New platform requires users to complete a brief mindfulness exercise before opening Instagram, TikTok, X, and other distracting apps and websites
Wilmington, Delaware, March 30, 2026 — Impulse Inc. today announced the launch of Welligama: Breathe to Unlock™, a new digital wellbeing and productivity platform designed to help people take back control of their attention from compulsive social media use.
The launch comes at a moment of heightened public scrutiny around addictive platform design and rising concern about the effects of compulsive social media use and doomscrolling on attention, mental wellbeing, and productivity. In recent months, global coverage and policy debates have increasingly focused on social media addiction, platform accountability, harms to young users, and proposed age-based restrictions in several countries. Research from Common Sense Media, Pew, the CDC, and Harvard Business Review also points to high levels of device use, concerns about excessive social media habits, and meaningful effects on mental wellbeing, focus, and workplace productivity.
Welligama: Breathe to Unlock™ (USPTO Patent Pending) is built on the premise that it is okay to scroll and use our devices — but that we need to do it intentionally and with continuous self-regulation.
Rather than relying on rigid blockers or blunt time limits, Welligama takes a different approach. Before opening selected social media apps or distracting websites, users are asked to pause and complete a short interactive mindfulness exercise: three guided in-and-out breaths using audio, visual, and touch-based cues. Once completed, access is unlocked for a limited time chosen by the user.
Existing tools often depend on restriction alone. Many users eventually disable them, or experience frustration, guilt, shame, and rebound behaviors. Welligama is designed to interrupt autopilot without punishing the user for being human. The goal is not to eliminate device use, but to create a repeatable moment of awareness before re-entering it.
Users are free to use their apps, but are gently prompted every 15 minutes — or at an interval of their choosing — to redirect attention to the present moment, reconnect with the body, and notice their emotions and intentions. Over time, this repeated practice is designed to help users strengthen their ability to be intentional with focus, increase awareness of their internal state, and create more space for the things they care about most.
“This platform was born from a simple but transformative practice: taking a moment to pause and return to the breath regularly, which can change the way we relate to our devices,” said Praveen Dayananda, Founder and CEO of Impulse Inc. “Most solutions try to fight compulsive use with force. Welligama is built on a different premise — that it is okay to scroll, but we need to do it consciously. When you pause, breathe, and come back to the present moment before opening an app, you give yourself a chance to choose rather than react.”
Welligama also includes a broader ecosystem of wellbeing tools, including guided mental and physical health practices, customized check-ins and recommendations, an AI companion, and community support.
Dayananda, who envisioned and developed the platform, has spent 20 years practicing and teaching mindfulness, including under the guidance of Thich Nhat Hanh, and through studies at UCLA and Stanford University. He has also worked as an investment banking advisor to more than 50 technology startups.
The platform was selected as a 2026 Web Summit Impact Startup, reflecting its mission to help people build a healthier relationship with technology. Welligama is now available for iPhone on the Apple App Store. Android and web versions are expected to be released in the coming year.
Download: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6468553389
Website: https://www.welligama.com
B2B Pilot Inquiries (Schools, Universities, and Corporations): [email protected]
About Welligama: Breathe to Unlock™
Welligama is a digital wellbeing and productivity platform helping individuals and organizations use technology with greater intention. Its core innovation, Breathe to Unlock™ (USPTO patent pending), inserts a brief guided breathing interaction before selected distracting apps and websites can be accessed. The platform combines intentional access design, guided self-care practices, AI support, and community support to enable long-term behavior change.
