Obol: Every crossing of Lethe costs an obol. Earn them first.
My phone was full of feeds I didn’t want to open and apps I kept meaning to. Obol makes you earn the feeds: time in Reels, Shorts and TikTok costs obols you earn in useful apps.
In the myth, Lethe is the river of forgetting, and Charon ferries souls across it for an obol. An endless feed is the same river. Obol pays you in obols for books, languages, lessons and meditations, and puts Charon at the gate of Reels, Shorts and TikTok. Night costs triple, every crossing costs more than the last, and turning back is always free. No ads, no account, no internet access.
Download the APK · Stillcraft page · Source on GitHub
What’s inside
Charon’s gate
Open Reels and the gate appears over it: why do you want to cross, a few breaths, then 5, 15 or 30 minutes, the meter, or a free pass from Hermes’ staff. The reel underneath is paused.
Only the feed costs
Reels and Shorts are paid; messages and the rest of the app stay free. Sites count in the browser too, down to a part like youtube.com/shorts.
A pantheon of your own
Calliope pays for reading, Hermes for languages, Athena for learning, Hestia for stillness, Nike for sport. Dedicate your own patron to guitar or code, with a symbol, a rate, a daily cap, apps and sites.
Time left and the mist
On the far shore a small plaque in the corner counts down the time you paid for. After five minutes a grey mist of Lethe creeps in from the edges of the screen.
Tariffs, debt and the oracle
Nyx’s hour triples the fare, every crossing of the day costs half again, Hades lends at interest, and the oracle names a patron who pays double for two hours.
Temple, rites and the Styx
Save obols for a real reward or let the treasury grow each Monday. Earn by rites with the phone face down. Swear by the Styx, and the gate locks until the oath ends.
What things cost on the far shore
| Rule | When | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Base fare | Any time | 2 obols a minute for Instagram, 3 for TikTok, your choice for the rest |
| Nyx’s hour | 23:00–06:00 | ×3 |
| Early morning | Until 09:00 | ×2 |
| Rising fare | Each crossing after the first today | ×1.5, ×2, up to ×3 |
| Debt to Hades | When the purse is empty | Up to 30 obols, 20 % on the borrowed part |
| Hermes’ staff | 3 times a week | 5 free minutes for real business |
Good to know
Why isn’t it on Google Play?
Charon needs the accessibility service to see Reels inside Instagram and the address in a browser, and Google Play restricts that use. So Obol ships as an APK, like the other Stillcraft apps.
Does it read my messages?
No. Charon looks at which app is in front, the browser’s address bar and the names of screen elements that mark Reels or Shorts. Nothing is stored except the ledger lines, and the app has no internet access at all.
Can I cheat by leaving Duolingo open?
Not for long. A patron counts only while you touch, scroll or type, and past its daily cap the rate halves.
What if I really need Instagram right now?
Turn on “only the endless feed”: messages stay free. For a link from a friend there are three free 5-minute passes a week.
Get it
- Requires: Android 8.0 (API 26) or newer. No Google services needed.
- Permissions: Accessibility, to see the app and site in front and draw the gate; a quiet notification that keeps Charon awake, and the oracle; device administrator only during an oath. No internet.
- License: MIT
- Download the APK on your phone and install it.
- Open Obol, then switch it on in Settings → Accessibility.
- Check your patrons and streams, then open a book instead of Reels.
Download the APK · Stillcraft page · Source on GitHub
Obol is part of Stillcraft, a shelf of small, free, open-source apps for everyday life: no ads, no accounts, and your data stays on your phone. A new one appears here every few days.
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