Built on PNAS & NICE research

Your phone habit,
finally understood.

The Presence Project is a situation-aware app, a 14-day challenge, and a science-backed course — designed to help you build a healthier relationship with your phone without hard blocks, shame, or willpower battles.

Start the 14-day challenge How it works

36%

close the app before
even entering

57%

fewer app openings
by week 6

peer-reviewed
frameworks

9:41●●●

🌙Wind-down time — phone goes quiet in 60 s

The Presence Project

Good evening 👋

🌙

Wind Down

Active · tap to override

🏠

At Home

Tap to switch

📚

Focus Time

Tap to switch

Before you go in — how are you feeling? →

Why other approaches fail

Most phone habit apps don't work.
Here's why.

❌ Hard blocking apps

Restriction without insight

Blocking creates friction but no understanding. The moment the block lifts, the habit returns unchanged. Research shows hard blocks can trigger psychological reactance — making users want their phone more, not less.

"I just used a different browser." — Every app blocker review section, ever

⚠ Willpower-only approaches

Depleting, not building

Treating a design problem as a character flaw. Willpower is finite. The apps that engineered the habit have virtually infinite resources and teams of behavioural scientists on staff. It's not a fair fight.

"I failed by day three and felt worse about myself than before I started." — Presence Test respondent

✓ The Presence approach

Understanding, not restriction

One warm question at the override moment. One honest answer. Over time, a picture builds — and the user begins making better decisions without being told to. The goal is graduation from the app, not dependency on it. We are the only screen time tool whose goal is that you stop needing it.

"After six weeks I wasn't even opening Instagram. Not because I was blocked — I just didn't want to." — Presence Project member

Three phases

Start with the app.
Go deeper when you're ready.

Each phase builds on the last. Each one teaches you something — about your habits, your triggers, and yourself.

Phase 1

The App + Challenge

£5 — no credit card until you're done

A situation-aware app that pauses instead of blocks, plus the 14-day daily challenge programme. Includes a taster of the course and one live community session so you experience the full product before deciding.

Presence app (iOS & Android)

4 preset situations to start

Full 14-day challenge with daily insights & mantras

Free 2-week extension if you need it

Weekly Presence Report (AI-written)

Smart Mode — learns your routine over time

Override moment emotional check-in

Safety always on — calls & maps never blocked

Taster: first two course modules unlocked

One live community session included

Start the challenge

Phase 2

The Full Course

£10/mo — less than a streaming subscription

36 modules across 6 units. Built on SDT, Motivational Interviewing, and the COM-B model. About 10 minutes a week. Includes everything in Phase 1. Phase 2 members get the community included free when it launches.

Everything in Phase 1

36-module evidence-based course

Adaptive module sequencing via Presence Report

Personalised weekly coaching digest

Accountability cohort matching

Habit tracking and reflection tools

On-demand session library

Community access included free at launch

Join the course

Phase 3

The Presence Podcast + Community

£15/mo — coming soon, join the waitlist

A weekly podcast with an entertainment host, expert guests, and live audience participation — plus a community organised around how you actually use your phone, not just how long.

Everything in Phases 1 and 2

Weekly podcast (45 min, talk-show format)

Entertainment host — warm, curious, never a webinar

Expert guests: psychologists, researchers, clinicians

Live audience — members contribute their perspective

Community channels by habit type — The Juggler, The Restless Mind, The Soother, The Night Owl

Alumni network and peer mentoring

Graduation — when you're ready to leave

Join the waitlist

The research base

Every decision is evidence-based.

Not wellness branding. Peer-reviewed research from Heidelberg University, the Max Planck Institute, and the NICE framework — translated directly into product decisions.

36%

of override attempts end with the user closing the app — without being forced to

57%

reduction in actual app openings by week 6 vs week one

60s

wind-down grace period — the default nudge that makes inertia work for you

peer-reviewed frameworks shaping every feature of the product

SDT

Self-Determination Theory

The app teaches users to internalise their own values — eventually needing less structure. Graduation is the north star metric, not retention.

Motivational Interviewing

Questions feel exploratory, not judgemental. "What's pulling you here?" not "Why are you breaking your rules?" The distinction determines whether users answer honestly.

COM-B

COM-B Model (NICE)

Every override categorised as Capability, Opportunity, or Motivation — each needing a different response. This is what makes the content suggestion layer intelligent.

Read the research journal →

The override moment

One question.
The most valuable data in the app.

When you try to open a restricted app, one warm question appears. How are you feeling right now? One tap. Under 10 seconds. Over time, this builds a picture that is genuinely therapeutic.

Before you go in

How are you feeling right now?

😴 Tired

😰 Anxious

😑 Bored

😤 Stressed

🙂 Fine, just want to check in

Skip this ↗

Maximum 2 questions — never more

More than two questions shifts the interaction from "being understood" to "being interrogated." Research on motivational interviewing is clear: brevity and warmth drive honest responses.

One tap only — no typing, ever

Typing creates effort and self-consciousness. Tapping is immediate and honest. The goal is to capture the genuine feeling state at the moment of temptation, not a considered answer.

Always skippable — and never penalised

If the skip button weren't visible, the question would feel like surveillance. Transparency is what makes users trust the system enough to answer honestly — and those answers are what build the user profile.

Curiosity, not judgement

The entire question layer is designed using Motivational Interviewing principles. Questions feel like a knowledgeable friend asking — not a productivity app tracking compliance.

See how the override system works →

Simple, honest pricing

Start with what you need.

Three tiers, each independently valuable. No lock-in, no upsell pressure. Cancel any time.

Phase 1

The App + Challenge

£5

For the 14-day challenge. No credit card until you're done.

Presence app (iOS & Android)
4 preset situations to start
Full 14-day challenge with daily insights & mantras
Free 2-week extension if you need it
Weekly Presence Report (AI-written)
Smart Mode — learns your routine over time
Override moment emotional check-in
Safety always on — calls & maps never blocked

Real people. Real change.

After six weeks I wasn't opening Instagram anymore. Not because I was blocked — I just didn't want to. That's the thing no other app has done.

🧑

Marcus T.

Software engineer, London

36% close before even entering the app

The override question sounds so simple but it genuinely changed something. When you have to say "I'm anxious" before opening Twitter, you realise what you're actually doing.

👩

Priya M.

Teacher, Manchester

Completed the full 14-day challenge

I've tried every app blocker. They lasted about three days each. The Presence Project is the first thing that made me feel seen rather than managed.

🧔

Dan F.

Freelance writer, Bristol

Now in the Presence Club waitlist

The weekly report said "You override most on Tuesday nights when you're tired." I actually cried a little. It was the first time an app felt like it understood me.

👩‍🦱

Sophie K.

NHS nurse, Edinburgh

Course completion: 100%

Your phone habit,finally understood.

Most phone habit apps don't work.Here's why.

Start with the app.Go deeper when you're ready.