Looking at the mobile without really knowing why. In the elevator. On public transport. In the doctor's waiting room or in the coffee queue. Even during a family meal or a conversation with friends. An almost automatic act that, although it goes unnoticed, directly impacts daily life. Five hours and fifteen minutes is the average time that a young person between 18 and 24 years old is estimated to spend connected to their mobile device, according to data from the Generation Z Observatory.
The Barcelona project Balance Phone, the mobile device that eliminates the most addictive applications and visual stimuli, aims to drastically reduce these hours of use: from five hours to only an hour and a half daily, to disconnect from digital devices and reconnect with the rest of life. This is how they express it in their new campaign: Balance Starts Here, which seeks to generate a turning point: stop checking the mobile out of inertia and become aware of our surroundings again. "Who misses more things? The one who doesn't look at Instagram or the one who is on their mobile while life passes in front of them?", reflects Albert Beltran, co-founder of the project along with Carlos Fontclara.
The project was born, precisely, from a personal experience: both founders felt addicted to their mobile. Although they tried usage limits within applications or going back to an old Nokia, neither alternative suited them: temporary limits could be easily bypassed and the Nokia was too limiting, as it did not allow adding essential applications for their routine, such as digital banking or gym apps. "There was too much distance between a 20-year-old Nokia and the current smartphone," says Beltran.
Thus, at just 24 years old, they created Balance Phone, a device that blocks five major categories: social networks, pornography, games, gambling, and streaming platforms. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, Candy Crush, or Fortnite have no place. Instead, it does allow functional applications such as WhatsApp, Spotify, Uber, Airbnb, digital banking, or Google Maps.
The mobile also has a design that reduces visual stimuli: a simple, clear interface, without colors or distractions. "The user is in control of the mobile, and not the other way around," explains Beltran. Even so, he points out: "We are not anti-social networks; we consume them, but consciously, from the computer or tablet at home, and not automatically, without thinking, almost out of inertia."
The Balance Starts Here campaign advocates for this intentionality: living in the present and acting with awareness. After almost two years using the device personally, Beltran assures that it is possible to find digital balance in a hyperconnected society. Being a Balance person means precisely dispensing with digital hyperconnection to connect with the physical and immediate environment.
"We are not talking about total disconnection or renunciation, but about intention. Change begins within oneself. Balance Phone can only be the vehicle; but the transformation depends on individual decision and will," argues Beltran. For this reason, the new campaign starts from an everyday gesture: stopping looking at the mobile out of inertia, at dinners, meetings with friends or on public transport. "More than a device, from Balance Phone we want to sell a lifestyle and a balance... In short, to sell time," remarks Beltran.
This is also highlighted in their latest campaign, which advocates for a more conscious and present lifestyle. According to Beltran, reducing mobile consumption by three hours a day—going from more than five hours to one and a half hours—means recovering more than 1,000 hours a year. This change brings physical and psychological benefits that Beltran summarizes as "more energy, greater attention span, and more presence with the environment." "Ultimately, it's like leaving a heavy backpack that you don't really need," remarks Beltran.
More than a mobile: a lifestyle
To recover these more than 1,000 hours off-screen, Balance Phone presents two devices: the Balance Phone (279 euros) and the Balance Phone Pro (669 euros). However, for those who already have a mobile device purchased, they also offer their own operating system that can be installed directly on any Samsung device and automatically changes the design and interface. It is not an application that can be deleted with a click, but an operating system that replaces the original. "When we depended only on willpower, it was not enough. For this reason, we did not want to create an application that could be easily uninstalled," emphasizes Beltran.
Since its launch in 2024, the Barcelona-based company has sold more than 4,500 devices in over 50 countries. 50% of customers are children and teenagers, often bought by parents as a first mobile phone, and the other 50% are young people and adults who opt for digital minimalism.
However, more than selling a specific mobile device, Balance Phone emphasizes that with the new campaign they want to sell time and raise awareness. In the United Kingdom —currently Balance Phone's main market, with approximately 50% of the business volume— awareness has arrived sooner. "There, many children received unfiltered smartphones at 8 or 9 years old and now they are already seeing the consequences," explains Beltran. The Smartphone Free Childhood movement, with more than 400,000 parents, has recommended Balance Phone as one of the main solutions.
Beyond educating and raising awareness, Balance Phone also sets ambitious goals for this year: to sell 20,000 devices, consolidate in the United Kingdom but also in Spain, which is already the second market today, and study the possibility of entering the United States. In addition, the company expects to multiply its annual turnover by five, reaching five million euros by the end of 2026.
Likewise, the company is working on an even more ambitious idea: a project that ensures that the hours recovered away from the mobile phone are not lost in front of another screen. "It's no use recovering hours of our life if we then invest them in watching Netflix on television," remarks Beltran. The goal is clear: that the time gained be full, intentional, and meaningful, dedicated to the people, activities, and moments that truly matter. With this vision, the company is committed to a conscious lifestyle, where recovering hours —thanks to vehicles like Balance Phone— means recovering quality of life.