Why Basta! asks for the accessibility permission
Android shows a stern warning when you turn it on, and it is right to: this is a powerful permission. This page explains what it can really do, what Basta! does with it, and how to check without taking our word for it.
What the accessibility service is
It is the API Android created for screen readers and other assistive technology. It lets an application receive events about what appears on screen — which window opened, which elements it contains — and perform system actions on the user's behalf, such as pressing Back.
Those two capabilities are exactly what closing the Reels viewer requires: knowing it opened, and leaving it.
Why there is no other way
Android exposes no other API that says which specific screen of another application the user is looking at. You can find out which app is in the foreground, but that does not tell reading a direct message apart from being in the Reels loop — and that distinction is the entire point of Basta!.
An app promising to block only Reels without the accessibility permission is either not doing it, or blocking all of Instagram and calling it something else.
Exactly what Basta! reads
Two things, and neither of them is content:
- The resource identifiers of interface containers — technical strings such as clips_viewer_view_pager, which Instagram assigns to the Reels viewer.
- The class name of the Activity or Fragment currently in the foreground.
What it does not read
It does not read the text of your messages, or of posts, or comments, or the names of the people you talk to. It does not capture the screen, it does not access your photos, and it does not log what you type.
And even if it wanted to do something with any of that, it could not: the application does not declare the internet permission in its manifest. Without that permission Android blocks any network connection at the system level. That is not a promise from us, it is a restriction the operating system enforces.
How to check for yourself
The source code is public on GitHub. If you want to verify it without being a programmer, there are two quick checks:
- Search for INTERNET in the repository's AndroidManifest.xml. It is not there. That is the permission that would be required to send anything anywhere.
- Open BlockerService.kt and look for INSTAGRAM_REEL_HINTS and YOUTUBE_SHORTS_HINTS. Those are the literal lists of identifiers the app looks for. There is nothing else.
How to revoke it
At any time, from Android Settings → Accessibility → Basta! → turn off. There is no account to close and no data to delete from any server, because none ever left the phone. The only thing that happens is that your streak breaks and your mascot goes back to being an egg, which is precisely the point.