Rules

• No games (not even chess, Josh)
• No social media
• No infinite scrollers
• Greyscale all day, unless I'm going through photos with family or friends
• No browser (completely removed with UAD)
• No easy access to an app store
• No shopping apps

The Phone

Launcher and Theme

I use the Lawnchair launcher with Arcticons, and my wallpaper is "A Token of Friendship" by Arthur Collingsridge.

Apps

• AntennaPod
• Breezy Weather
• Camera (GrapheneOS)
• Catena
• Cheogram
• Cirrus
• Clock (GrapheneOS)
• CoMaps
• Contacts (GrapheneOS)
• DAVx5
• Etar
• Files (GrapheneOS)
• Finamp (my beloved)
• HeliBoard
• ICSx5
• Immich
• Info (GrapheneOS)
• JetBird
• Jitsi Meet
• K-9 Mail
• KOReader
• LocalSend
• Messaging (GrapheneOS)
• Metiq
• Molly
• MuPDF viewer
• Obtainium
• OpenKeychain
• Password Store
• Phone (GrapheneOS)
• Qalculate!
• Quik
• Screen Time
• Storii
• Tasks
• Termux (my beloved)
• Voice Recorder

Operating System

In mid-spring 2026, I made the switch to GrapheneOS on my Pixel 9a.

Holy crap, it bangs.

Graphene has genuinely been the best phone experience that I've ever had, and easily lends itself to a minimal, distraction-free phone setup.

The Results

My screen time average used to be around 3-4 hours (mainly YouTube (or X/Twitter on the really bad days)), but now my daily average is ~=1hr30min (and dropping). I overall feel happier and more free to do what I enjoy like reading, learning to program, gaming (going through Control right now, and have been enjoying Cat Mail Co.), and spending time in God's Word.

Fin

Do you have any questions about or recommendations for my setup? Reach out via any of the methods on my contact page.

God bless,

Matthew Kennedy