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Smart Dumbphone – private, secure and distraction-free

You wanted to buy a dumbphone?

Then read this article first before you burn your money on the next trend.

Let’s get started!

What is a dumbphone?

Bruchst Du Twitter wirklich - Smart Dumbphone Steffen Lippke
Do you really need Twitter

A dumbphone is a mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. Many dumbphones have a keypad rather than a touchscreen. In 2025, the mobile phone will be considered “dumb” because the smart “smartphones” with cameras, internet, apps and the like can do much more.

What is a smartphone?

A smartphone is a complete computer that offers functions such as an internet connection, a GPS, Bluetooth and camera sensor.

The app stores of the Android and iOS operating systems offer millions of apps, small programmes that extend the range of functions. Apps are programs that are optimised for mobile touch use.

What is the problem with dumbphones?

Many people who have developed a smartphone addiction swear by dumbphones. They offer fewer distractions from social media and apps.

Many influencers massively underestimate the usefulness of a smartphone and ignore it. Not all smartphone features are addictive, but are everyday helpers that we take for granted, combining 10 devices into one:

Steffen Lippke
  1. Camera app → SLR camera
  2. Navigation apps → Navigation device
  3. Data transfer → USB stick
  4. Notes, to-do list → Notepad
  5. Offline music, podcast and multimedia → Music player
Navi will jeder haben - Smart Dumbphone Steffen Lippke
Everyone wants a sat nav

Some hip new mobile phone manufacturers are launching dumbphones with a limited range of features. These mobile phones have several disadvantages:

  1. Expensive: Trendy product
  2. Vendor lock-in: You can only use the retailer’s apps
  3. Limited: No other apps often available
  4. Poor hardware: E-book screen, poor no camera, no GPS etc.

What is a smart dumbphone?

This article is intended to encourage you not to buy a dumbphone, but to make a radical transformation with your mobile phone. The Smart Dumbphone is a smartphone with a deliberately limited app selection that offers you a high level of utility with minimal distraction:

Private

A smart dumbphone doesn’t need social media apps and games, which are usually privacy killers and trackers. You can equip a smart dumbphone yourself with open source apps that offer you an advantage without adverts, notifications or tracking:

  • Podcasts: AtennaPod
  • Music: VLC
  • Notes: Joplin

Secure

A smart dumbphone doesn’t need a Play Store with 1000s of malware apps or rooting. A custom Rom with the latest security updates is more secure than a 2-year-old Samsung smartphone.

More distraction-free

With a smart dumbphone, you can choose which apps are allowed to display what. Since Android 8, the notifications are very finely adjustable.

Guide for your Smart Dumbphone

1. Complete reset

To start from scratch, take your current smartphone and back up all data first.

Then you can reset your smartphone. If you are tech-savvy, overwrite your phone with a custom rom (Android) or jailbreak (iOS) for full control over your phone. A Custom Rom without Google Play Services saves storage space and battery.

Custom Rom für Android Gerate - Smart Dumbphone Steffen Lippke
Custom Rom for Android devices

A full reset is useful because we can start from a fresh canvas. Instead of deleting apps, we should only add the apps that have a positive effect on your life. You also forget many apps that have no relevance in your life. You save memory.

2. Uninstall Google / iOS bloatware

Most Android stock ROMs and iOS contain unnecessary software (bloatware). Uninstall or really deactivate all apps except for a browser to reload apps.

3. Select apps carefully

What else do you want to do with your smart dumbphone? Keep in touch with friends? Make phone calls? SMS? Photos?

If possible, only install open source apps on your Android device that are guaranteed to be free of tracking and advertising:

You can find even more apps here: https://www.kuketz-blog.de/empfehlungsecke/#android

In an ideal world, you can only get by with open source apps. But reality shows that we also need some commercial apps: Banking apps, the peer group communication app (WhatsApp) etc. Try to severely restrict the commercial app’s access to your contacts, documents, etc.

Many people don’t even realise that you can use a web/computer version of the app. Consider using the web version in the future.

The big advantage of a computer version is that app X can’t constantly distract you because the app is available in your pocket. Nevertheless, you can continue to use the app and use it on the computer at healthy intervals (in the evening, once a week).

4. Optimise every notification

There are three levels of notification on a smart dumbphone: standard hidden, silent-appearing and audible

Standard Hidden: These apps are not allowed to emit sound and display a visual notification or message dot. You can only see the notification when you actively navigate to the apps. Apps in “Standard hidden” mode are all games, social media, fun apps, system apps, utility apps and all other apps without relevance.

Quiet Appearance: Apps in which you regularly interact with real people may send a silent notification. You can decide whether the app is allowed to wake up the screen or not. If your mobile phone is lying on the table, the light-up can be distracting. All “relevant” group chats are in “silent appearance” mode

Audible: Your mobile phone emits an audible tone for a 1-to-1 message when a close relative, boss or important colleague wants to reach you. All calls from important people should remain audible. You can supplement the “audible” mode with quiet night and meeting times when you don’t want to be disturbed or only hear the call after the third call in 5 minutes. This procedure prevents every guy from being able to hear you from your concentration, and you don’t care about advertising calls.

5. Track your screen time

If you still have to have addictive apps (messenger, games, social media) on your mobile phone, limit the time with the Digital Wellbeing app from Google and monitor your smartphone usage closely.

Offline vs. online content

A smart dumbphone can do more than just make calls and send text messages. The web presents us with multimedia content based on algorithms. Recommendation systems based on artificial intelligence present the next interesting thing right next to the video or image. Our monkey brain is trapped in a loop of dopamine stimuli.

Inhalte herunterladen - Smart Dumbphone Steffen Lippke
Downloading content

When we enjoy content such as videos, images and podcasts offline, then …

  • no smart algorithms are active
  • are less distracted by other online content
  • can only store and consume a limited amount of content
  • save battery power through mobile phone transmission
  • not dependent on the internet – entertainment on the train, in tunnels and remote regions

These advantages help to reduce smartphone consumption and enjoy content again in a healthy way and with full concentration.

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