Cigarette packets carry warnings. Alcohol carries warnings. Medicines come with a leaflet listing every possible side effect. The device most of us pick up more often than anything else carries no warning at all.
So we designed one.
What it says
The Addiction Warning Case is a simple iPhone case printed with a label in the style of a product safety notice. It reads:
This device can be addictive. Time spent here, particularly on social media, can have a negative impact on your health, wellbeing, and happiness. Consider actively limiting your use and exploring other meaningful ways to spend your time.
Above the warning sit two of our values, Consider Everything, Optimize Happiness. Below it, a classification: Avoid Addiction. Happiness Protocol 2.2. It comes in black and white, and it is deliberately quiet: no bright colours, no slogans, just a label that looks like it has always belonged there.
Why a warning label
Phones are an amazing technology. They connect us to the people we love, put the world's knowledge in our pockets, and make a thousand small tasks easier. But much of what runs on them is designed to capture attention, and is measured in engagement, session length, and daily active users. Those metrics rarely line up with whether the person holding the phone is actually any happier.
A warning label does not stop anyone from doing anything. What it does is interrupt the autopilot. Every time you reach for your phone, the case asks a small question: is this the best use of the next ten minutes? Sometimes the answer is yes. Often it is not.
Designing for the whole outcome
The case is a small expression of one of our core ideas: universal responsibility, the belief that designers are responsible for all of the outcomes of what they make, not just the intended ones. It sits alongside night night, our open-source script that puts websites to sleep at bedtime, and Repair Rebellion, our loud, branded clothing repairs. Each is a tiny object that tries to nudge a much bigger system towards happiness.
Make your own
We are not selling the case at the moment, but the idea is free. A sticker, a lock screen, or a note taped to the back of your phone can do the same job. If you would like a case of your own, let us know. If enough people ask, we may make them available again.
And if you want to understand how your daily habits are really shaping your happiness, the 90 Day Happiness Challenge is a good place to start.