nemu

Beat doomscrolling with a playful companion that tracks your Reels and Shorts, builds healthier habits, and helps you take back your attention.

Comment

Nemu 🐟

A playful companion that helps you escape doomscrolling.

Inspiration

Every day, millions of people open Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok intending to spend "just a minute," only to lose hours scrolling through endless Reels and Shorts.

We realized that most screen-time apps fail because they rely on guilt or simple timers. They tell users how much time they've wasted—but only after it's already gone.

We wanted to create something different.

Instead of another productivity app, we imagined a tiny companion named Nemu who lives alongside you. Nemu watches your scrolling habits, celebrates healthy behavior, and gently reminds you when you're slipping into endless scrolling. The goal isn't punishment—it's helping people build a healthier relationship with short-form content.

What it does

Nemu detects when users are watching Reels or Shorts and keeps track of their scrolling habits in real time.

Features include:

  • 📱 Detects Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts
  • 📊 Counts how many short videos you've watched
  • 🎯 Lets users set healthy daily limits
  • 🚫 Blocks access once the limit is exceeded
  • 🐟 Uses a character companion that reacts to your habits
  • 📈 Tracks daily progress and streaks
  • 🌱 Encourages healthier digital habits instead of relying on guilt

Rather than showing "3 hours wasted," Nemu makes every reel feel like a conscious decision.

How we built it

We built Nemu as an Android application using:

  • React Native for the mobile interface
  • Kotlin native modules for Android integrations
  • Accessibility Service to detect Reels and Shorts
  • Usage Stats API to determine foreground applications
  • Android permissions for digital wellbeing functionality

The architecture separates UI from monitoring services so the tracking continues even while the app runs in the background.

Challenges we ran into

Building Nemu wasn't straightforward.

Some of our biggest challenges included:

  • Reliably detecting Reels and Shorts instead of every screen inside Instagram or YouTube.
  • Working with Android Accessibility Services while maintaining performance.
  • Handling background monitoring without draining battery life.
  • Designing an experience that motivates users without feeling overly restrictive.
  • Balancing privacy by processing activity locally instead of sending browsing data to external servers.

What we learned

This project taught us that digital wellbeing isn't just a technical problem—it's a behavioral one.

The most effective interventions aren't harsh blockers. They're experiences that create awareness, accountability, and small moments of reflection before users fall into another hour of scrolling.

We also gained hands-on experience with Android Accessibility APIs, Usage Stats permissions, React Native native modules, and designing applications that run reliably in the background.

What's next for Nemu

Our roadmap includes:

  • AI-powered habit coaching
  • Personalized scrolling insights
  • Focus mode challenges
  • Friend accountability
  • Weekly wellness reports
  • Cross-platform support
  • More expressive companion animations and progression

Our vision is to make digital wellbeing feel less like discipline—and more like taking care of a friend.

Built With

Share this project:

Updates