When homework turns into an hour of Reels: minulo for teachers, schools and student support (iPhone)
This page is for middle and high school teachers, university staff, tutoring schools, student counseling and health centers, and student groups. You have probably heard stories like these from students.
This page is written by the developer of minulo. Each student installs minulo on their own iPhone from the App Store. Menu names can change with app and iOS updates.
Scenes students know well
- Opening their phone to do homework, then realizing they have been watching Reels for an hour.
- Meaning to answer one group chat message and ending up watching 30 YouTube Shorts.
- "Just one video" before bed, and suddenly it is 1 a.m.
- Deleting Instagram before exams and reinstalling it the day exams end.
- Deleting Instagram, then missing a message from their club or team.
minulo's published data shows the same pattern: most social media sessions inside the app happen between 8 pm and 1 am (Japan time).
In each case the problem is not the app itself but the parts that never end: Reels, Shorts and recommended feeds. Instead of deleting the app or blocking all of it, minulo removes only those parts. DMs and club messages keep working.
| Approach | Reels / Shorts | Class chats in DMs and groups |
|---|---|---|
| Delete Instagram | Gone | Gone too |
| Screen Time app limit | Blocked once the limit is used up | Blocked with the rest of the app |
| minulo | Hidden | Keep working in minulo |
What minulo does
- Hides only Instagram Reels and Explore, YouTube Shorts and TikTok's For You.
- Keeps DMs, friends' posts and regular YouTube videos.
- Hiding them is free.
- If the official apps are locked with Screen Time, tapping the usual icon shows a block screen with an Open in minulo button that leads to the Reels-free view.
- Blocking the official apps is also free: up to 2 hours at a time, and it can be started again any number of times. Longer blocks and schedules are part of minulo Pro.
- While an official app is blocked, its notifications don't arrive. DMs can be read in minulo.
- iPhone only (an Android version is in preparation).
What teachers and schools can do
- Tell students about it. Everything above works with the free features.
- Use it as a topic in class or homeroom. Not "quit social media", but "keep it and change how you use it": compare deleting the app, time limits, and removing only the endless feeds.
- If a class or group wants to try the paid features (Pro), you can ask by email. Write the number of people and how you plan to use it to workflowai.japan@gmail.com. Each request gets a personal reply.
Usage data
minulo publishes its first-month anonymous usage data. Of 577 people who answered the optional age question during setup (late September to mid-October 2026), 87% were 24 or younger. Samples are small (hundreds of people) and only cover people who installed minulo.
Student data and privacy
minulo has no account sign-up and does not collect names or email addresses. It does not send the pages people view, what they type, or social media IDs and passwords; logging in happens on each service's own page. To improve the app, it sends only anonymous usage data.
Is it free to use?
Yes. Hiding Reels, Shorts and TikTok For You is free. Blocking the official apps is also free for up to 2 hours at a time and can be started again any number of times. Longer blocks and schedules are part of minulo Pro.
What about Android?
minulo is iPhone only for now. An Android version is in preparation.
What data is collected about students?
There is no account, and no names or email addresses are collected. The pages people view and what they type are not sent. Only anonymous usage data is sent, to improve the app.
Can a whole class or group try it together?
Email workflowai.japan@gmail.com with the number of people and how you plan to use it, and we can talk about ways to try Pro.
