The science behind our app
Offbit pairs two well-studied mechanisms. The first is social accountability: friends who can see your progress and notice when you slip. The second is friction: a deliberate pause that interrupts a compulsive app launch. We didn't run the studies below — they're from the broader research field — but together they describe each half of what Offbit does.
1. Why your squad makes you follow through
Six papers on accountability, goal pursuit, and how close friendships scaffold behaviour change. Matthews (2007) is the load-bearing one — it directly tests written commitments and weekly progress updates with a friend.
The Impact of Commitment, Accountability, and Written Goals on Goal Achievement
Participants who wrote down their goals, committed to a friend, and sent weekly progress updates achieved their goals at rates significantly higher than those who did any of those alone.
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Distinguishing Autonomous and Directive Forms of Goal Support: Their Effects on Goal Progress and Well-Being
Support that respects autonomy — friends cheering you on rather than policing you — produced the largest gains in goal progress. The Offbit leaderboard surfaces the same kind of soft pressure.
READ THE PAPER →A New Look at Social Support: A Theoretical Perspective on Thriving Through Relationships
Close relationships scaffold goal pursuit through encouragement and presence — the mechanism behind why having a squad watching translates into actually following through.
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Attaining Personal Goals: Self-Concordance Plus Implementation Intentions Equals Success
Goals you set for yourself, combined with concrete "if-then" plans, predict actual follow-through better than vague intent. Offbit asks for both: pick the apps, agree the cap.
READ THE PAPER →Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being
People stay motivated when their actions feel autonomous, competent, and relational. A private squad provides all three: you choose, you progress, you do it together.
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Looking to Happy Tomorrows With Friends: Best and Close Friendships as They Predict Happiness
Quality of close friendships predicts wellbeing — the payoff of a goal pursued with friends is bigger than the goal alone.
READ THE PAPER →2. Why the block screen works
Three peer-reviewed and government field studies on adding intentional friction before an app launch.
Longitudinal In-the-Wild Investigation of Design Frictions to Prevent Smartphone Overuse
A six-week field study showing that intentional friction screens significantly reduce smartphone session length and daily opens, with effects that persist over time.
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Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec
A controlled study: a self-nudge that interrupts an app launch for one second reduced daily app opens by 57% on average, with users reporting higher life satisfaction.
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Disrupting Social Media Habits — A Field Experiment with Young Danish Consumers
A government-run randomised field experiment with 18–24-year-olds: friction-based interventions cut self-reported social-media time and increased the perceived value of unused time.
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