BRINK
Next-generation focus app
Screen use can be harder to resist than cigarettes or alcohol.1
Brink was developed by healthcare professionals who understand the gravity of screen addiction and the real challenges people face with it.
We know that the current focus app landscape is not equipped to meet that challenge. A 2023 review of current focus tools found that they may help in the short term, but often fail to produce lasting behaviour change.2 A separate analysis of 334 screen-use self-control tools found that users wanted apps with more friction in moments of temptation.3
You are here because every other focus app you’ve tried has failed. That’s not your fault. They were built wrong.
Brink is our response.
The features
Pillar 01
Smart blocking.
Most current focus apps treat sites such as YouTube or Reddit as blanket no-go zones. But for a journalist covering the Gaza crisis, watching live reporting from the Gaza Strip on YouTube is legitimate work. A software developer reading a helpful post on reddit.com/r/programming should count as work as well. But watching a video about kitchen renovations isn’t. And it isn’t just the browser — Brink can judge open app and document metadata, so off-topic content in PDF readers and e-book readers can be blocked.
Real work gets through. Play doesn’t. Brink knows the difference.
You’re set up for cardiology exam prep.
Included in this session
Entertainment, social media, shopping and the like count as off-task.
You’re set up for criminal law exam prep.
Included in this session
Entertainment, social media, financial trading and the like count as off-task.
Declared focus
Cardiology exam
Declared focus
Criminal law exam
r/medicalschool
reddit.com/r/medicalschool
r/lawschool
reddit.com/r/lawschool
r/movies
reddit.com/r/movies
Cardiovascular | Cardiac Cycle
youtube.com/watch?v=xamYVlNF5Zo
Criminal Law: Introduction
youtube.com/watch?v=qpthxkNQmbc
Dune: Part Three | Official Teaser Trailer
youtube.com/watch?v=3_9vCamtuPY
Declared focus
Cardiology exam
Declared focus
Criminal law exam
Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine
Adobe Acrobat Reader · 22nd ed., McGraw Hill
Criminal Law: Text, Cases & Materials
Adobe Acrobat Reader · Herring, OUP
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Apple Books · e-book
Steam
Game launcher
Pillar 02
Real commitment.
Brink uses credits for focus sessions. Your first session is free. After that, the fee is deducted when a one-day session begins, so the commitment is made before distraction has a chance to negotiate with you.
Step 05 · 05
Review your session fee
One focus session lasts one day. Brink deducts the fee from your credit balance when the session starts.
Today’s fee
Session length
Every session runs until the same time tomorrow.
Deadline
Tomorrow · 09:00
Your fee discount reset.
You ended this focus session before the deadline. The credits used for it stay spent, and your next session will cost 20 credits.
Recorded details
Ended
Jun 15, 2026, 2:32 PM
Action
Ended early by you
You chose to end the session with 4h 32m still on the clock. Complete future sessions to bring the fee back down.
This was a deliberate choice, so there’s nothing to appeal.
When Brink is confident that a page or app has drifted outside the focus you declared, it blocks the surface and counts a warning. You get four. The fourth ends the session and returns your next fee to 20 credits. When the evidence is unclear, Brink lets you continue.
BRINK
youtube.com blocked
Off-topic for “Cardiology exam”. Three more will end this session and reset your next fee.
two warnings later
BRINK
reddit.com blocked
Off-topic again. One more will end this session and set the next fee to 20 credits.
fourth warning — session ends
BRINK
Out of warnings
This session has ended. Your next session fee is 20 credits.
Pillar 03
Airtight security.
A focus contract only means something if monitoring cannot be quietly switched off. Brink’s desktop client and browser extension send a constant heartbeat. The moment that signal stops — a killed process, disabled monitoring, or a severed connection — Brink knows within seconds.
Confirmed tampering is treated like ending early: the session ends and the next fee returns to 20 credits. Ambiguous connectivity gaps are reviewed instead of being treated as deliberate interference.
BRINK
Tamper detected
Brink detected an attempt to disable monitoring. This session has ended and your next fee is 20 credits.
Think this is wrong? Contact support — your activity record is available.
Genuine interruptions are handled gracefully. If the client or extension drops offline, Brink tells you and waits — a short gap is fine, and the moment the connection returns it confirms you’re live again. You are not punished for a dropped Wi-Fi connection.
BRINK
Brink isn’t live
Reconnect to bring Brink back and keep your session going.
Reconnect soon — a long gap can end the session.
moments later — connection returns
BRINK
Brink is live again
You’re all set — no action needed.
Pillar 04
Positive reinforcement.
We want you to succeed, and the economics make sustained focus the cheaper path. Credits pay the session fee. Your first session is free, and every qualifying completion reduces the fee charged for the next one.
Success compounds without time decay. Keep completing monitored sessions and the fee eventually reaches zero. Four off-topic warnings, confirmed tampering, or ending early resets the next fee to 20 credits. Ambiguous technical gaps do not erase your progress.
Credit movements are transparent in the dashboard ledger. Beta credit packs contain 100, 250, or 625 credits, and larger packs include a compounding bonus.
References
- Hofmann W, Vohs KD, Baumeister RF. What people desire, feel conflicted about, and try to resist in everyday life. Psychological Science. 2012;23(6):582–588. doi:10.1177/0956797612437426.
- Monge Roffarello A, De Russis L. Achieving digital wellbeing through digital self-control tools: a systematic review and meta-analysis. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 2023;30(4):53:1–53:66. doi:10.1145/3571810.
- Lyngs U, Lukoff K, Csuka L, Slovák P, Van Kleek M, Shadbolt N. The Goldilocks level of support: using user reviews, ratings, and installation numbers to investigate digital self-control tools. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 2022;166:102869. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102869.