAY ONLY:

download the testflight for automatic Precursor+ for LIFE (beta closing soon as official app has launched; please note: this is not to for you to become a tester but downloading the beta is how you get lifetime Precursor+ linked to your device):

https://testflight.apple.com/join/ztGmutmP

Also, If you have time and space I would be eternally grateful if you could also support the launch on product hunt by upvoting and/or commenting:

https://www.producthunt.com/products/precursor-2?launch=precursor-hourly-screen-time-control

Official app store link (only download this after you join the testflight, to get automatic Precursor+ for life!):
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6791403654

FOR TODAY ONLY!

download the testflight for automatic Precursor+ for LIFE (beta closing soon as official app has launched):

https://testflight.apple.com/join/ztGmutmP

Also, If you have time and space I would be eternally grateful if you could also support the launch on product hunt by upvoting and/or commenting:

https://www.producthunt.com/products/precursor-2?launch=precursor-hourly-screen-time-control

Official app store link (only download this after you join the testflight, to get automatic Precursor+ for life!):
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6791403654