INSTRUCTION CARD 3 OF 8
Can a Reels counter work without accessibility permission?
No, not on Android. Only an accessibility service is told when something scrolls inside another app. What you can choose is a counter that asks for the least: few apps, one event, no screen text, no internet.
Why every counter asks for it
Android's usage stats only know when an app opens and closes. A swipe inside Instagram, TikTok or YouTube is invisible to every other app, except an accessibility service, which Android tells when a view scrolls. So BrainPal, ReelCounter, ScrollTrace and ScrollToll all ask for it, and so does highscroll.
On iPhone it cannot be done at all: Apple's Screen Time interface gives apps time spent, never swipes.
What the warning means
When you turn a service on, Android warns that it can observe your actions, read what is on screen and see what you type. That is the most a service could ask for. What a given app actually gets is written in its own configuration, which anyone can read from the APK.
What highscroll asks for, line by line
| Its setting | What it means |
|---|---|
packageNames: Instagram, TikTok (two app ids), YouTube | Android sends it events from those apps only, nothing from your messages, bank or keyboard. |
accessibilityEventTypes: typeViewScrolled | One kind of event: "a view scrolled". No taps, no text changes, no notifications. |
canRetrieveWindowContent: false | It cannot read what is on screen: no captions, comments, names or messages. |
No uses-permission at all | No internet. It has no way to send your count, or anything else, off the phone. |
| Its one action | With the paid lock on, it presses Home for you at your own number. Nothing else. |
From the app's AndroidManifest.xml and accessibility_service_config.xml, the build served below.
Turning it on
Open highscroll and tap TURN ON THE COUNTER. It shows you what the service does, then I UNDERSTAND. OPEN SETTINGS takes you to Android's Accessibility settings: switch on "highscroll counter" there (on some phones it sits under Downloaded or Installed apps). Turn it off the same way whenever you like; your score stays on the phone.
Android only. The lock that sends you home at your own number: US$2.99.