What phones are actually doing, and what the rules are changing. Once a month.
A monthly read on what phones are actually doing, what the rules are changing, and what any of it means once it reaches the device in your hand. Written by the person building ThirdLife, and honest about what we can and cannot see.
Every screen time tool stops at the app door. What actually shaped you, what the feed chose and what you asked the AI assistant, is held by companies with no reason to show you. Regulators are opening the box for researchers. Not for you.
Read it →Meta settled for roughly 18 billion dollars and agreed to sweeping changes on teen accounts. Ten days later Australia said it would make platforms let you turn the algorithm off. Both are controls. Neither tells you whether the control worked, and four things worth watching instead.
Read it →The Read is timely. If you want the reference material, our research pages cover screen time statistics, guidelines by age, parental controls and the evidence on mental health, updated as new data lands.
Free to download, with a paid tier for the deeper features. No account needed. Your screen time, health data and scores never leave your phone.
Download on the App StoreThe Read arrives monthly. Leave your email and we'll send you the short version.