Reversing digital addiction: meet Ratio by Blloc
Do you remember that feeling of being deeply engaged in something? Captivated, curious, focused.
It got lost somewhere back in 2007.
Is awareness enough?
The more we’ve progressed technologically, the less focused we’ve become. We slowly adapted to cluttered interfaces, attention grabbing features, endless notifications. We’ve turned into data points in engagement metrics’ platforms. And the world has become aware of it. We’ve seen a huge wave of humane tech awareness overflowing into the mainstream media. We watched The Social Dilemma, heard the Congress hearings in Washington DC, read books on digital minimalism, biohacking, and habit forming. We’re aware of how hyper-personalization is out to get us.
This has created a surge of apps focused on digital wellbeing, mindfulness, productivity, and minimalism. Yet these solutions require you to be proactive, and the root issues remain unaddressed: the fundamental way you interact with your phone has barely changed.
The most valuable space on your phone
There’s a split second between closing an app and opening another one. It is not a conscious decision anymore. It has become a habit. Automated. Subconscious.
And all of it starts in one place: your homescreen.
It’s an extremely valuable and competitive place. You’re up against a multi-billion dollar industry — disguised as harmless app icons — on a race to the bottom for your attention. We don’t think it’s fair.
At this point, most articles on digital wellbeing will suggest muting notifications, setting time limits, uninstalling social media, or another short term solution. We are asked to set our own boundaries with technology. The problem is that we can cross them at any time. We are faced with the dilemma: “Who watches the watchers?”. We see this as unsustainable solution, destined to fail in the long run. Therefore, we wanted to approach this problem at a more fundamental level.
This lead us back to the homescreen. Where it all began.
Ratio™
ra·tio | \ ˈrā-shē-ō \
1: A minimal homescreen to enhance productivity, improve your focus, and revolutionize how you connect.
Light. Powerful. Effective.
The original homescreen has created a frictionless path to distraction. We have created a frictionless path to reclaiming your attention.
Ratio is an app that takes over your original homescreen, and creates a completely new smartphone experience — based on humane design principles. We prioritize your digital wellbeing, uninterrupted connection, and personal productivity.
It’s not something you’ve seen before.
Ratio comes with 3 screens: Tiles, Conversations, and Root.
Tiles — your apps, organized into drawers
We made it simple for you: group your apps into drawers that reflect your lifestyle and personal needs. Pin apps for
No flashy colors, no distractions.
Ratio shows you the screen time for each app, allowing you to build awareness and positive digital wellbeing habits.
Conversations — all your messages on one screen
Our desire to connect doesn’t have to be dependent on social apps and their distracting features. So, we streamlined your messaging and notifications into one screen.
Conversations lets you group messaging by people — not by app, set focus hours, and send auto-replies.
Root — easy access to essentials
Meet interactive Cards.
Weather. News. Music. Search.
And many more.
Root is easily customizable — cards can be pinned for high priority or cleared after use.
Ratio declutters your mind: the monochrome tone and unified aesthetic resets apps to their initial purpose. We minimized the patterns that lead you into the rabbit hole of distraction.
Ratio is innovative: we bring functionality and design never before seen to your homescreen, according to your actual needs. Focus on what matters at any moment.
Ratio makes it easy to connect: we spend 60% of our time on messaging apps. Most of it is lost switching between apps, and getting lost in features that distract us from connecting.
No more distraction, no more endless scrolling, no more addiction. More time off screen, doing the things you’ve intended to do.
Remember — it is not about your willpower. It’s about technology that makes the need for willpower obsolete.
Ratio in the Wild
Ratio is designed by Blloc — based in San Francisco and Berlin.
People first, apps second.
