“My boss caught me swiping on Tinder during a meeting with an important client,” says Ondrej Zak, co-founder and CEO of Zario, who was obsessed with his smartphone. I look back on those days. “It was definitely an embarrassing moment,” says Zach, but it served as a wake-up call for him to start working on an app to help reduce screen time.
“I was addicted to my phone for quite some time before I realized there was a problem because my parents and friends told me so. But I never admitted it and always worked in the field of digital innovation. I told them I was building a digital product, so I spent more time on my phone,” says Zach.
Zach, who co-founded the Zurich-based startup with Killian Chao, may have tried every tool available on the latest smartphone to curb his addiction, but nothing really worked. He says it wasn’t there. “I asked my best friend to set up parental controls on my phone, but I ended up re-downloading deleted apps or finding workarounds,” said Zach, who wanted to cut back on screen time, but had bad habits. was so strong that they always pulled him back and kept him glued to his phone.
“When I was away from my phone for a while, I almost got anxious that I wouldn’t check my phone. There was constant tension and anxiety all the time. It really drove me crazy,” he continues.
When Killian encouraged Zak to get Nir Eyar’s “Indistractable,” he began to understand how these apps worked and was able to gradually change his phone habits. But Zach soon realized that phone addiction was a global problem and that many young people were addicted to their smartphones. “If tools like Screen Time Control don’t actually help people significantly reduce their phone time, then that’s a problem that needs to be solved. It’s easier for people to break free from addiction than it is for me.” must.”
At the height of the pandemic, Zack and Chao quit their jobs and began working on their first prototype. This was long before the two released his Zario app in 2022. Initially, they developed a chatbot that teaches people how to use their mobile phones in a better way using different challenges. Zak tested the chatbot on his WhatsApp and then brought it to Telegram. Based on the feedback they received, Zak and Chiao invited his CTO to join the company, and with his help Zario’s development began. Zack said the Zario app was carefully developed after consulting with a professor of behavioral addictions at the University of Zurich to examine the approach he took in building the app.
To develop the app, Zach and his team first consulted books and researched the many tips and tricks available on the internet, turning them into small learning blocks and creating challenges. In these challenges, people can choose the one that suits them best based on their preferences and it will help them set up their phone in a better way. For example, Zario users can create shortcuts that make the phone screen black and white, making using social media apps boring for users. Also, move all distracting apps to a separate folder outside of your home screen so you don’t want to open them, and check your notification settings and disable any notifications you don’t actually need. You can also.
Some features worked very well, others poorly. Zach and his team took a step back and realized that there are two types of people who suffer from phone addiction. One of them, “Checker,” as he likes to call him, has his cell phone open at every moment, whether he’s waiting for a train or when he has a moment of free time. They are always checking if someone has written a letter to them or if something has happened in the world by checking the news. For them, he developed a system where every time he opens a problematic app, he sees the Zario app pop up, makes him wait three seconds, and then gives him a choice whether he really wants to open that app or not. Additionally, there is also the ability to gradually reduce the number of times each app can be opened per day or per week.
The second type of phone addict is the “scroller” who opens an app to search for something but ends up spending more time on it. For them, the Zario app has a feature called “Personal Session Limits” which, when set, puts a cap on the session limit. For example, when you visit Instagram or YouTube Shorts, the Zario app pops up at the top to notify you that your time on Instagram is over.
The Zario app is available on both Android and iOS, but Zak says they are focusing on Android because of its greater freedom and larger user base. However, Zack indicated that he is working on bringing the iOS version to the same level of functionality as the Android version by the end of the year.
Smartphones are useful tools, but there are also concerns that they can lead to addiction. The brands that design and sell these smartphones and the social media companies that provide the apps are aware of the problem of phone addiction, but little is being done to address the issue. Research from the University of Derby has revealed that smartphone use turns people into narcissists, so a health warning is needed.
When asked why companies like Google aren’t doing more to curb smartphone addiction for Android, the world’s most popular mobile operating system, Zack said, They are even less interested in reducing their time.” “Google owns the majority or a high percentage of all advertising across a variety of apps, including its own apps. So the more time you spend on your phone, the more ads you see and becomes Google’s core revenue source,” he says. However, unlike Google, Zack adds that Apple is active in developing better tools to reduce the amount of time he spends using his iPhone.
“I think they have to build something and provide a solution because of the regulatory pressures, but they don’t have the incentive to build something that actually works,” he says.
Asked if some users are switching to feature phones as a way to disconnect from smartphones and social media, Zack said the rise of “dumb phones” is a trend. “I don’t know anyone in my circle of friends who has actually done that, except for one friend, who is a very extreme person.”
“Switching from a smartphone to a dumb phone may be a radical step, but it also means losing access to great tools like Google Maps and having Google always at your fingertips. ” he continues.
In the early stages of launching the Zario app, Zak discovered that users who completed at least 10 challenges could reduce phone addiction by 90% and reduce screen time by one hour per day. However, this depends on how dependent you are on your smartphone and which apps are the culprit. “The first week is the week when you’re thinking about the topic and it’s on your mind, so you can expect your viewing time to drop by about 10 to 20 percent. It’s about a 5% reduction in apps each week.”
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According to Zak, two-thirds of users who sign up for the Zario app find social apps distracting, which is why they visit the platform. While Instagram and TikTok remain problematic apps for many users, some find the Messenger app distracting. In fact, gaming apps like Candy Crush also make up his second-largest group of most distracting apps. A small number of users also block news, trading, and portfolio apps. But in India, YouTube, Instagram, Chrome, Reddit, Wattpad, and Netflix are the top apps marked as problematic by users.
The Zario app has had over 40,000 downloads since its release. India, the US, Germany, Switzerland and the UK are Zario’s main markets. As for the business model, the iOS version of the app is completely paid, but users can get his 7-day free trial. However, on Android, Zak has a freemium model, allowing users to block one offending app for free, but if they want to block more apps, they have to pay.
Zack’s startup, which was bootstrapped, recently received $130,000 in backing without equity. In April, the startup received support from two Swiss innovation programs focused on digital health. We also became number one at the EU Startup Summit. Zack said he is in the midst of closing a pre-seed round with Swiss angel investors for CHF 500,000. Zak’s operates his eight-member team around the world.