crocial Join the beta

It’s crucial. Get off social.

crocial locks TikTok, Instagram and the rest when your daily time runs out, then helps you spend the next 15 minutes on something you picked.

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crocial launches on Android in South Africa in November and Kenya in December. India is next, in 2027. Leave your email and we’ll send you one message when it opens in your country.

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In South Africa, on Android? Join the beta

Scrolling 45 of 45 min Time’s up. Apps lock. Your goal 15 minutes

First, the real number

Pick the apps that eat your day. For each one, guess how long you spend on it, and say how long you’d like to.

Your phone has been counting all along, so crocial shows you the real figure straight away. Most people guess low.

Limits start that day, at 80% of what you really use, and come down by 10% a week until they reach your target.

You choose when they apply, so a free weekend or lunch hour stays free. Tightening a limit works straight away; loosening one starts tomorrow, so a tired late-night you can’t undo what you planned.

Gentle mode
One 10-minute skip a day, for when you really need it.
Strict mode
No skips. The apps open again at midnight.
Steady mode
Hit your target for four weeks and crocial steps back. No limits, but your group and the Sunday receipt stay.

  1. Tuesday, 21:40

    TikTok locks

    That’s your 45 minutes. crocial gives you two buttons: start a goal session, or lock the apps for an hour and walk away.

  2. 21:41

    Fifteen minutes on the CV

    A goal session is a short chat with an AI coach. Tell it what you’ve been avoiding (that CV, or the assignment due Friday) and it gets you going on one small piece. After 15 minutes it asks what you got done, saves it as a win and lets you go.

    you
    cv. been avoiding it 2 weeks
    coach
    Okay, 15 minutes on the CV. Which part do you keep skipping?
    you
    experience. last job was a call centre
    coach
    Call centre counts. Write 3 things you handled there. Rough is fine, we’ll tidy after.

    It speaks English and Swahili. It’s still learning Sheng, so correct it when it gets it wrong.

  3. Sunday, 18:00

    The receipt

    Start a group with your flatmates, or with the WhatsApp group that’s always online. Groups of 3 to 10 are ranked on minutes taken back, measured against each person’s own use before they started, so heavy and light scrollers compete fairly. The receipt is sized for WhatsApp Status.

    Week of 30 November

    4 h 12 min

    taken back from social

    Wins
    CV · a run
    Best day
    Thursday
    Streak
    5 days
    Flat 4B
    2nd of 6

    Join my group: K7P2QX

What crocial can see

How many minutes you spend in each app you picked, including the week or so before you joined, which your phone already keeps. That’s the only thing it takes from those apps. It can’t see what’s on your screen or what you type.

Coach chats are answered by Claude, an AI model from Anthropic, which doesn’t train on them. crocial deletes the text after 30 days.

Read the privacy policy

What it costs

Limits, locks, groups, the Sunday receipt and one goal session a day are free. Pro gives you three sessions a day instead of one, and 60 coach messages a day instead of 20.

South Africa
R39 a month
Kenya
KES 149 a month
India
₹99 a month from 2027

You pay through Google Play and can cancel there any time.