SASKATOON — While some people celebrate their birthday with a party or dinner with their family and friends or a well-deserved vacation, Rhonda Lavoie chose to mark her golden year by launching a mobile app to help people break endless scrolling and time spent on social media.
The Paced app, which officially launched on Google Play on Feb. 13, Lavoie’s 50th birthday, is now available for Android users. She chose to launch it first on Android because it was the platform she personally used and understood best. She and her team are now developing an iOS version for Apple devices, which they are looking to release this summer.
The development of the app is another sign that Saskatoon continues to be a tech hub in the prairies, sometimes called the “Silicon Valley of the Prairies” as major tech companies, including Solido Design Automation, which was later acquired by Siemens to solidify its presence in Western Canada. Saskatoon’s tech sector also focuses on helping the province’s agriculture sector.
Lavoie’s idea for the app began in January 2025 with a simple social media post. Frustrated by losing hours to mindless scrolling, Lavoie wrote on Facebook that someone should create an app that interrupts the habit.
“My problem is I'll be scrolling and looking on my phone, and I don’t realize an hour has gone by. This disrupts my work and other tasks. It’s not that I never want to scroll. I don’t want to get stuck on my phone doomscrolling. It helps you get back your time, your presence and your peace of mind,” said Lavoie, who, at that time, put the idea on hold and became busy as a Realtor.
Despite being a Realtor, she used her skills from a previous career as a business analyst to bridge the gap between concept and execution in tech firms.
Her journey as a tech entrepreneur took a dramatic turn in August of that year, when she hired app developers through Upwork, a global platform used by freelancers to find projects and other job postings. There were 30 applicants, which she narrowed down to six, then three, before choosing a firm based in India that does coding.
She added that, like many people, she still wants to keep using her phone and accessing social media, but what she wanted was to limit the time so that everyone who uses the app can get their work and other tasks done, rather than being stuck doom scrolling and watching videos, failing to notice that hours had already passed by and they accomplished nothing.
"I don’t need to ban using my phone. I need something to break the hours I spent. Something to interrupt and create a pattern so that I can do other things. Today, with the rapidly changing technology, many people, including me, struggle to limit their phone use. That is a common problem, especially with how people spend their time on social media. The Paced app helps,” said Lavoie.
She explains that, unlike blockers, which only lock you out, Paced helps users in two ways: First, by locking their frequently used apps. Then, if you want to keep scrolling and remain on social media, you need to move your body. Paced triggers a block when you try to open and get back on social media without completing the required number of steps.
The app’s mechanics are straightforward but deliberate. Users select up to three apps in the free version — often social media platforms, shopping apps or games — and set a 30-minute usage window. When time expires, an overlay locks the app and initiates a cool-down period, typically one hour. Attempts to reopen the app are blocked until the timer runs out.
What distinguishes Lavoie’s app from standard screen-time controls is its behavioural incentive system. During the cool-down, users can shorten their lockout by walking. For every 100 steps recorded on their phone, three minutes are deducted from the timer. The goal is to convert a negative habit into a positive one by encouraging physical movement.
She said she structures her schedule differently, allowing more daytime access for work but restricting evening use, adding that the paid Pro version in the app allows users to group their frequently used apps, such as social media, shopping, or news, and create customized schedules. Someone working a traditional 9-to-5 job might allow limited daytime scrolling but more flexibility in the evening.
Since its launch, the app has seen about 70 downloads in its first few weeks, with users coming from countries like Australia, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom, says Lavoie. While modest, Lavoie considers the traction encouraging, especially given the challenges of visibility on Google Play. More importantly, she says the uninstall rate is very low, indicating users find value once they try it.
For Lavoie, the biggest change has been personal. After using the app daily for a month, she says she no longer feels guilty about opening social media because she knows the app will prevent overuse. With iOS expansion and future features such as structured morning and evening routines in development, she hopes her milestone birthday project will help others regain control of their own lives.
