Why there is no Scrollmates Android app

Scrollmates is not available on Android. It requires iOS 18 or later, and both people in a bond need iPhones. We have not announced an Android release.

This is more than an unbuilt interface. The iPhone product depends on Apple’s Screen Time stack for private selection, activity thresholds and shielding. Android provides a different set of permissions and guarantees.

Why can it not simply be ported?

Scrollmates uses Apple’s Family Controls, DeviceActivity and ManagedSettings frameworks. On iPhone, a person selects covered apps in Apple’s picker. The ordinary approval path represents those selections with opaque tokens, which can be used for shielding and filtered activity without becoming a readable server-side list.

Android’s UsageStatsManager provides access to device usage history after a user grants Usage Access. Its query methods return per-application usage records, and UsageEvents.Event.getPackageName() returns the package name responsible for an event.

That does not make every Android app invasive. A responsible app can discard identifiers, process data locally and send only aggregates. It does mean privacy depends more heavily on the app’s implementation and disclosure rather than an identical opaque-selection boundary.

Android enforcement also varies by operating-system version and device maker. Rebuilding the shared pool without first proving reliable counting, blocking, recovery and data minimisation would create a product with the same name but different behaviour.

The privacy trade-off, stated accurately

Older explanations sometimes say Android has no way to support privacy-preserving screen-time software. That is too absolute. Developers can minimise data, and Android itself continues to evolve.

The narrower claim is the defensible one: Android’s common Usage Stats API exposes package identities to an authorised app, while Apple’s standard Family Controls selection is tokenised. A Scrollmates Android version would need to demonstrate that it does not retain or transmit those identities and that its controls work consistently enough for a shared promise.

Apple has also complicated its own old boundary. From iOS 26.4, an approvedWithDataAccess authorisation status lets an eligible app fetch, in Apple’s words, “the actual bundle identifiers of installed applications, domain names of visited websites, and display names of activity categories instead of the opaque, tokenized representations”. Customer installations can reach that status only on EU devices signed in with an EU Apple Account, and only one app at a time can hold it. Our privacy explainer covers what the current Scrollmates code actually uses.

What Android users can do now

Use Digital Wellbeing for local limits

On supported Android phones, Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls shows app use and offers app timers and Focus mode. Google’s Digital Wellbeing instructions are direct about what a timer is: “When you run out of time, the app closes and its icon dims.” They are equally direct about what it is not: “App timers reset at midnight,” and to use the app again before then, you “delete the app timer.” Treat it as a self-managed prompt rather than an unbreakable wall — which is also true of every iPhone equivalent, including ours.

If two people want mutual accountability across iPhone and Android, agree on one or two phone-free windows and report only the daily total each person is comfortable sharing. A recurring check-in can work without screenshots of an app-by-app dashboard.

Try this script:

I cannot join the same app pool from Android, but I still want the evening back. Shall we keep phones away for the first 30 minutes after dinner and check in on Sunday?

Use physical boundaries for shared moments

A charging shelf, phone basket or leave-it-upstairs rule is cross-platform and inspectable without installing monitoring software. It is especially useful when the desired outcome is a protected dinner, study block or bedtime rather than a precise daily allowance.

Evaluate third-party blockers by permissions, not promises

Android blockers change frequently and behave differently across manufacturers. Before installing one, check:

whether it requests Usage Access, Accessibility access, device-administrator rights or notification access;
whether activity is processed locally;
whether package names or detailed histories are uploaded;
how to leave a partner or family arrangement; and
whether recent reviews from your specific phone model report reliable blocking.

We are not naming a “best” Android replacement here because we have not completed current hands-on testing across those products and devices.

Frequently asked questions

Can an Android user accept a Scrollmates invite?

No. The shared pool needs the Scrollmates iPhone app on both sides.

Is there a web version?

No. A browser cannot provide the same device-level activity and shielding functions.

Will Android ever be supported?

There is no announced date or promise. The privacy and reliability requirements would need to be met first.

What is the closest built-in alternative?

Android Digital Wellbeing provides local usage totals, app timers and Focus mode on supported devices, but it does not create a Scrollmates-style shared pool.

Platform honesty is part of product honesty

“iPhone only” excludes people and pairs we would like to serve. Hiding that behind a vague roadmap would not help them. Today, the accurate answer is two iPhones — or a cross-platform agreement that shares less data and uses the tools each phone already has.