BackToYou

About

Have you ever "woken up" 30 minutes deep in a feed of Shorts, Reels, or endless comment sections?

The internet is built on autoplay. BackToYou introduces the autostop. It is a small, quiet companion for those moments when your attention drifts a little further than you intended.

💡 Why I built this
BackToYou started by accident. One day, I closed a tab by mistake while I was deep inside an endless scrolling loop. I felt so surprised that I suddenly had my choice back. That small moment of silence stayed with me. BackToYou is a humble attempt to recreate that moment on purpose.

What it does
Unlike traditional website blockers that rely on strict timers or guilt-trips, BackToYou doesn't tell you what to do. Once it detects the familiar rhythm of the endless scroll—like swiping through a continuous feed of Shorts or drifting deep into a comment section—it quietly steps in.

Without any warning timers or popups, it simply closes the tab. The noise stops, the trance breaks, and you are suddenly left with a quiet screen. In that unexpected pause, you get your space to breathe, allowing you to choose if you want to hit 'Reopen' or finally step away.

✨ How It Works:

Reel Mode: Notices when you are swiping through short-form feeds (Shorts, Reels, etc.). After a randomized threshold of swipes, it gracefully closes the tab.

Comment Mode: Becomes active when a video ends but you keep scrolling through the comments and recommended videos.

Adjustable Randomness: To keep the pause feeling like a natural surprise rather than a strict rule, it triggers after a random number of swipes. You have full control over the minimum and maximum limits.

Going back is easy: If you genuinely want to keep watching, just press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + T (or use the popup) to reopen the tab exactly where you left off.

Smart Detection: Any deliberate click or keypress counts as active intention and resets the counters. BackToYou stays completely out of your way when you are actively exploring.

🛡️ Privacy First & Always
BackToYou runs entirely locally on your device. It doesn’t track you, profile you, or send your data anywhere. Absolutely nothing is collected or monetized.