Frequently asked questions.

Brainrot (the app is called Brainrot: Reel Limit) is a free Android app that counts the short videos you watch and stops the feed when you reach your daily limit. It also lets you set time limits on any app and run timed focus sessions. Your messages, calls and long-form videos are left alone.

Normal app timers lock the whole app, including the parts you need, like Instagram DMs or YouTube tutorials. That is why people end up tapping "ignore limit" and going straight back to the feed. Brainrot counts and limits only the vertical short-video feed, so the rest of the app keeps working.

Yes. Brainrot: Reel Limit is free to install from Google Play and there is no account to create.

Not at the moment. Brainrot relies on Android's Accessibility Service, which is what makes per-video counting possible. iOS does not offer an equivalent, so the app is Android-only.

Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels and Snapchat Spotlight. On top of that, the app-limits feature lets you set a daily time limit on any app installed on your phone.

Yes, that is the main use case. Brainrot counts videos in the Reels viewer. Direct messages, your profile, Stories and the regular feed stay open. When you hit your limit, only the Reels feed is closed. See the Instagram Reels blocker page for the details.

Yes. Brainrot tells vertical Shorts apart from regular horizontal videos. Lectures, tutorials, podcasts and music keep playing without a counter. Only Shorts count toward your limit. More on the YouTube Shorts blocker page.

Brainrot shows a stop screen and takes you out of the short-video feed. You can still use the rest of the app and the rest of your phone. The counter resets the next day.

Unified gives you one shared daily budget across every supported app, for example 50 videos in total, whether they are Reels, Shorts or Spotlight. Individual lets you set a separate number for each app, for example 20 on Instagram, 10 on YouTube and 0 on Snapchat.

A focus session is a timed block where distracting apps are blocked and only the essentials you choose (like Phone and Messages) stay available. You can start one on demand or schedule recurring sessions for study or work hours. See the screen time controller page.

A small visual cue. As your daily count climbs from 0 to 1000+, the mascot moves through 11 states, from fresh to completely fried. It makes a number feel real at a glance. You can try it on the home page.

Yes. A small floating counter appears only while you are inside a short-video feed, and the app keeps a 7-day history of your daily totals so you can see the trend.

Android has no other supported way for an app to know that you swiped to the next Reel or Short. The Accessibility Service lets Brainrot see that a short-video screen is open and that a swipe happened. That is all it is used for. Brainrot does not read your messages, passwords or what you type, and nothing is sent to a server. Details are in the privacy policy.

No. Your limits, daily counts and history are stored on your phone only. There is no account, no analytics SDK and no advertising. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data deletes everything.

It is designed not to. Brainrot reacts to system events instead of polling in the background, so it is mostly idle unless a short-video app is open. Actual battery use varies by device, and you can check it under Android Settings → Battery.

Apps change their layouts, and occasionally a detector needs an update. First make sure Brainrot and the other app are both up to date and that the Accessibility permission is still on. If it still misbehaves, send us a note with your phone model and the app version, and we will look into it.

Brainrot is built as a self-control tool for adults and teens who want to manage their own scrolling. It is not a parental control product and has no remote monitoring.