Don’t purchase a $500 dumbphone. These apps will make your Android cellphone calm

I actually like the concept of a “dumbphone”, or a minimalist cellphone. It’s simply the necessities. The cellphone, maps, calendar — solely the helpful bits. Not one of the time-sucky, doom-scrolly distractions.

However I don’t like the concept of spending $500 on a Mild Telephone or a Wisephone. As a substitute, I’ve been on a quest to show my Pixel 9a right into a calmer system. And the excellent news is, it really works.

Right here’s how I did it, and the apps that made it attainable.

The very first thing I do is to make it possible for notifications for many apps are off, or a minimum of restricted to crucial updates (Android’s notification channels characteristic actually helps right here). However that’s desk stakes at this level.

To maintain my very own consideration from wandering, I depend on Switchly. It’s a free, open-source app blocker that’s extremely customizable and helps NFC tags and QR codes. As a substitute of paying for one thing just like the $59 Brick, I can get the identical performance with a printed QR code. Switchly additionally has a neat characteristic that permits you to block simply the addictive components of social media apps, so I’ve set it as much as at all times block Reels on Instagram and Shorts on YouTube. On the whole, I’ve a profile setup that mechanically blocks distracting apps and web sites. One faucet and there’s peace.

The general expertise of putting in and testing utilities grew to become a lot calmer after I discovered about BlockAds. It’s a VPN-based world ad-blocker that works surprisingly effectively. It blocks these annoying full-screen adverts that litter free Android apps. This itself is an enormous Android expertise improve.

Sure, Android apps can result in some extraordinarily area of interest customizations, highly effective options, and automations. However there’s additionally a flip facet that’s straightforward to overlook.

Yow will discover a minimalist, ad-free model of any app that you simply use, and it’s not that tough both. On the whole, I’ve discovered that free and open-source apps made by impartial builders have higher polish, are ad-free by nature, and provide choices to disable options you received’t use. They’re, usually, much less screamy.

I begin with the Fossify suite of minimalist apps. They’ve an ad-free fundamental model for Gallery, File Supervisor, Calendar, Music Participant, Messages, and even a substitute for the Telephone app. I just like the default Telephone and Messages apps, however I discover Images, Information, and Calendar a bit too clunky, so Fossify’s minimalist app variations assist.

In relation to climate, I choose utilizing the open-source and customizable Breezy Climate. As a substitute of being sucked into YouTube’s stellar algorithmic feed, I attempt to use NewPipe after I can. I’ve a curated listing of subscriptions on the app, and right here too I flip off the Stay feed and options like feedback. NewPipe lets me watch YouTube movies in peace, with out adverts, and lets me obtain movies for offline use (although I pay for YouTube Premium, I like utilizing NewPipe on Android).

As for my keyboard, I’ve switched to FUTO Keyboard, and I actually prefer it to this point. Gboard is a bit bloated. FUTO is a free and open-source various that I can customise to solely present the instruments I actually need to use.

After I can, I additionally attempt to use Fennec, an open-source fork of Mozilla Firefox. It has not one of the telemetry, nor Mozilla’s additional options. Plus, I can add desktop-class advert blocking with the uBlock Origin extension.

After I began utilizing the Pixel 9a, I went all in on lock display screen and residential display screen customization. I added widgets to the lock display screen; I custom-made a number of pages on the house display screen. However most of that simply led to determination fatigue and compulsive scrolling.

More often than not, I nonetheless use Pixel Launcher. However I’ve disabled the At a Look widget (thanks, Google, for lastly letting us do that after years of pleading). The Uncover feed web page went away as effectively (and with it, numerous nervousness).

I deleted all of the widgets, and most days I preserve a easy, single-page setup with themed icons. Launching apps with the swipe-up gesture on Pixel doesn’t take lengthy. After I’m feeling a bit additional, I swap to the Niagara Launcher, with a minimal theme. I pin a few helpful apps on the highest, maybe a widget, and that’s it.

Some apps you possibly can swap, some apps you simply can’t. Chrome is a first-rate instance. Regardless that I exploit Fennec, I nonetheless want to make use of Chrome sporadically, whether or not it’s for testing or as a result of a web site simply received’t open correctly in Firefox.

I’ve made Chrome as calm as attainable. By default, Chrome is about up for the adrenaline junkie. The house web page opens to shortcuts and feeds; each web site desires to ship you notifications. However I used to be capable of customise the house web page, eradicating nearly each component besides the search bar. Disabling the notifications popup additionally went a great distance in restoring some peace.

I attempt to do the identical in apps like Gmail and Google Maps. Disabling Gemini options and the Meet tab in Gmail helps. Whereas I depend on Google Maps to assist me get round, I’m not a fan of the growing push for the Discover web page and Ask Maps. Right here too, disabling ideas and suggestions helps.

That’s the recommendation I’d go away you with. Poke round in settings and discover customization options wherever you possibly can. Chances are high, there’s an choice to disable annoying notifications, ideas, and distracting options.