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Taoism: Doomscrolling Blocker, home

An app blocker built on Taoism

Less scrolling.
More wisdom.

Tired of losing hours to Instagram, TikTok and endless feeds? This app pauses the apps that pull you in and asks you to read a few minutes of the Tao Te Ching first. Then you decide whether you still want to scroll.

Get it on Google Play

iPhone version coming soon

The app’s reading screen: Chapter 7 of the Tao Te Ching in the original Chinese with Paul Carus’s 1898 translation, over an ink painting of misty mountains, with buttons to switch between the Legge and Carus translations, save a favorite, copy or share.

How it works

  1. Choose the apps that distract you.

    Pick Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or any app you open without meaning to.

  2. Open one, and it pauses.

    Instead of the feed, a passage from the Tao Te Ching or the Zhuangzi appears.

  3. Read for a few minutes.

    The original Chinese with an English translation. A quiet timer shows how long is left.

  4. Your apps open again.

    Your time is yours again. Go back to the app, or put the phone down. Every day you read adds to your streak.

The screen after reading: “Your time is yours again. Apps open until 8:00 tomorrow,” with a two-day reading streak.

What’s inside

Not just a blocker. A complete library of Taoist classics that works offline.

  • The complete Tao Te Ching

    All 81 chapters of Lao Tzu, in the original Chinese with English.

  • Two classic translations

    James Legge (1891) and Paul Carus (1898). Compare translations to get a deeper understanding of the original text’s meaning.

  • Study the Tao

    Notes from the translators and AI insights help you get Lao Zu’s meaning.

  • The Zhuangzi

    All 33 books, from the butterfly dream to the cook who never dulled his knife.

  • A daily passage

    One short reading each day. Set it up as a gentle notification if you like.

  • Favorites

    Save the passages you want to return to.

上善若水

“The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike.”

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 8Translated by James Legge, 1891

Questions

Essays on attention, screen time and the Tao Te Ching. Visit the blog

What is Taoism: Doomscrolling Blocker?

An Android app that blocks distracting apps such as Instagram and TikTok until you have read a short passage of Taoist wisdom. It also contains the complete Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, so you can read the classics themselves.

How does it help me stop doomscrolling?

Most scrolling starts on autopilot. A short pause with a passage from Lao Tzu breaks that loop. You then choose: close the app, or continue for a set time. Over time you open distracting apps less often.

Which translations of the Tao Te Ching are included?

James Legge (1891) and Paul Carus (1898), both shown with the original Chinese text and exact page citations from the printed editions.

Do I need an account?

No. You can read everything without an account, and the whole library works offline.

Is there an iPhone version?

The iOS version is coming soon. The app is available now on Google Play for Android.