The Mission

We believe your digital and mental wellbeing is a human right, not something that should sit behind a paywall. Aza Raskin, the inventor of infinite scrolling, has called it "behavioral cocaine". That cocaine is now baked into every device on the planet. Someone needed to reinvent scrolling. So we did. Most solutions on the market don't touch scrolling at all. They're fragmented, pay-to-win, and blunt. Brick charges $59 for a plastic NFC cube that just locks your phone. Fluid Friction gives you the same NFC blocking for free with any NFC tag you already own, your student card, a bank card, even a €1 sticker. Our core mechanic reinvents scrolling itself: when you swipe on apps like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, fluid rises from the screen edge and resists your finger. You drag through it until a bubble forms and breaks. Mindless swiping simply doesn't work. On top of that we pack in app blocking, focus tools, AI coaching, behavioral analytics, and a full launcher replacement. Everything the wellness market sells piecemeal, unified in one free app. On April 9th, Fluid Friction won the Social Impact Award at the Erasmus AI Society × Anthropic(Claude) Hackathon in Rotterdam. We are weeks away from reinventing scrolling.

The Challenge

Smartphones are engineered to be addictive. Infinite scrolling, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds are designed to hijack attention and maximize screen time. The result: surging rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation, especially among young people. The world is responding. Australia has banned social media for under-16s. France and the European Parliament are pushing to do the same. The US is seeing the largest wave of social media addiction lawsuits in history, with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand in 2026. The EU's upcoming Digital Fairness Act will directly target addictive design patterns. But regulation is slow and the tools that exist today are either too blunt, too expensive, or too easy to bypass. There is no free, comprehensive solution that tackles the core problem: the scroll itself. That's the gap Fluid Friction fills.

The solution

Fluid Friction is built around one principle: every interaction with your phone should be intentional, not automatic. Reinvented Scrolling, Fluid Friction— When you swipe on apps like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, fluid rises from the screen edge and resists your finger. Pass the threshold and a bubble forms, breaks through, and lets the scroll happen. 93 themes, adjustable intensity, session limits. It doesn't block you. It just makes you mean it. Smart Friction — Friction that adapts to your day. Tighter during your morning lecture block, lighter when you're winding down after dinner. Protection that fits your rhythm, not the other way around. Blocking and Focus — Set daily limits per app, target specific features like Reels or Shorts without blocking the whole app, and add intervention challenges like breathing exercises or reflection prompts. Pair it with built-in Pomodoro timers for when it's time to lock in on an assignment. NFC Profiles — Tap your student card, a bank card, or a €1 sticker to instantly activate a blocking profile. Stick a tag on your desk and tap when it's time to study. No $59 hardware needed. Spatial Profiles — Connect to your university library Wi-Fi and distracting apps block automatically. Walk into your dorm and it relaxes. Fully opt-in, no manual switching, no forgetting before a study session. AI Coach — Nine coach personalities powered by on-device AI that analyze your habits, spot your vulnerability windows, and nudge you before a doom scroll starts. A pocket accountability partner that actually knows your patterns. Analytics — Track screen time with heatmaps, hourly breakdowns, and a 14-day behavioral engine that detects doom spiral triggers and peak-risk hours. See exactly where your time goes. Social — Compare digital health scores with friends, climb competitive ranks through daily quests, and access guided breathing and meditation. Reclaiming your screen time is easier when your friends are doing it with you. Fluid OS — A full Android launcher replacement with a widget dashboard, app drawer, and minimalist customizability. Your phone, redesigned around intention. Safety — Three-finger emergency disable, overlay auto-hides on lock screen and in DMs and sensitive apps. Your phone is never compromised when it matters. All of this. One app. Free. We are currently weeks away from launching on Android and IOS. We will monetize through in app themes, not by restricting features. For more information visit our website fluidfriction.app.