Why I Use a Dumbphone in 2025 (and Why You Should Too)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Practical Barriers to Using a Dumbphone

  • Many key services are increasingly app-only: banking (including PSD2-style SCA in Europe), national e‑ID systems (e.g., BankID), UPI in India, school communication, WhatsApp-only business/government support, and some car parks and retail payments.
  • Some hardware (printers, cameras, CCTV) requires a phone app for setup; web interfaces are often hidden or missing.
  • Dumbphone options are shrinking as 2G/3G are shut down; 4G-capable “feature phones” can be buggy and often ship with unwanted Android + bloatware.
  • Group messaging (WhatsApp/Signal/Threema) and maps/navigation are cited as the biggest blockers to going fully “dumb”.

Workarounds and “Dumbified Smartphone” Strategies

  • Keep a smartphone but strip it down: uninstall/disable browser and social apps, turn off notifications, use only authenticator/banking/maps.
  • Stronger self-restraint setups:
    • iOS Screen Time / Focus modes with whitelists, disabled App Store, allowed sites only, and PINs controlled by another person or timelocked.
    • Supervised MDM profiles that the user cannot override on impulse.
  • Use friction: grayscale display, huge fonts, minimalist launchers with delays, long passwords, cheap/slow hardware, or an e‑paper phone with keyboard.
  • Hybrid models: dumbphone for daily carry + smartphone in drawer for OTP/banking; tablet or laptop + Wi‑Fi instead of a pocket computer.

Addiction, Attention, and Behavior

  • Many treat smartphone use as genuine addiction; “just don’t install TikTok” is compared to “just eat less” for obesity.
  • Several recount reinstalling browsers or apps after removing them; external controls are seen as more reliable than willpower.
  • Some criticize sensational “declining attention span” charts as uncited and misleading, linking to counter-arguments that debunk the goldfish comparison.

Accessibility, Rights, and Regulation

  • Strong criticism of making essential services app‑only (parking, charging, transit tickets, payments); argued this should be banned under accessibility law.
  • Concern over being effectively forced to accept Google/Apple EULAs to be a “functioning citizen”.
  • Others push back that smartphones per se aren’t the problem; addictive UX patterns and unnecessary high-tech replacements for robust low-tech systems are.

Privacy and Communication Tradeoffs

  • One side: fewer apps and no app ecosystems significantly reduce corporate tracking.
  • Other side: phones (smart or dumb) remain heavily logged by carriers and may run poorly secured OSes; privacy gains are limited against state-level actors.
  • Messaging norms complicate dumbphone use: some insist chats are essential and more respectful/asynchronous; others advocate more phone calls or alternative platforms (e.g., Matrix) and argue social graphs can shift if users take a stand.