April 1, 2026
No Reels, big feels
Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)
iPhone app kills Reels and Shorts — fans cheer, skeptics shout 'just an extension'
TLDR: Dull is an iPhone browser that strips out Reels, Shorts, and junk feeds while adding on‑device limits and friction. Commenters are split between praising the anti‑algorithm cleanse and blasting it as a paid “should’ve been an extension,” with big worries about takedowns and lifetime plans if platforms break it.
Dull is an iPhone browser that opens the real Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X — then quietly strips the bait: no Reels, no Shorts, no “For You,” no trending. It adds time limits, grayscale, and even little “friction gates” like a wait timer or a quick math problem before you dive in. It’s on‑device, no account, with a 3‑day free trial and a simple price tag. Sounds clean, right? The comments are anything but.
The top vibe is split. One camp is clapping: finally a tool that pushes back on the junk feeds and “toxic dark design patterns.” Another camp rolls its eyes: “This could have been a Safari Extension,” says one, while others point to free options like IGPlus, DFinstagram, and even a simple YouTube Shorts remover. The spiciest thread? Risk. A commenter warns that “selling an interface to Instagram and YouTube” is asking for a takedown, and side‑eyes the yearly and lifetime plans if the platforms change the rules tomorrow.
Meanwhile, nostalgia and snark collide: “we needed a whole app just to get Instagram from five years ago” became the running joke. People also cracked up at grayscale as “funeral mode for dopamine” and the math challenge as “do homework before doomscrolling.”
Key Points
- •Dull is an iOS social media browser that filters short-form and algorithmic feeds from major platforms.
- •It removes Instagram Reels/Explore/suggested posts; YouTube Shorts; Facebook Reels; and X’s For You, ads, trending, and Grok.
- •Core tools include per-platform time limits, quiet hours, friction gates, grayscale mode, usage tracking, and a commitment lock with PIN.
- •All processing is on-device with no accounts or servers; the app loads real mobile sites and strips content before display.
- •Pricing is $3.99/month or $14.99/year with a 3-day free trial; the page also states “Pay once, keep forever.”