Instagram Reels blocking
Detects the Reels viewer and returns you to the feed. Optionally lets through the ones friends send you in DMs.
Android app · Available on Google Play
Enough endless
Reels. Take your attention back.
The moment you open Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, Basta! presses Back for you. No motivational coaching, no lectures, and not a single byte of data collected.
Free · No ads · No network permission · Open source
What is Basta!?
Basta! — Reel Blocker is a free Android app that automatically blocks Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. It uses the system accessibility service to recognise the short-video viewer and fires the Back action, returning you to the normal feed in under a second. It does not block Instagram or YouTube as a whole, it does not filter content, and it needs no internet connection: everything happens inside your phone.
It is built for people who have already found out that willpower is not enough — especially if you live with ADHD, anxiety, or simply a thumb that moves faster than your intention. On top of the blocking sits a habit layer: a daily streak and a mascot that evolves over 21 days and graduates into your bestiary.
- Platform
- Android 8.0 or later
- Price
- Free · one-time Pro purchase
- Data collected
- None · no network permission
- Source code
- Public on GitHub
The problem
It is not your willpower. It is designed so you lose.
The Reels and Shorts viewers are endless loops by design: nothing ever reaches a stopping point. Asking someone to quit on their own is asking them to win a rigged game. Basta! does not motivate you. It takes the screen away.
95 min/day
The average that disappears into short-form video. Nearly an hour and a half. Every day, without deciding to.
23 min
How long your head takes to get back to what it was doing after each interruption.
How it works
Three steps. Zero friction.
- 01
Install and enable
Get Basta! from Google Play and turn on its accessibility service. Two taps, once.
- 02
Get on with your life
Basta! watches in the background for which screen is open. No noise, no notifications, no data usage.
- 03
It pulls you out
The instant the Reels or Shorts viewer appears, it presses Back for you and you are back in the normal feed.
It does not block Instagram or YouTube as a whole. Only the short-video section. The feed, messages, search and regular videos keep working exactly as before.
Features
Just enough. Nothing more.
YouTube Shorts blocking
Same for Shorts. Regular videos and subscriptions are left alone.
Streak and evolving mascot
Egg, cracking, hatchling, adult. 21 days of streak to graduate it — about how long a habit takes to settle.
Collectible bestiary
Five species: Classic, Turtle, Dragon, Wolf and Owl. Every graduation opens a new egg.
Stats journal
Blocked falls per app, a seven-day chart, time recovered and your all-time record.
Fine-grained per-app control
A switch per application, optional Stories blocking, and automatic detection of what you actually have installed.
Ten-minute break
One daily truce that neither breaks the streak nor kills your mascot, for when you genuinely need it.
100% offline
The app holds no network permission. It could not send anything even if it wanted to.
The app
What it looks like inside.
Home with streakYour mascot, your level and your recovered time on one screen. 
The JournalBlocked falls per app and a chart of the last 7 days. 
BestiaryThe five species and your progress towards the next graduation. 
GraduationAt day 21 your mascot graduates and a new egg appears. 
SettingsYou pick which apps get blocked and how strict the blocking is.
Privacy
Actually private.
Basta! runs 100% on your device. It does not declare the internet permission, so it could not send anything even if it wanted to. No accounts, no ads, no analytics, no third parties. Your stats and your streak live on your phone and die there. The source code is public so you can check it yourself, rather than taking our word for it. Progress backup is optional and travels through your own Google Drive.
The accessibility permission is used exclusively to recognise the Reels or Shorts viewer by the internal identifiers of the screen and fire the Back action. It does not read messages, posts, images or your keyboard. Read the full privacy policy.
- Zero data collected
- No network permission
- Zero ads
- No accounts
- Open source
Pricing
Free. And if you want more, one payment.
Without Pro the app still blocks Reels and Shorts with no limit and no ads. Pro is for people who want to fine-tune what slips through.
Pro · Founder edition
€4.99one-time
Founder price until 30 September 2026. After that, €8,99. No subscription, ever.
Get it on Google PlayWhat changes with Pro
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Reels and Shorts blocking | Included | Included |
| Daily streak and evolving mascot | Included | Included |
| Stats journal | Included | Included |
| Backup to your own Google Drive | Included | Included |
| Collectible species | 2 species | All + new ones |
| Daily ten-minute break | Not included | Included |
| Allow Reels from friends' DMs | Not included | Included |
| Block Instagram Stories | Not included | Included |
| Advanced stats | Not included | Included |
| Home screen widget | Not included | Included |
| Block whole apps | Not included | Included |
Guides
The long questions, answered slowly.
Two questions come up more than any other: how you actually block Reels on Android, and why an app needs the accessibility permission to do it. Each one has its own page.
FAQ
Honest questions.
What exactly does Basta! do?
Basta! is an Android app that watches in the background and, the moment it detects you have opened the Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts viewer, fires the system Back action and returns you to the normal feed. It does not filter content, it does not block the whole app, and it does not lecture you: it just closes the infinite-scroll screen.
Why does it need the accessibility permission?
It is the only Android API that reveals which specific screen of another app you are looking at. Basta! uses it exclusively to recognise the Reels or Shorts viewer by the internal identifiers of the interface and to fire the Back action. It does not read messages, posts, photos or your keyboard, and it sends nothing off your phone. The code is public on GitHub so you can verify that.
Does it block all of Instagram or YouTube?
No. By default only the short-video section is blocked: the feed, direct messages, search and regular YouTube videos all keep working. There is an option to close the whole app, but it is off by default and it is part of Pro.
Does it collect or sell my data?
No. Basta! runs 100% on your device, holds no network permission, and has no accounts, no ads and no analytics. Your stats and your streak never leave the phone. The optional progress backup travels through your own Google Drive, encrypted by Google. The Google Play listing declares “no data collected” and “no data shared with third parties”.
Does it work on iPhone?
No. Android only for now. iOS gives third-party apps no equivalent to the accessibility service, so this kind of blocking is not possible on iPhone.
How much does it cost?
The app is free and the free version blocks Reels and Shorts without limits. Basta! Pro is a one-time purchase of €4.99 (founder price until 30 September 2026; €8,99 after that) and adds the daily break, the three extra species, the widget, advanced stats and the fine-grained Instagram options. There is no subscription.
What happens if Instagram changes its interface?
Detection relies on internal identifiers in Instagram and YouTube that change when those apps update. If it ever stops blocking, the fix is to update those hints and ship a new version. We say so openly rather than promising it will never break.
Can I turn it off just for a moment?
Yes. With Pro you get a ten-minute break once a day that neither breaks your streak nor affects your mascot. You can also switch blocking off per app from Settings at any time, though that does break the streak.
Basta! Take your attention back.
Free · Android 8.0 or later · No ads · Open source