this is not a solution.
it is not a rejection of anything. it is simply something to hold in the space where your phone would usually be.
it asks nothing of you. it offers nothing in return. it does not know you, learn from you, or improve. it cannot anticipate what you want. and because of that, it leaves you alone.
which is something very few objects do anymore.
sometimes you’ll reach for your phone. sometimes you won’t. proxy doesn’t care.
you will probably reach for it without thinking. your hand moving ahead of you, following a path it learned through repetition. just enough time to notice that the urge was already fading before it could be satisfied.
most of the time, you’re not using your phone because you need it. you’re using it because it’s there.
this doesn't replace your phone, after all we need them to participate in modern life. but place your proxy where your phone usually lives, and see how rarely that essential tool is useful.
doing nothing feels unfamiliar when you're no longer used to it. but that attention is yours. you don't have to give it away.
this object won't make you better or more productive. it exists only as a reminder that you are allowed to stop for a second without immediately filling time with something else.
carry it or leave it. use it often or forget about it entirely.
it won't mind.
it has no purpose beyond the one you give it, and even that is optional.
it doesn’t do anything.
and that’s the point.
proxy can reduce your screentime by over 70%
not a command. just a word that sometimes appears when you need it to. something to hold in the moment before you open an app you didn't mean to. a small reminder that the pause is allowed.
it will still be there. whatever it is. the message, the update, the thing you were about to look up. it can wait. this is what having a later feels like in your hand.
not a scrolling feed. not a notification. just a word about being where you are. this one sits in your pocket and asks nothing of you. which is more than most content does.
yours. not theirs. this doesn't protect it or optimise it. it just holds the word in your hand as a reminder that attention is the thing being competed for, and you're the one choosing where it goes.
from your screen, from your thoughts, from the habit of looking down. you won't always need to. but when you do, you'll know it was the right call.
the first step. before you decide anything. before you put the phone down or pick it up. just: notice. this is a thing you are holding instead of a thing that is holding you.
Real people with real experiences
proxy gave me some interesting insights into habits I didn’t know I had...like tapping my screen for no reason, picking up my phone when I don’t need to or checking for things that aren’t there. Tapping the proxy and having nothing happen in response makes me feel pretty silly which is a good way to get me to stop doing something.
Lesia[put it down]
Proxy is being able to touch a simplicity that often feels out of reach.
Proxy is a reminder of the things that are meaningful to me.
Proxy is a conversation with people who share my perspective.
Proxy is a conversation with people who don’t share my perspective.
Proxy is (defacto) an extension of my perspective.
Proxy is an appreciation of silence.
Proxy is more time spent engaging with people I love.
Proxy is realising I feel guilty.
Proxy is realising that I don’t need to feel guilty.
Proxy is a piece of Perspex with some words on it that I chose.
Proxy is thinking about other words that would work just as well on it.
Proxy is wanting to change things.
Proxy is carrying change in my pocket.
Proxy is carrying change in my pocket.
Proxy is two things written exactly the same meaning completely different things.
Proxy is a gift.
Joe[look up]
you may have questions
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nothing. it sits in your pocket where your phone would be. that's it.
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none. it has no screen, no battery, no connectivity, no software, no updates. it's just a shape that feels right in your hand.
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because you reach for your phone 60, 80, maybe 100 times a day, and most of those times you're not actually looking for anything. your hand just moves before your brain catches up. this interrupts that reflex for long enough that you notice it happening.
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it replaces the physical habit without replacing the dopamine. when your hand reaches for something and finds this instead, there's a small gap where the autopilot breaks. in that gap, you get to decide if you actually needed your phone or if you were just... reaching. most of the time, it turns out you weren't looking for anything at all.
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obviously. your phone stays wherever you want it. this just means you're not carrying it in your pocket, so the reflex reach doesn't complete automatically. when you actually need your phone, you'll know, and you'll go get it. this just filters out the other 50 times.
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you choose from a list when you order. the word you pick might mean something specific to you, or it might just feel right. we don't explain it. that part's yours.
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yes. it's been machined, finished, weighted to feel deliberate, and packaged like it matters, because treating it like it matters is part of how it works. if it was just a rock, you'd forget about it in two days.
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in testing, screentime dropped by around 77% within the first week. but the point isn't the metric. the point is whether you start noticing the difference between reaching for your phone because you need it and reaching for it because your hand is bored.escription
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maybe. right now there are five. if it turns out people want this, we'll make more. if it doesn't, we won't. we're not trying to scale a product, we're testing whether the idea actually works for people who aren't us.
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because it's not mass-produced plastic. it's machined, hand-finished, and comes in packaging that makes it feel like the deliberate choice it is. you're not paying for features. you're paying for the quality of the object and the thought behind it.