Dumb Co Challenge: Trading My iPhone for a Hacked Flip Phone

When Lydia Peabody spotted a friend pulling out a flip phone at a party last year, her first reaction was laughter. “I was like, ‘Girl, what are you doing with that thing? That has to be a joke!’” she recalled to TechCrunch. That device wasn’t a gag, though. Her friend was taking part in Month Offline, a community challenge where a small group swaps smartphones for basic flip phones. Peabody couldn’t imagine giving up her own smartphone at the time, but that moment planted a seed. A year later, her life has transformed. She left her career as a licensed therapist to become the founding CMO of Dumb Co, the flip phone company born from Month Offline. She’s happier now.

“I did Month Offline, and I was like, ‘Whoa, why am I suddenly not anxious? Am I feeling good?’” she said. “I didn’t even know that this is what I needed, and that spending this much time on my screen after work was causing me to feel so yucky.”

Dumb Co sells flip phones that sync to your smartphone rather than replacing it entirely, striking a balance between the endless connectivity of an iPhone and the stark limitations of a device from the early 2000s. Funded by friends and family, the company operates with a small team in their 20s and early 30s. Like many of their peers, they’re frustrated with the relentless pace of a plugged-in, frictionless existence. They grew up with iPads and Instagram but now crave something more grounded.

Inside the modest shell of a $20 TCL flip phone, Dumb Co installs its own software, giving users access to apps like WhatsApp, Spotify, Apple Music, and Uber. You can even use iMessage through a third-party app (quietly, without Apple’s knowledge). By packing familiar tools like music streaming, maps, and blue bubble texts into a flip phone, Dumb Co is crafting a device for people who want to cut screen time and be more present, yet find it tough to fully unplug in a world built around smartphones.

“We are trying to make something where you can leave your smartphone at home and literally just live your life and engage with other people,” Afreka Ebanks, Dumb Co’s communications director, told TechCrunch. “And when you want to be on your smartphone and you come back home, you can use it, because the feature for call forwarding and text forwarding can be turned off.”

I spent over a month testing the device, which Dumb Co calls the Dumb Phone, comforted by the fact that my iPhone was always nearby for emergencies. At first, I didn’t use the Dumb Phone much. But as I carried it around to show friends, I noticed they weren’t confused by my flip phone , they were jealous.

“I’ve been getting into a lot of interesting conversations with people as I’m walking and someone sees me at the stoplight like, ‘What is this thing you have?’” said Ebanks, who decorated her flip phone with bedazzled accents. “I think it’s a great conversation starter, and I think it’s incredible watching people , myself included , work through the awkwardness of socializing with others, because I’m no longer distracted because I’m looking down at my phone.”

The Dumb Phone can be clunky. It’s slower than what I’m used to, and typing T9 texts takes longer than using my iPhone (what I really want is a dumb Sidekick with a QWERTY keyboard). Still, there’s something undeniably refreshing about knowing you can’t open social media, take a throwaway photo, or check your email.

When I spoke with Peabody near the end of my month juggling both an iPhone and a flip phone, she asked if I had ever left the house with only the flip phone. I admitted I hadn’t. I explained that I sometimes need to check public transit schedules or keep up with Slack during appointments.

“The truth is, when you say the word need, it almost gives the same meaning as like, ‘I need food or shelter,’” Peabody told me. “Yeah, sure, it’s actually helpful to know when the buses are coming, but if you don’t have that information, you turn to your neighbor and say, ‘Do you know when the next bus is coming?’”

Peabody challenged me to leave my iPhone at home. On the day we spoke, I had already planned to cover an event at a library across town. I tried to explain that I’d never been to that library and wasn’t sure which subway stop to use. She told me to write down directions before leaving. I worried I wouldn’t be able to record interviews. She pointed out that the Dumb Phone can record audio.

“I really, really want you to do this, because I know that this is something that’s best experienced,” Peabody said. “When I switched to a Dumb Phone last summer, I did not use my smartphone for seven weeks, and I went on a cross-country road trip to New Mexico. I did not think I could do that, but I’m telling you that you can.”

I was running out of excuses. Peabody drove thousands of miles without a smartphone. How could I tell her that I needed my iPhone just to double-check that Tasker-Morris is the right train stop?

Smartphones and social media aren’t purely evil. There’s real value in connecting with friends online, sending dog photos to your grandma, or using Apple Pay when you forget your wallet. While researchers don’t classify smartphone dependence like substance addiction, there are clear parallels. Not everyone has a hostile relationship with their phone, but for people like me, more screen time often leads to more anxiety, distraction, and disconnection. Peabody even compared her phone habit to getting hooked on Juul in college.

“It was really, really hard, but I totally broke that addiction, and now when I see a vape or something, I actually detest it , I’m like, ‘Oh no, I do not want that,’” she said. “When I turned off my smartphone for seven weeks, I would think about using it again, and I felt that same repulsion. I actually didn’t look at it or touch it.”

I was nervous to leave my iPhone at home, but I trusted my knowledge of the transit system and managed to get across town without it (I’ll admit, I texted someone just to be absolutely sure the library is off the Tasker-Morris stop). When I needed to send a text too long for T9 typing, I sent a voice message. I felt more connected to the world around me, and nothing went wrong.

I don’t see myself switching exclusively to the Dumb Phone, but I find it valuable as a tool to help me pay more attention to how and when I use my smartphone. The Dumb Phone ships with a black velour pouch, meant to hold your smartphone when you leave it at home. I can’t quit the iPhone cold turkey, but I tossed that pouch in my bag on a beach trip, just in case. I used it for a few things, like ordering food and checking train times. But while I enjoyed a day on the beach, I didn’t take out my phone. I had a book, a sandwich, two bottles of water, some sunscreen , what else could I need?