The research, caveats included | EmPure

The research on your feed, plainly stated.

What the research says about reducing social media exposure, including the parts still unsettled. The effects are real and they are modest. Reporting them that way is the point.

Two claims stay separate throughout. Research describes what happens when people reduce exposure. EmPure makes reducing exposure faster. We never join those into a promise.

{{ cG }}people in 10 randomized trials: cutting back brought a small, real lift in mood
{{ cMin }}minutes a day returned
{{ cDays }}waking days a year
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What we do not know yet

The honest limits of all of this.

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EmPure will publish its own findings after launch, including results that are inconvenient for us.

Where EmPure fits

Time limits and blockers cap the dose. EmPure changes what is in the dose. If the research is about lowering exposure to a kind of content, removing its source is the most durable version of the intervention, because it does not depend on willpower night after night.

That is a usability claim. What reduced exposure does for any one person is what the studies above describe, limits intact.

CHI 2023 field experiment

The study behind the idea

A University of Neuchâtel-led field experiment with 138 real Facebook users tested two “newsfeed diets” using an earlier feed-restriction extension, the predecessor to EmPure.

{{ cStrict }}time on Facebook, strict diet
{{ cSelf }}self-regulated diet, user picks what stays
“The best thing about the extension is that it does everything for you automatically.”
Participant feedback, as reported in the study

Caveat: the study evaluated a predecessor artifact, not the current EmPure product. Reductions are self-reported time on one platform over the study window, and do not guarantee any outcome for EmPure users.

References

Every claim above is backed by a real, linked source below. We checked each one against the underlying study rather than taking a headline number at face value.

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Please read

EmPure is a productivity and content-control tool. It is not a medical device, a diagnosis, or a treatment. If you or someone you love is struggling, please talk to a qualified professional. In the United States, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text at 988, any hour of any day.