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, YouTube Shorts or the TikTok feed, Basta! presses Back for you. No motivational coaching, no lectures, and not a single byte of data collected.
Free · No ads · No tracking · Open source
What is Basta!?
Basta! — Reel Blocker is a free Android app that automatically blocks Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and the TikTok video feed. It uses the system accessibility service to recognise the short-video viewer and fires the Back action, returning you to the rest of the app in under a second. It does not block Instagram, YouTube or TikTok as a whole, it does not filter content, and it needs no internet connection: everything happens inside your phone. With Basta! Pro it also blocks Facebook Reels.
It is built as an assistive tool 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, graduates into your bestiary and, once your collection is complete, earns stars every time you raise it again. The app is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
- Platform
- Android 7.0 or later
- Blocks
- Instagram Reels · YouTube Shorts · TikTok feed · Facebook Reels (Pro)
- Languages
- English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese
- Price
- Free · Pro €5.99 one-time (€8.99 from 1 January 2027)
- Reaction time
- Under 1 second
- Downloads
- 500+ on Google Play
- Version
- 2.0.7 · 30 October 2026
- Mascots
- 5 species · graduates on day 21 of the streak
- Data collected
- None · no accounts, ads or analytics
- 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. It uses no mobile data and stays quiet: it only notifies you if protection stops working, plus a small mascot bubble each time it steps in.
- 03
It pulls you out
The instant the Reels, Shorts or TikTok video feed appears, it presses Back for you and you are back where you meant to be.
It does not block Instagram, YouTube or TikTok as a whole. Only the short-video section. The feed, messages, search, profiles 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.
TikTok feed blocking
Closes the vertical For You and Following player. Your profile, messages and search stay usable.
Facebook Reels blocking
With Pro, closes the Facebook Reels viewer, whether you open it from the Reels tab or from the feed. The rest of Facebook stays as it is.
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, Dragon, Turtle, Wolf and Owl. Every graduation opens an egg of a new species.
Mascot stars
Collection complete? Choose which species to raise again. Each new graduation earns it a star, up to ★5, with a brighter aura.
Discreet block bubble
When it pulls you out, a small pill with your mascot and today's count appears for under two seconds. Nothing to tap, nothing to dismiss.
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.
Six languages
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese. The app follows your phone's language, or pick one per app on Android 13+.
What's newVersion 2.0.7 ·
Invite a friend, tell us what's missing, and new species on the way.
Version 2.0.7 makes Basta! easier to share and easier to improve together. Version 2.0.6 brought Facebook Reels blocking to Pro and a tabbed Journal.
Invite a friend
Share Basta! with a QR code or a link via WhatsApp, email or anywhere else, straight from the app.
Ideas & problems
A new entry in Settings to tell us what you miss or what isn't working. It opens an email to the developer: no account, no form, no tracking.
New species in 2027
The Bestiary now shows what is coming: new mascot species arrive in 2027. Pro owners get every one of them at no extra cost.
Facebook Reels (Pro)
Basta! Pro now also closes Facebook's full-screen Reels viewer, whether it comes from the Reels tab or a video in the feed. The feed, groups and Marketplace are left alone.
Tabbed Journal
The stats Journal is split into tabs. With Pro: trends, a per-app breakdown and the hours when you are most at risk.
Profile ranks
Earn XP for every protected day and every graduation, with a new rank every five levels. Your level never goes down, even if the streak breaks.
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, their stars and your progress towards the next graduation. 
GraduationAt day 21 your mascot graduates. With the collection complete, you choose who comes next. 
SettingsYou pick which apps get blocked and how strict the blocking is.
Privacy
Actually private.
Basta! runs 100% on your device. Blocking needs no connection, and nothing you do leaves the phone. 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 tracking
- Zero ads
- No accounts
- Open source
Pricing
Free. And if you want more, one payment.
Without Pro the app still blocks Reels, Shorts and TikTok with no limit and no ads. Pro is for people who want to fine-tune what slips through.
Pro · Founder edition
€5.99one-time
Founder price until 31 December 2026. After that, €8.99. No subscription, ever.
Get it on Google PlayWhat changes with Pro
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Reels, Shorts and TikTok blocking | Included | Included |
| Daily streak and evolving mascot | Included | Included |
| Mascot stars (up to ★5) | 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 |
| Block Facebook Reels | 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 viewer, YouTube Shorts or the TikTok video feed, fires the system Back action and returns you to the rest of the app. 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 block TikTok?
Yes, for free. Basta! closes TikTok's vertical video player — the For You and Following feeds — and leaves your profile, messages and search usable. It sends you back rather than closing TikTok entirely, unless you turn on the Pro option to block the whole app.
Does it block Facebook Reels?
Yes, with Basta! Pro. The app detects Facebook's full-screen Reels viewer — from the Reels tab or when you open a reel from the feed — and presses Back for you. The feed, groups, Marketplace and the rest of Facebook keep working. In the free version, blocking covers Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Does it collect or sell my data?
No. Basta! works entirely on your device: no accounts, no ads, no analytics, and blocking needs no connection. 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, Shorts and TikTok without limits. Basta! Pro is a one-time purchase of €5.99 (founder price until 31 December 2026; €8.99 after that) and adds the daily break, the three extra species plus every future one, the widget, advanced stats, whole-app blocking and the fine-grained Instagram options. There is no subscription.
What are mascot stars?
Every 21 days of streak, your mascot graduates into the bestiary. Once you have collected every species available to you, you choose which one to raise again, and each new graduation gives that species a star, up to five. The fifth turns gold. Stars are free: they work with the two free species as well as with Pro's five.
Which languages is the app available in?
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese. Basta! follows your phone's language automatically, and on Android 13 or later you can pick a different one just for the app in system settings.
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.
Does it work with ReVanced or Vanced?
Yes. Basta! treats alternative YouTube builds — ReVanced, ReVanced Extended and Vanced — as YouTube: they share its internal identifiers, so Shorts are blocked there too, with the same switch and the same stats.
Is Basta! made for ADHD?
It is built as an assistive tool for people with ADHD, anxiety or self-control difficulties around short-form video, and it is declared to Google Play as an accessibility tool. It is not a treatment or a medical device: it removes one specific trigger — the endless short-video feed — so that willpower is not the only thing between you and the scroll.
Who makes Basta!?
Basta! is developed by José Segura and published on Google Play as Sena Project, an independent developer. You can send ideas or report a problem from Settings → Ideas & problems in the app, or by email at senaprojectai@gmail.com.
Basta! Take your attention back.
Free · Android 7.0 or later · No ads · Open source