ReFocus 🧠📱

A focus-first Android app to reduce short-form video distractions

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🚧 Project Status: In Progress

⚠️ ReFocus is actively under development and not finished yet.
Features, behavior, and implementation details may change as experimentation continues.

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🎯 Motivation

Short-form video feeds like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are engineered for endless engagement.
ReFocus is built for users who want to consume long-form content intentionally and reduce distraction — without rooting, patching, or modifying third-party apps.

This project explores what is realistically possible within official Android and Google Play Store boundaries.

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✨ Core Principles

✅ Play Store compliant
🔒 No root access
🧩 No patched or modified apps
🚫 No sign-in or sign-up
📵 No data collection
📊 No analytics or tracking
📦 Local-only processing
🔍 Transparent use of system APIs

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🧠 Technical Approach (Experimental)

ReFocus experiments with focus-oriented behavioral control using official Android system APIs.

Main components used:

🧩 Android AccessibilityService
💾 Jetpack DataStore for local preferences

Deliberately NOT used:

❌ Text labels
❌ Content descriptions
❌ View IDs
❌ URLs
❌ Network inspection

Multiple approaches were tested and discarded after real-device testing.
This repository documents learning and experimentation, not a guaranteed solution.

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🚧 Current Limitations

ReFocus cannot:

❌ Reliably remove Shorts from YouTube feeds
❌ Block ads inside YouTube
❌ Inspect video URLs or IDs inside the YouTube app
❌ Guarantee complete suppression of short-form content

These are intentional platform limitations, not implementation bugs.

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🔮 Future Scope

📵 Improved focus-based prevention of YouTube Shorts
📸 Support for Instagram Reels
🎛️ Per-app focus and restriction rules
🎨 UX improvements and clearer user education
🚀 Intent-based or launcher-assisted flows
🧩 Jetpack Compose UI migration
🧪 Continued real-device experimentation

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⚙️ Project Setup

🧰 Requirements

🖥️ Android Studio (latest stable)
📱 Android SDK 24+
💬 Kotlin
📲 A real Android device (Accessibility is unreliable on emulators)

🚀 Setup Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/vivekjutture/ReFocus.git

2. Open the cloned folder in Android Studio

3. Sync Gradle : Allow Android Studio to complete Gradle sync

4. Run the app : Connect a real device and click Run ▶

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📚 Dependencies Used

📦 Where dependencies are added

All dependencies are added in app/build.gradle

• Jetpack DataStore (Preferences)

  implementation("androidx.datastore:datastore-preferences:1.0.0")

🚫 No analytics, ads, or networking libraries are used.

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🔐 Permissions & Accessibility

📄 Where permissions are declared

Permissions are declared in AndroidManifest.xml

🔑 Accessibility Service permission

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE" />

🧩 Accessibility Service declaration

<service
    android:name=".RefocusAccessibilityService"
    android:permission="android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE"
    android:exported="false">

📜 Accessibility configuration reference

android:resource="@xml/accessibility_service_config"

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🔍 Why Accessibility is used

Accessibility is used only to:

👀 Observe app navigation events
🛑 Enforce focus-related behavior
📵 Prevent entry into short-form video experiences

Important guarantees:

🔒 No content is read or stored
🌐 No data leaves the device
📜 Usage is disclosed and Play Store compliant

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🗂️ Project Structure

app/
├── src/main/
│   ├── java/com/example/refocus/
│   │   ├── MainActivity.kt                         # App entry point
│   │   ├── RefocusAccessibilityService.kt          # Accessibility logic
│   │   ├── RefocusDataStore.kt                     # Preference storage
│   ├── res/
│   │   ├── layout/
│   │   │   └── activity_main.xml                   # Main UI layout
│   │   ├── xml/
│   │   │   └── accessibility_service_config.xml    # Accessibility service config
│   │   ├── values/
│   │   │   ├── strings.xml                         # App strings
│   │   │   └── themes.xml                          # App theme
│   │   ├── values-night/
│   │   │   └── themes.xml                          # Dark theme
│   └── AndroidManifest.xml                         # Permissions & services
└── build.gradle                                    # App-level dependencies

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome and encouraged.

• Fork the project
• Create your Feature Branch git checkout -b feature/NewFeature
• Commit your changes git commit -m "Add New Feature"
• Push to the branch git push origin feature/NewFeature
• Open a Pull Request

Please read the full contribution guidelines here: 👉 CONTRIBUTING.md

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🔐 Privacy

ReFocus does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data.
Read the full privacy policy here: 👉 PRIVACY_POLICY.md

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. 👉 LICENSE

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🚫 Out-of-Scope Contributions

❌ Root-only solutions
❌ Patched or modified third-party apps
❌ DRM or ad-bypass techniques
❌ Hidden or deceptive behavior

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🔐 Accessibility & Transparency

🔒 No user data collection
🌐 No network calls
📊 No analytics
🕵️ No background surveillance

Accessibility usage exists only to support focus-related behavior.

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⚠️ Disclaimer

ReFocus is: ❗ Not affiliated with Google, YouTube, Meta, or any other platform
❗ Not a YouTube mod or ad blocker
❗ Not guaranteed to block all short-form content

If your goal is complete removal of Shorts and ads, patched clients or alternative front-ends may be more effective — but those are out of scope by design.

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🧭 Why This Repository Exists

🧠 Explore the real limits of Android system APIs
📚 Document what works and what doesn’t
🛠️ Share honest engineering lessons
🌱 Encourage healthier, more intentional content consumption

ReFocus prioritizes legality, transparency, and sustainability over hacks or shortcuts.