an ai that helps you cut your screen time without a blocker app
Yes. Tell folk your daily limit and it texts you each night to ask for your screen time number, keeps a streak of the days you stayed under, and points out the patterns. It cannot lock your apps, and that is the point: it works like a friend, not a parental control.
Blocker apps fail because you can uninstall them. A friend who asks "what was your screen time today?" every night is harder to get rid of. Folk holds you to a number you pick, asks for the screenshot, and keeps score. When you are under, the streak grows. When you blow past it, folk asks what happened and helps you set a smaller target for tomorrow. It also notices the pattern: the 1am TikTok sessions, the Sunday scroll, the apps that eat the most.
how folk does it
set the number
Text folk "help me get under 3 hours a day" or "no phone before 9am." Folk confirms the goal and asks how it should check in: nightly screenshot, morning question, or both.
send the screenshot, folk keeps score
Each night folk asks for your screen time. Send the screenshot or the number and it logs it, updates your streak, and tells you how the week is trending.
it spots the pattern and adjusts
After a week folk can tell you which app and which hour are the problem. It suggests a target that is smaller than your goal for the bad days, so the streak survives and you keep going.
what it looks like
Screen time check. What did today land at?
5h 12m 💀 tiktok was 2h
Streak's at 0 but that's data, not a failure. Two of the last three slips were TikTok after 11pm. Want a wind-down text at 10:45 tomorrow so we cut it off before it starts?
yeah do it
frequently asked
Can folk block apps or lock my phone?
No. Folk is accountability, not a parental control. It asks for your number, keeps the streak, and follows up on the slips. For most people that is the missing piece, since blockers get uninstalled and friends do not.
Does it read my screen time automatically?
Not yet. You send the screenshot or type the number and folk logs it. It reads the number off the screenshot for you so it takes two seconds.
Is this free?
Setting a screen time goal is free. The nightly check-in is a recurring routine, included in Pro at $9.99 a month. The screen-time-guard folkway unlocks a free 7-day run on the free plan.
folk can also
an ai study buddy that keeps you on track
Folk plans your studying, quizzes you, explains the hard parts, and makes sure you actually start.
an ai that helps you wind down and actually sleep
A text at the time you set, a short check-in, and a nudge to put the phone down for real.
an ai accountability partner that keeps you on track
Tell folk your goals. It checks in, holds you to them, and won't let you quietly quit.
learn the concepts
Accountability partner
An accountability partner is a person (or, increasingly, an AI) who knows your goal, checks in on your progress at agreed times, and makes it harder to quietly quit.
Habit streak
A habit streak is a running count of consecutive days you have done a habit. It works by turning "skip today" into "break the streak," which most people find much harder to do.
Personal AI
A personal AI is an artificial-intelligence assistant dedicated to one person - it learns your preferences, remembers your context, and takes actions on your behalf across everyday life.