How ScreenLeash works

From goal creation to penalty charge — a complete walkthrough of the system, step by step.

The breach lifecycle

Track usage

Check ceiling

Breach detected

Charge penalty

Rerail line

Notify (Slack)

Next-day respite

Set a goal

Give your goal a name (e.g. “Social media”) and add one or more websites to track — instagram.com, facebook.com, youtube.com, etc. All listed sites share the same daily limit and ceiling. Set your daily rate (minutes per day). A ceiling rises at that rate; stay below it.

Example: Name "Social media", sites instagram.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, 30 minutes per day. Time on any of those sites counts toward one shared ceiling. You can also add a single site per goal if you prefer.

Usage is tracked automatically

The Chrome extension monitors your active tab. When you're on any of the websites in a goal, seconds accumulate toward that goal's ceiling. Everything is synced to the database — nothing is lost if you close your browser.

Tracking pauses when you're idle, when the tab is in the background, or when you switch to an untracked site. Only active, foreground time counts.

No-buffer limit

Today's limit = your total usage through yesterday + your daily rate. Unused time does not roll over.

If your rate is 30 min/day: Day 1 limit = 30 min. Day 2 limit = (Day 1 usage) + 30 min. So if you used 20 min on Day 1, Day 2 limit = 20 + 30 = 50 min — not 60. Tomorrow's limit is always today's total usage + rate.

Breach detection

Every 60 seconds, the extension checks: has your cumulative usage crossed the ceiling? If yes, a breach fires. The server atomically records the breach, charges the penalty, rerails the line, and notifies you.

The check runs continuously while you browse. The moment your total usage exceeds the ceiling, the breach fires — no delay, no grace period.

Rerail — the line snaps to you

After a breach, the ceiling moves to your current usage. This prevents you from being permanently stuck above the ceiling with no way to recover. You get a fresh start — but you still paid the penalty.

New ceiling = current usage + cooldown allowance. The cooldown gives you exactly that many minutes of headroom before the next breach can fire.

After a breach

The next day's limit is simply yesterday's total usage + your daily rate. No extra ceiling is added (no respite); you start from where you left off.

With the no-buffer model, we do not add ceiling the morning after a breach. Your limit for the new day = yesterday's cumulative usage + rate, so you can recover without banking unused time.

Continuous penalty during binges

If you keep watching after a breach, more breaches fire. Each one raises the ceiling by the cooldown amount and charges the next escalated penalty. You can't just "eat the penalty" and binge freely.

With a 30-minute cooldown: first breach fires, ceiling rises 30 min. 30 minutes later if you're still over, second breach fires. The penalty doubles each time.

Penalty escalation

The first breach is free — a warning. The second costs your starting penalty (e.g. ₹50). Each subsequent breach doubles: ₹100, ₹200, ₹400, up to your cap. Penalties never reset automatically.

This exponential escalation means the system quickly finds your actual pain threshold. At some point, the penalty is enough to make you close the tab.

7-day akrasia horizon

Want to change your rate, respite, or penalty? The change takes 7 days to apply. You can't weaken your commitment in the moment of temptation. Think of it like a parent who won't reduce the punishment just because the child is crying right now — the rational, calm version of you sets the rules, and the impulsive version has to live with them.

The delay forces you to stay committed for a full week before any weakening takes effect. By the time the change applies, most people realize they don't actually want it and cancel. New goal creation is immediate (adding commitment, not weakening it). Goal deletion also has a 7-day delay. You can cancel pending changes anytime.

Payment mandate

To enable automatic charges, you set up a payment mandate (UPI Autopay or Card Standing Instruction via Cashfree). Breaches deduct from this mandate automatically — no manual payment needed.

You authorize a maximum mandate amount. Each breach charges only the penalty amount for that breach, never more.

The cumulative model, visualized

Day	Ceiling	Usage	Buffer	Status
Mon	30m	25m	5m	Safe
Tue	60m	50m	10m	Safe
Wed	90m	55m	35m	Safe — banked buffer
Thu	120m	125m	-5m	BREACH
Thu (post-rerail)	155m	125m	30m	Rerailed + cooldown

Example: 30 min/day goal with 30-min cooldown allowance. On Thursday, a binge pushes usage over the ceiling, triggering a breach. The rerail snaps the ceiling to usage + cooldown.

Reading the signals: when to adjust your goals

Breaches aren't just punishments — they're data. How often you breach tells you whether your goals are calibrated correctly.

Breaching constantly

If you're continuously below the red line — multiple breaches per week — your goals are too aggressive. Your daily rate doesn't match your actual capacity.

Action: Increase your daily rate to something achievable, then tighten gradually once stable. (Takes 7 days to apply.)

Always on the edge

If you use almost exactly your allowance every day with zero buffer, one bad day will breach you. You're living without breathing room.

Action: Increase your rate or respite so you have a buffer for bad days. Sustainability beats perfection.

Well-calibrated

Most days, comfortably below the ceiling. Some banked buffer. Occasional bad day dips into the buffer. Rare breach that reminds you to course-correct.

This is the target. The system is working as intended — the threat of penalty keeps you in check without constant punishment.

Ready to put real stakes on your screen time?

Create an account, install the Chrome extension, name a goal, add the sites you want to limit, and put money on the line.