Digital Minimalism Notes: June 2023

One of the things I've been working on for a few years is to reduce my exposure to "sticky" application and media design. This includes most social media, but also major changes to how I set up my phone to minimize distractions.

Feature Phone: AGM M7

The AGM M7 is an android-powered feature phone with a keypad interface. It comes with a limited number of apps pre-installed but no play store. Additional apps can be installed through F-Droid or sideloaded over a USB connection. The minimal apps provide basic messaging and phone functionality with few distractions.

Using a phone with a touch screen the size of a large postage stamp comes with some drawbacks. A few apps designed for larger screens don't scale well. And it was helpful to have a google-enabled phone while traveling.

"Degoogled" LineageOS

Lineage offers builds of the open-source bits of android without the additional bits, blobs, and services added on to keep users coming back to google. Google search isn't horrible on its own, but many other features use algorithmic manipulation to keep your eyes on their advertising and promotional links. I've kept the number of installed apps to a minimum. The specific phone I'm using has some glitches, but anything I can't access by phone can also be accessed from a laptop.

Browser Blocking

Current browser mods are LeechBlock NG and uBlock Origin. Each takes a slightly different approach. LeechBlock has the option of locking configs behind a random password. uBlock has the option of loading curated block-lists. uBlock can also selectively delete portions of a web site, such as comment sections and social media widgets. A single layer is trivial to disable. Multiple layers provide just enough of a delay to prevent slips.