kasparnoorApr 1

Show HN: Dull – Instagram Without Reels, YouTube Without Shorts (iOS)

I kept deleting and redownloading Instagram because I couldn't stop watching Reels but needed the app for DMs. Tried screen time limits, just overrode them. So I built this.

Dull loads Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X and filters out short-form content with a mix of CSS and JS injection. MutationObserver handles anything that lazy-loads after the page renders, which is most of the annoying stuff since these platforms love to load content dynamically.

The ongoing work is maintaining the filters. Platforms change their DOM all the time, Instagram obfuscates class names, YouTube restructures how Shorts appear in the feed, etc. It's a cat-and-mouse thing that never really ends.

Also has grayscale mode, time limits, and usage tracking.

Happy to answer questions.

https://getdull.app

Dull — social media. less of it.

Reels gone. Shorts gone. Algorithmic feeds gone. Time limits, grayscale, friction gates, usage tracking. And that's just the start.

Show threadSoKamil
This could have been Safari Extension
Apr 1 at 10:28pmWeb
Show threadmind_heistApr 1
Instagram is not predominantly used on Safari, so Safari doesn't sound like the best place to implement something like this.
Show threadnativeitApr 1
Isn’t this just WebKit with some user scripts anyway?
Show threaddnlzroApr 1

The use case for this app (Dull):

1. Uninstall Instagram

2. Install Dull

3. Use Instagram via Dull

The use case for a Safari extension:

1. Uninstall Instagram

2. Install the Safari extension

3. Use Instagram via Safari

Am I missing something that is obviously better about Dull (which couldn't be replicated by a Safari extension)?

(P.S. this is not meant to discourage the developer of Dull; I like the idea and your implementation seems really good.)