Everything a writer, newsletter or creator needs to describe Pinky without asking. Copy any of it. Images are below; more on request from hello@sundaylabs.co.uk. Pinky is made by a couple who use it on each other, and they stay out of the story: no names, please.
One line
Pinky is a pinky promise between two phones: open Instagram past the deal, and your partner knows.
Short (about 60 words)
Pinky is an app for scrolling less with someone you love. Two phones make a promise: so many minutes a day on Instagram (or any app you pick), nothing in sleep time. Go over, and the other one gets a ping: "Caught! Sam just opened Instagram." Nothing is blocked. Someone you chose just knows. No accounts, end-to-end encrypted, Android and iPhone.
Long (about 200 words)
Screen-time apps block you, and you tap "ignore limit for today". Pinky does the opposite: it never blocks anything, it tells a person instead.
You and your partner (or a few friends) make a promise on your phones: a daily allowance for the apps you choose, and a sleep time with no allowance at all. Inside the deal, the others only see your minutes. Go over, or open the app in sleep time, and everyone in the promise is told within seconds, with a nudge ready to send back: "Pinky promise, remember?" A look under a minute doesn't count. Changing the deal takes everyone's yes, and so does dropping a watched app, so nobody quietly lets themselves off.
Pinky Plus turns the promise into a small team game: each day you keep the deal or break it, and breaking it costs a penalty you set together ("Loser makes breakfast"), with a streak and a prize at the end. One subscription unlocks it for the whole promise.
Pinky sees only which app is on screen, never what happens inside it. There are no accounts and no analytics; everything shared with your promise is encrypted on the phone with a code the server never sees. It runs on Android and iPhone, and a promise can mix both.
Facts
| Name | Pinky |
| What | Social accountability for screen time: a promise between phones, not a blocker |
| Platforms | Android (Google Play) and iPhone (App Store); mixed promises work |
| Price | Free: catching, nudges, the deal. Pinky Plus (the game): monthly or yearly subscription, two-week free trial |
| Privacy | No accounts, no ads, no analytics; end-to-end encrypted; the relay can't read messages |
| Watched apps | Instagram by default; any app on Android, any app via Screen Time on iPhone |
| Made by | Sunday Labs Ltd (England and Wales, company number 17555468); built by a couple for themselves first |
| Website | pinkypromise.social |
| @pinkypromise.app | |
| Google Play | play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instablock.app |
| App Store | link follows when Apple approves version 1.0 |
| Contact | hello@sundaylabs.co.uk |
Why it exists
Two people in bed, both on Instagram, both with a screen-time limit they'd already dismissed. A blocker is a wall you climb over alone; a promise to a person is harder to break. So they built the app that tells the other one. The first version watched Instagram on two Android phones; the iPhone app followed so a promise could mix Android and iPhone, and the game came last.
What it never does
- Block an app, or read what you do inside one.
- Share a play-by-play: inside the deal, friends see minutes today, never which app or when.
- Keep your data: no accounts, nothing stored unencrypted off the phone, messages gone from the relay after 12 hours.
- Work as parental control: it's for adults keeping a promise with each other.
Quotes you may use
Attribute them to "the makers of Pinky".
- "We didn't want a wall. We wanted the other person to notice."
- "The rule that made it work: a quick look doesn't count. Accidents happen; scrolling doesn't."
- "Changing the deal takes everyone's yes. That one line is most of the product."
Images
Right-click to save. Colours: lime #D7FF3B, pink #FF3C8E, ink #141414. Type: Archivo Black (headings), Archivo (text), both open licence. Please don't recolour the icon or set the name in another typeface.
Screenshots show demo data (Mia and Sam), 1080x2160. Larger iPhone renderings on request.