Why DoomToll asks for Accessibility access

If you're deciding whether to trust DoomToll with this permission, this page is for you. It's the one permission on your phone that carries real power, so it deserves a straight answer, not a line buried in a settings screen.

What DoomToll actually is

DoomToll notices when you've been scrolling for a long time in apps you've chosen, and answers by letting decay creep across your screen, grime, then cobwebs, then cracks, then fog, until a bell tolls and asks you to stop. It never locks you out. Every interruption offers a way past it.

Why it needs Accessibility access

To notice that you're scrolling, and in which app, DoomToll needs to be told two things by Android: which app is currently in front, and that a scroll happened. The only way an app can be told that, on Android, is through the Accessibility Service API.

This is the same category of permission used by legitimate screen-time and accessibility tools. It's also, fairly, one of the most misused permissions on Android, which is exactly why it deserves this page instead of a vague settings toggle.

Exactly what it can see

What reaches DoomToll:

  • Which app is currently open
  • That a scroll happened

What never reaches DoomToll:

  • The content of your screen
  • Anything you type
  • Messages, account details, or passwords
  • Any other content displayed on your device

DoomToll's Accessibility Service is configured to not retrieve window content at all, and it's subscribed to only two kinds of event: the foreground app changing, and a scroll occurring. It doesn't ask Android for the ability to read your screen, which means Android never gives it that ability. This isn't a promise about how the app behaves, it's a limit built into what the app requests in the first place, and it's checkable: the Play Store lists an app's permissions publicly.

What happens to what it does see

Nothing leaves your device. DoomToll has no internet permission, so it cannot send data anywhere even if it wanted to. What it notices (an app opening, a scroll happening) is used in the moment, to decide whether to start showing decay, and the only things stored afterward are your own settings (which apps you've chosen to watch, your timing preferences), kept locally on your device.

How to turn it off

You're in control of this permission at any time:

  1. Open your device's Settings app
  2. Go to Accessibility
  3. Find DoomToll in the list of services
  4. Turn it off

Turning it off stops DoomToll from noticing scrolling in any app. The app will still open normally, it simply won't be able to track time in the apps you'd chosen to watch until you turn the permission back on.

Questions

If anything here isn't clear, or you'd like to verify any of it yourself, reach out at andrew@pigseldesign.com.