Our Story

Fin, founder of The Virtus Project

Why I built
The Lockbox.

In late 2023, I realised my phone had quietly taken over my life. I was wasting hours a day scrolling TikTok or Instagram, staying up until 4am most nights, and unable to focus on anything for more than a few minutes. Something had to change.

I tried the usual fixes: screen-time limits, apps, willpower. None of it stuck, because I always found a loophole. I needed a physical solution, something I couldn't simply ignore or uninstall. But there was nothing on the market except generic devices or useless gadgets.

So I decided to build it myself.

Fin Reid

Fin · Founder, The Virtus Project

Engineering drawing of The Lockbox — revision 2 assembly, back view

The build

From idea
to reality.

Taking out a large start-up loan & investing all of my savings, I set out to make a solution. It needed to be a device that was simple to use, truly impossible to bypass, and practical for daily life.

After 9 long months of research, testing prototypes, dead ends, & revisions, The Lockbox v1.0 was born.

Why it exists

Your phone was designed to keep you hooked.

Billion-dollar companies & teams of psychologists engineer apps to be as addictive as possible. Most apps are free because you are the product. Your attention, time, & data are sold to the highest bidder.

With strong habits, you can often be your own worst enemy. The Lockbox was built for one reason: to put a physical barrier between you & your phone, breaking the loop.

No app to delete, no limit to ignore, no distractions. Just more time & focus for what actually matters.

The Lockbox resting on a dark side table beside coffee books

Giving back

We plant a tree for
each & every order.

At the core, I started this brand to make a real impact on people & the planet.

I believe that creating better phone habits should also make a better world. That's why I made a simple, powerful commitment: for every order shipped, a tree is planted through Virtue Impact Partners.

Every purchase helps you reclaim your time and supports reforestation efforts around the globe.

Because real change starts small.

Volunteers planting a young tree together in a forest One order · One tree

Take Back Control of
Your Phone

The Lockbox on a dark desk beside a plant and laptop, phone sliding into the box
★★★★ Rated by our users

The Lockbox v1.0

£45

A physical device to lock away your phone. Build healthy phone habits, quit doomscrolling, & reclaim your time.

We built The Lockbox to be simple to use & practical for daily life.

  • Set any lock from 5 minutes up to 48 hours.
  • Two lifetime emergency unlocks, for when you truly need it.
  • Up to 30 days of standby battery.
  • Mid-lock hatch to silence an alarm or take a call, without breaking the lock.
  • Charge-through port, so your phone powers up while it's locked away.
  • Internal size: 17.2 × 8.5 × 1.6 cm.

No gimmicks, just lower screen-time.

  • The Lockbox v1.0
  • USB Charging Cable
  • Instructions
  • The Lockbox Digital Guide
  • Magnetic Packaging Box

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