MeBeMe's new app nudges users toward real-world habits instead of doomscrolling

MeBeMe positions itself as an “interrupter” app: rather than locking users out of social media, it delivers small missions and tasks meant to encourage real-world habits tied to the person a user wants to become. It joins a growing wave of anti-doomscrolling tools as more people look for ways to cut down on social media use, but distinguishes itself by nudging users toward action instead of restricting access.

To start, users pick an identity they want to embody — a “lifelong learner,” for instance — and MeBeMe sends occasional notifications with quick tasks related to that identity, such as watching a seven-minute educational video. Someone who chooses “classics reader” might get a mission to attend a local book club or lecture. The app offers more than 75 identities across categories including “Mind” (mathematician, scientist, historian, chess player), “Body” (athlete, dancer, cyclist, runner), and categories focused on relationships and home-based interests like cooking and gardening. Users can select multiple identities at once to build habits across different areas of their lives, and they control how often they receive notifications — daily or only occasionally. A feature called “Break Your Scroll” uses Siri to read the missions aloud.

MeBeMe officially launched last Wednesday. It was created by Eric Wolfram, who originally built it for his son before realizing it was just as useful for himself. “Small actions, repeated over time, shape who you are,” Wolfram writes on his website. “Becoming who you are is a lifelong project.”

Wolfram says privacy is one of the app’s defining features: MeBeMe requires no account, stores all user data on the device, and lets users turn off anonymous usage-data sharing. The app is available as a free download for iOS, with an Android version coming soon. There are no ads or subscriptions.

Why it matters

MeBeMe is betting that habit-replacement, not restriction, is what keeps people off their phones — a different premise from most anti-doomscrolling tools, which work by blocking access instead of redirecting it.