iRetardgram Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation. iRetard now includes both a mobile Instagram application and a strict local-only Chrome extension. Both products follow one principle: remove addictive loops, keep useful communication.

Products

Mobile Instagram Application

Patched Android app that blocks timeline and recommendation-heavy surfaces while keeping direct messaging and core utility paths intact.

iRetard Chrome Extension

Strict local-only Manifest V3 extension for Instagram discipline. Chrome support now, broader browser support soon.

Mobile App Quick Start

To install the pre-built APK:

Navigate to the Releases page.
Download the latest iRetardgram-vX.X.X.apk.
Ensure your device allows installation from unknown sources.
Install the application and log in as usual.

Note

You may need to uninstall the original Instagram application first, due to mismatched package signatures stopping Android from overwriting.

Chrome Extension Overview

iRetard is a strict local-only Manifest V3 Chrome extension for Instagram discipline.

This project is open source on GitHub and maintained by brittytino.

github.com/brittytino/iretard

Strict Default Policy

No user override controls in popup.
Daily Instagram budget is fixed to 30 minutes.
Popup shows a real countdown clock (MM:SS) from 30:00 with live updates.
Active Instagram sessions are watched continuously with heartbeat evaluation (non-static).
Every 5 minutes of active Instagram use shows a mandatory math challenge modal.
Emergency unlock flow is disabled.

Network Blocking & Redirect Rules

The extension blocks home feed timeline request patterns:

/feed/timeline/
/feed/following/
/web/feed/timeline/
GraphQL home-feed query URLs containing feed/timeline hints.

Tab redirect behavior:

Reels tab routes are redirected to Direct Messages.
Fragment requests targeting fragment_clips are intercepted and redirected to DMs.

Load Unpacked (Chrome)

Open chrome://extensions.
Enable Developer mode.
Click Load unpacked.
Select this folder.

Chrome is supported now. Additional browser packaging support is planned soon.

Build & Release Pipeline

We utilize a CI/CD pipeline built on GitHub Actions for mobile APK releases. When a tag is pushed, the workflow:

Downloads the base APK (matching the target version).
Decompiles using apktool.
Applies semantic smali patches targeting the network request controllers.
Recompiles, zipaligns, and signs using the repository Keystore.

Chrome extension distribution is local-unpacked for now, with store deployment not yet scheduled.

Block Matrix

Route Pattern	Purpose	Status	Notes
/api/v1/feed/timeline/	Home feed	Blocked	Primary addiction vector
/api/v1/discover/explore/	Explore tab	Blocked	Algorithmic content
/api/v1/clips/	Reels discovery	Blocked	Short-form video loop
/api/v1/feed/reels_tray/	Reels tray	Redirected	Tab redirected to DMs
/api/v1/blended_feed/	Blend recommendations	Blocked	Endless scroll engine
/api/v1/feed/ranked_blend/	Ranked blend	Blocked	Personalized blend variant
/api/v1/discover/topical_explore/	Topical explore	Blocked	Topic-based discovery
/api/v1/qp/batch_fetch/	Telemetry signals	Blocked	Recommendation signals
/api/v1/direct_v2/inbox/	DM inbox	Allowed	Core communication
/api/v1/users/{pk}/info/	Profile info	Allowed	User profiles
/api/v1/feed/user/{pk}/	User feed	Allowed	Profile grid view
/api/v1/news/inbox/	Notifications	Allowed	Activity alerts
/api/v1/users/search/	Search	Allowed	People search

Keystore & Signing

To build locally, you must provide your own signing key.

keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.keystore -alias alias_name -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

Export the base64 keystore to your GitHub Secrets if deploying through the CI pipeline.

Debugging

If the application crashes on load, capture the logcat output:

adb logcat | grep -iE "fatal|exception|androidruntime"

For extension debugging, inspect service worker and content script errors in Developer mode from chrome://extensions.

FAQ

Will my account be banned?

iRetardgram modifies the client to drop requests locally, which Instagram servers generally interpret as weak connection failures. Ban risks are mathematically low, but use at your own risk.

Are Direct Messages delayed?

No. Push notifications (FCM) and the Realtime MQTT messaging systems are completely bypassed by our patches, remaining fully intact with zero latency added.

What gets disabled in extension mode?

Feed posts are blocked at network layer with visual fallback blocker, and reels tab routes are redirected to DMs while fragment clips are blocked.

What still works in extension mode?

Stories, Direct Messages, Profile, Reels in DMs, Search, and Notifications continue to work.