Free test · 100 questions · ~4 minutes

The Phone Purity Test: how hooked are you, really?

100 yes-or-no questions about the small, very human things we do with our phones. Tick every one you’ve ever done, even once. Your score is the number of yeses: the higher it is, the more your phone has crept into the corners of your day. Nobody’s grading you, and most people tick more than they expect.

Tick every one that’s ever been true. Your answers never leave this page.

Morning1Have you ever checked your phone before getting out of bed?2Have you ever unlocked your phone with one eye still closed?3Have you ever turned off your alarm and opened an app in the same motion?4Have you ever hit snooze just to get nine more minutes of scrolling?5Have you ever read the news before saying good morning to anyone?6Have you ever answered a work message before brushing your teeth?7Have you ever let your coffee go cold because you were scrolling?8Have you ever been late because of something you started reading in bed?9Have you ever eaten breakfast with your phone propped up against something?10Have you ever felt behind on the day before you’d even stood up, because of something on your phone?

Bed and sleep11Have you ever stayed up past your bedtime scrolling?12Have you ever seen that it was after 1 a.m. and kept scrolling anyway?13Have you ever dropped your phone on your face in bed?14Have you ever said “five more minutes” and meant an hour?15Have you ever slept with your phone in the bed with you?16Have you ever woken up in the night and checked your phone?17Have you ever turned your screen down to the lowest brightness so you could keep scrolling in the dark?18Have you ever worked out how much sleep you’d get if you fell asleep right now, then kept going?19Have you ever fallen asleep with a video still playing?20Have you ever felt like late at night was the only time that was really yours, and spent it on your phone?

Work and study21Have you ever picked up your phone in the middle of writing a sentence?22Have you ever unlocked your phone, forgotten why, and locked it again?23Have you ever checked your phone in a meeting or class you were supposed to be following?24Have you ever put your phone face down to focus and flipped it back over within five minutes?25Have you ever read the same paragraph three times because you kept checking your phone?26Have you ever opened a social app while waiting for a page or file to load?27Have you ever missed a deadline, even by a little, because of scrolling?28Have you ever promised yourself you’d work better after a “quick break” on your phone?29Have you ever had a video playing on your phone while studying something you needed to remember?30Have you ever moved your phone to another room to concentrate, then gone to get it?

Social life31Have you ever checked your phone while someone was telling you something important?32Have you ever been asked “Are you even listening?” while looking at your phone?33Have you ever scrolled at dinner with friends or family?34Have you ever pulled out your phone the second your friend went to the bathroom?35Have you ever watched a concert or show mostly through your phone screen?36Have you ever sat on the couch with someone you love, both on your phones, in total silence?37Have you ever left someone on read because you were too deep in a feed to reply?38Have you ever looked at your phone to get out of an awkward moment?39Have you ever texted someone who was in the same room?40Have you ever been annoyed that someone ignored you for their phone, then done the same thing ten minutes later?

Just one more41Have you ever opened an app “for a second” and lost half an hour?42Have you ever closed an app and reopened it a few seconds later?43Have you ever opened the same app twice in a minute, knowing nothing had changed?44Have you ever scrolled so far that you started seeing posts you’d already seen?45Have you ever watched videos at 2x speed so you could fit in more videos?46Have you ever ended up deep in a topic you had zero interest in an hour earlier?47Have you ever said “last one” out loud to yourself?48Have you ever refreshed a feed right after refreshing it?49Have you ever looked up from your phone and noticed it had gotten dark?50Have you ever felt relieved when your phone died mid-scroll?

Bypassing your own limits51Have you ever set a screen time limit for yourself?52Have you ever tapped straight past a time limit you set yourself?53Have you ever given yourself “just 15 more minutes” twice in a row?54Have you ever deleted an app and reinstalled it within a week?55Have you ever deleted an app and then used it in the browser instead?56Have you ever raised a daily limit because you’d already used it up?57Have you ever set a Screen Time passcode you knew by heart?58Have you ever changed your phone’s date or time to get around a limit?59Have you ever switched to another device the moment your phone said no?60Have you ever turned off a blocker “just for tonight”?

Notifications and checking61Have you ever felt your phone buzz when it didn’t?62Have you ever checked your phone because someone else’s phone made a sound?63Have you ever had more than 99 unread notifications in one app?64Have you ever cleared all your notifications without reading a single one?65Have you ever opened an app just to make the red badge go away?66Have you ever looked at your Lock Screen to see if anything came in, and nothing had?67Have you ever turned notifications back on for an app the same day you turned them off?68Have you ever felt a tiny thrill at a notification, then disappointment at what it was?69Have you ever picked up your phone to read one notification and put it down 20 minutes later without having read it?70Have you ever checked the time on your phone, put it down, and picked it up again because you didn’t actually see the time?

Comparison and posting71Have you ever refreshed a post to see who’d liked it?72Have you ever deleted a post because it didn’t get enough likes?73Have you ever felt worse about your own life after scrolling through someone else’s?74Have you ever looked at an ex’s profile late at night?75Have you ever compared your body, home or job to a stranger’s online?76Have you ever taken more than 20 photos to post just one?77Have you ever planned an outing partly around how it would look online?78Have you ever checked who viewed your story more than once?79Have you ever bought something because a feed made you feel behind?80Have you ever scrolled past a friend’s good news and felt a pang instead of happiness?

Bathroom, travel and on the road81Have you ever taken your phone to the bathroom?82Have you ever stayed on the toilet long after you were done, because of your phone?83Have you ever walked into something or someone while looking at your phone?84Have you ever missed your stop on a bus or train because you were scrolling?85Have you ever felt a jolt of panic at 10% battery while you were out?86Have you ever turned around and gone home just for your phone?87Have you ever glanced at a notification while driving and thought, “that was a bad idea”?88Have you ever photographed a view on vacation more than you actually looked at it?89Have you ever chosen a café partly because of its outlets?90Have you ever checked your phone during an elevator ride that lasted ten seconds?

Home and everything else91Have you ever scrolled on your phone while watching TV?92Have you ever looked for your phone while holding it?93Have you ever kept scrolling while a kid, partner or pet was trying to get your attention?94Have you ever finished a whole meal without noticing how it tasted, because of your phone?95Have you ever been unpleasantly surprised by your weekly Screen Time report?96Have you ever rounded your screen time down when someone asked?97Have you ever had a sore thumb or wrist from holding your phone?98Have you ever searched “how to stop being on my phone” on your phone?99Have you ever started a phone detox and given up within a day?100Have you ever taken this test on your phone?

0 / 100

This is a just-for-fun self-check, not a clinical tool, a screening test or a diagnosis, and “phone addiction” is not an official diagnosis. If you want the research version, the instrument scientists use is the Smartphone Addiction Scale (Kwon et al., 2013, PLoS ONE), which also has a 10-item short version (SAS-SV). If your phone use is seriously affecting your sleep, work, relationships or mood, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional.

Whatever your score, tonight can be different

Give the apps that got the most ticks a daily limit. When it’s used up, they turn to brick.

The Phone Purity Test: how hooked are you, really?

Your result

Whatever your score, tonight can be different