Calculator
How many words could your scrolling buy you?
Every time you open a blocked app, Sorry Scroll asks for a 30-second step first. Here is what those steps add up to.
You'd know 500 Japanese words in about 6 weeks.
Based on the app's own numbers: 70% of opens become a paid step, 2 new words per step, up to 12 new words a day.
How the numbers work
A worked example at 25 opens a day:
- 25 opens × 70% = about 18 steps. Some opens end in a skip (3 a day) or you close the app; the app assumes 7 in 10 become a step.
- Each step earns about 1.6 correct recalls. Two words, each quizzed once, at roughly 80% right.
- 2 correct recalls = 1 word learned. So 18 steps × 1.6 ÷ 2 = 14 words a day.
- Capped at 12 new words a day. 14 is over the cap, so it's 12: 500 words in about 6 weeks. The extra steps go into reviewing.
| Opens a day | Steps a day | Minutes a day | New words a day | 500 words in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | about 26 weeks |
| 10 | 7 | 4 | 6 | about 13 weeks |
| 15 | 10 | 5 | 8 | about 9 weeks |
| 25 | 18 | 9 | 12 | about 6 weeks |
| 50 | 35 | 18 | 12 | about 6 weeks |
| 100 | 70 | 35 | 12 | about 6 weeks |
What the calculator can't know
- How often you really open your apps. A guess can be well off. In the app, the guess is replaced by your real numbers: once you have two active days, the projection starts blending toward your last 7 days.
- How many you get right. 80% is an average; missed words come back sooner, which costs steps.
- Whether a word is "known". Two correct recalls means you can recognise it, not that you'll use it in conversation. The later reviews (a day, 3 days, a week, 3 weeks) are what keep it.
Prefer moving to words? The active-body goal counts minutes instead: at 25 opens a day, about 9 active minutes a day.
Questions
How many words can I learn from my screen time?
With Sorry Scroll, about 0.6 words for every time you open a blocked app, up to 12 new words a day. Opening your blocked apps 25 times a day is enough to reach 500 words in about 6 weeks.
How is this calculated?
About 70% of blocked-app opens end in a paid step (the rest are skips or closes). Each step teaches two new words and quizzes you, and a word counts as learned after you recall it correctly twice. New words are capped at 12 a day so reviews keep up. These are the same numbers the app uses for your finish date.
How much time does it take each day?
Each step is 30 seconds, so 10 steps is five minutes a day, spread across the moments you would have opened TikTok or Instagram anyway.