antirot_icon_1024.pngAntirot Press Kit
Antirot is an iPhone app that puts a question between you and your social apps. Say what you came for and how long you’ll stay, keep the links and screenshots worth saving, and the door closes again when time is up.
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At a glance
Prices are in US dollars. Local pricing varies by region.
See how it works
01_shield.pngYour chosen apps stay locked until you start a session.
02_intention.pngType an intention and choose 1, 5, 10, 20 or 40 minutes.
04_share.pngShare links and screenshots to Antirot and they’re filed under the session.
05_close_out.pngWhen time runs out, the apps lock again and your saves are waiting in the archive.
The story
darby_portrait.jpgThe name answers brain rot, Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year, for the dull, foggy feeling that comes after hours of trivial scrolling. Antirot keeps the useful part of social media, the tutorials, the inspiration, the people, and gives the rest a stopping point.
I’ve been making roller skating videos for five years, mostly on Instagram. Social media is where I learned half my tricks and where my own videos find their people. It’s also where I’d open the app to look up one transition and come up forty minutes later having watched twelve videos of raccoons, with the drill I came for long gone.
Screen time limits never fit how I actually used these apps. They treated every minute the same, when what I wanted was to go in for something specific, come out with it, and keep it somewhere I could find again. So I designed and built Antirot myself over 6 months. The shield asks what I’m there for before the app opens, and the archive keeps what I found under the reason I went looking.
I hope this helps any neurospicy creative person who wants to reclaim their time and intentionality.
darby_skating.jpgThe shield asks what I’m there for before the app opens, and the archive keeps what I found under the reason I went looking.
What it does
02_intention.pngTap Instagram out of habit and the Antirot shield is waiting. One tap takes you to a short prompt: what are you here for, and for how long? Choose 1, 5, 10, 20 or 40 minutes and the app opens, with your intention and a countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. Need a little longer? Add five minutes from there, or end the session early.
06_session.pngShare any post, link or screenshot to Antirot and it lands in the session that found it, saved with the creator, the caption and a thumbnail beside your own note. Tag things as you go, and gather favorites into collections that can hold whole sessions or single saves. Anything you save outside a session goes to Quick Saves, an inbox for things worth keeping.
05_close_out.pngWhen time runs out, the apps lock again. Antirot shows the intention you set and everything you saved, with space for a few last thoughts. You can come back to any session later and note how it left you. All of it is optional, and the session closes whether you write anything or not.
Privacy
Pricing
7 days with everything included
Everything in Antirot, billed monthly
Everything in Antirot, paid once and yours to keep
Prices in US dollars. Local pricing varies by region.
Screenshots and downloads
Screenshots are clean app screens with no marketing captions, free to use in coverage.
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03_live_activity.png04_share.png05_close_out.png06_session.png
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wordmarkportraitskatingDescriptions for publication
Antirot is an iPhone app that asks what you came for before it opens Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube or Facebook, then keeps the things worth saving.
Antirot is an iPhone app that puts a question between you and your social apps. When you open Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube or Facebook, Antirot asks what you came for and how long you want to stay, then lets you in with a timer running. Links and screenshots worth keeping go into an archive, filed under the session that found them. When time is up, the door closes again, and everything stays on your phone.
Antirot is an iPhone app for people who open social media with a purpose and lose it somewhere in the feed. It locks Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook behind a simple prompt: what are you here for, and for how long? Set an intention, choose anywhere from 1 to 40 minutes, and the app opens with a countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
A reel, a link or a screenshot worth keeping can be shared to Antirot, where it’s filed under the session that found it with its creator, caption and thumbnail. Tags and collections gather the best finds over time. When the timer ends, the apps lock again and Antirot shows what you set out to do and what you kept.
Antirot has no account and stores everything on your iPhone. It starts with a free trial, then costs $3.99 a month, or $49.99 once for Antirot Lifetime. It was designed and built by Darby Tarlow, an independent developer and roller skating creator.
Review access and contact
Antirot comes with a free trial on the App Store. If you’re reviewing it, email me and I’ll send a code for complimentary full access. I’m happy to do interviews by email, phone or video, and to talk about building an app alone, Apple’s Screen Time tools, or what skating content taught me about social media.
Email DarbyI usually reply within one or two days. Darby, Indochina Time.
FAQ
Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook. You choose which of them to lock.
You get a notification, the apps lock again, and Antirot shows a short close out with your intention and anything you saved. Writing a note is optional, and the session closes either way.
Yes. Add five minutes from the app or straight from the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island. Each extension is a choice you make, so time never stretches on its own.
Screen Time access, so it can lock the apps you pick, and notifications, so it can tell you when time is up. Both are requested when you first need them.
No. Apple’s Screen Time framework only lets Antirot lock and unlock the apps you choose. Your activity inside them stays private to you.
iOS 18 or later. On iOS 26.5 and later, tapping the shield opens Antirot directly. On earlier versions, Antirot sends a notification that takes you there.
Yes. You can start sessions from Antirot or its widget and turn on the shield in Settings whenever you’re ready.
Antirot starts with a free trial, then it’s $3.99 a month. If you’d rather not subscribe, Antirot Lifetime is a single purchase of $49.99 and keeps your archive with you for good.
