pourquoi.app
What is an intention-based approach?
An intention-based approach creates a short pause of awareness when you open an app, so you can name why you are opening it.
It is not a blocker: you stay free. It is not laissez-faire either: light friction turns a habit into a choice.
pourquoi.app applies this idea on iPhone and Android: a question when you open apps you choose, simple answers, stats without scores or guilt.
How it works
In practice, three simple moves:
A question at open
You pick the apps. When you open them, a calm question appears: why are you opening this app?
Name your reason
A short answer is enough. Saying what you came to do interrupts autopilot.
See what changes
Your answers and stats show where non-intentional time goes, without badges or rankings.
Intention, blockers, and Screen Time
Three different logics. They can coexist.
| Blocker | Screen Time | Intention | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principle | Cut access | Limit duration or apps | Pause before opening |
| Strength | Stops the habit cold | Native, easy to turn on | You stay free and aware |
| Limit | Frustration, workarounds | Often bypassed “just this once” | Needs a second of attention |
| Measure | Time blocked | Minutes / categories | Chosen vs non-intentional time |
What the research says
No study looks at pourquoi.app. What follows is about the mechanisms the app is built on, not the app itself. Better to say so upfront.
The habit has a name
Researchers described it back in 2012 and called it the checking habit: a short, repeated look at content that keeps moving, reachable in a second.
Their most useful finding is not the mechanism, it is how it feels. Participants describe these moments as an annoyance, not an addiction.
Wanting is not enough, naming helps
With health behaviours, people turn their good intentions into action roughly half the time. And once a behaviour has been repeated long enough in the same setting, intention barely predicts what you will actually do. That is more or less the definition of a habit: the will shows up too late, or at the wrong moment.
Spelling out what you are going to do, and in which situation, has a medium to large effect on following through. The review covers 94 studies.
One honest caveat: this research deals with plans made in advance, along the lines of “if this situation comes up, then I will do that”. pourquoi.app asks you to say why as you open the app. It is not quite the same thing. The idea comes from there, the evidence does not transfer straight across.
Sheeran, 2002, Ouellette & Wood, 1998, Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006
Almost every tool blocks
In 2019, a review went through 367 digital self-control apps and browser extensions. 74% block or remove. 65% have that single mechanism at the core of their design.
The most telling number is elsewhere: 14% add friction when you try to remove the blocking. Sessions that cannot be stopped, passwords, administrator permissions to prevent uninstalling, a delay before you can change a setting. A tool meant to help you spends part of its energy protecting itself from you.
That is where pourquoi.app sits differently. Nothing is blocked, and the question can be switched off in seconds.
What the research does not say
None of this measures pourquoi.app, and we promise no drop in screen time. The numbers above describe mechanisms and a market, not a result you would get. High screen time is not a problem in itself either: what interests us is the part you did not choose.
Who it is for
- You have already turned off a blocker more than once.
- You need to stay reachable (messages, 2FA, work).
- You want to understand your habits, not only forbid them.
- Guilt after use speaks to you more than prohibition before.
Less relevant if
- you keep Screen Time limits without bypassing them for weeks;
- you need a short, hard cutoff (exam, detox);
- you mainly want a technical lock, not a pause of awareness.
Frequently asked questions
Is an intention-based approach just doing nothing?
No. It is light friction at open: naming why you open. No lock, but not laissez-faire either.
Does it replace Screen Time?
No. Screen Time remains useful for native limits. Intention questions the opening. Both can coexist.
Can you combine a blocker and intention?
Yes. For example limits in the evening and a question at open during the day. The key is avoiding guilt when you bypass a rule that is too rigid.
How does pourquoi.app embody this approach?
The app asks a question when you open chosen apps, records simple answers, and shows calm stats. Free on iPhone and Android after a 7-day trial. No blocker, no gamification.
Go further
Try it on iPhone and Android
The question pourquoi.app asks on opening is free. A second of pause can change your day.