How to set up a reel limit in two minutes.
Brainrot needs one permission and one number. This guide walks through both, then explains what happens when you reach your limit.
Install Brainrot: Reel Limit
Get the app from Google Play. It's free and there's no sign-up.
Turn on the Accessibility Service
Open Settings → Accessibility → Brainrot: Reel Limit and switch it on. This is the permission that lets the app detect when a Reel or Short is open and when you swipe.
Allow the floating counter (optional)
Allow "display over other apps" if you'd like the live counter on top of the feed. The limit works without it.
Choose Unified or Individual
Unified is one shared daily number across every feed. Individual is one number per app.
Set your daily limit
Pick a number a little below your current daily average. Lower it every week or two.
Open your usual apps
DMs, calls, long videos and everything else work as before. Only the short-video feed is counted and capped.
What Brainrot actually does.
Nothing hidden here. This is what happens each time you open a short-video feed.
It notices the screen.
Android's Accessibility Service tells Brainrot that a particular screen opened. Brainrot checks whether it's a Reel, Short or Spotlight viewer. If it isn't, nothing happens.
It adds one.
Each swipe to a new video counts as one. The number updates the floating counter and your daily total, which is stored on your phone only.
It closes the feed.
A stop screen appears and you're taken out of the short-video feed. The rest of the app, and the rest of your phone, keep working.
It resets.
Counters start from zero each day. Your previous totals stay in the 7-day history so you can see the trend.
How to choose a good limit.
Too strict and you'll switch it off by Wednesday. Too loose and nothing changes. A simple approach works well.
- Find your baseline. Install, set a very high limit (say 500) and use your phone normally for two days. The 7-day history will show your real average.
- Start about 25% under it. If you average 120 a day, start at 90.
- Lower it every week or two. Aim for a number that leaves you a little bored, not deprived. 20 to 40 a day is a common landing zone.
- Use Unified mode first. A shared budget stops you from just moving the habit from Instagram to YouTube.
If something isn't counting.
Almost every problem comes down to one of these.
- Not counting
- Check Settings → Accessibility → Brainrot: Reel Limit is on. Some phones turn it off after an update or when "battery optimisation" is aggressive.
- Turned itself off
- On some brands (Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Samsung and others), set Brainrot's battery usage to "Unrestricted" or allow it to "Autostart".
- Counter missing
- Allow "Display over other apps" for Brainrot. The limit still works without the counter.
- After an app update
- Apps change their layouts. Update Brainrot and the other app, then tell us if it still misbehaves.
Questions about permissions.
See the full FAQ for everything else.
Why does Brainrot need the Accessibility Service permission?
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.
Does Brainrot collect or upload my data?
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.
Will it drain my battery?
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.
The limit stopped working after an Instagram or YouTube update. What do I do?
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.
Take your scroll back.
Free on Google Play. Set a limit in two minutes and keep every app you actually need.
