Phocus is a strict, uncompromising Android productivity application designed to break the doomscrolling cycle and enforce digital boundaries.
Preparing for highly competitive entrance exams like JEE Main requires absolute, unbreakable concentration. However, modern smartphones and social media algorithms are heavily engineered to steal that attention. I frequently found myself picking up my phone intending to take a quick break, only to look up an hour later having fallen down a doomscrolling rabbit hole.
Standard "Digital Wellbeing" apps were too easily bypassed—they gently suggest you stop, but they don't actually force you to. I didn't need a gentle reminder; I needed a strict, intelligent system that actively intervenes the moment I open a distracting app. I built Phocus to be exactly that: an automated guardrail that forces me to put the phone down and get back to the books.
Phocus operates primarily through Android's AccessibilityService API.
Instead of relying on easily bypassed usage-stats trackers, Phocus runs efficiently in the background as an Accessibility Service. It actively listens for TYPE_WINDOW_STATE_CHANGED events. The exact millisecond the Android OS registers that a targeted distracting app (like Instagram or YouTube) has been pushed to the foreground, Phocus intercepts the action.
It immediately overlays its own blocking screen over the target application, preventing any interaction with the distracting app's UI. This makes bypassing the block incredibly difficult, ensuring your focus timer is strictly enforced.
- Instant Accessibility Blocking: Detects and intercepts distracting applications with zero-latency overlay screens.
- The 60-Second Guard: Enforces strict limits before allowing you back into targeted applications.
- Modern Material UI: Built with dynamic theming to seamlessly match your system's aesthetic.
- Automated Versioning: Utilizes modern Gradle (AGP 9+) automated naming scripts to ensure consistent APK release tracking.
- Enterprise Stability: Integrated directly with Firebase Crashlytics for real-time error tracking and runtime stability monitoring.
- Language: Kotlin
- Architecture: MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel)
- Core APIs: Android AccessibilityService API
- Backend/Analytics: Google Firebase Crashlytics
- Build System: Kotlin DSL (
build.gradle.kts) with custom AGP Base archives generation
- Navigate to the Releases section of this repository.
- Download the latest
Phocus_v1.6.5-release.apkfile to your Android device. - Open the file to install (you may need to allow "Install from Unknown Sources" in your browser settings).
- Launch the app and grant the requested Accessibility Permissions in your Android Settings so the blocker can function.
- Select the apps you want to lock down and start your focus session.
This project is currently maintained as a personal productivity tool, but pull requests and feature suggestions are welcome.
- Fork the Project
- Create your Feature Branch (
git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature) - Commit your Changes (
git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature') - Push to the Branch (
git push origin feature/AmazingFeature) - Open a Pull Request
Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.