louis.work

I’m working on 12 Challenges to make the internet a bit better

I’m a technologist and writer who believes that we need to build a layer of software and research specific features to counter the harms of big tech

About me

🤔 Six years ago, I started worrying about how much time we’d all started spending online.

👨‍💻 So I quit my job, taught myself to code and began working on tools like Nudge to help people reduce their addiction to the internet.

🏢 In July 2021, Facebook banned me for life for creating Unfollow Everything. 12,500 people used the tool to get rid of their Facebook addiction before I had to take it down.

📝 I’m now working on turning Nudge into a research tool to understand how specific addictive features, such as infinite scroll and recommendations, make us act and feel.

In the news

Facebook permanently banned a developer after he made an app to let users delete their news feed

The developer Louis Barclay made a tool called Unfollow Everything for Facebook users. The extension removed Facebook users' News Feed by mass-unfollowing friends and pages. Barclay says he got a cease-and-desist letter from Facebook in July and was kicked off its platform.

https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-bans-unfollow-everything-developer-delete-news-feed-2021-10?r=US&IR=T

Facebook banned developer who made an app to let users limit news feed

A developer who created a browser extension that helps Facebook users spend less time on the site claims he has now been banned from the social media platform - but he's "grateful" to the company for helping him reduce his own usage.

https://nypost.com/2021/10/11/facebook-banned-developer-who-made-an-app-limiting-news-feed/

Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less

If someone built a tool that made Facebook less addictive-a tool that allowed users to benefit from Facebook's positive features while limiting their exposure to its negative ones-how would Facebook respond? I know the answer, because I built the tool, and Facebook squashed it. This summer, Facebook sent me a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action.

https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/facebook-unfollow-everything-cease-desist.html

Experience

💼 Aside from my work building software to counter the harms of big tech, I’ve done a few different things.

🛠️ As a product manager and developer, I’ve been co-founder of multiple SaaS startups, including Stacker, a no code tool that makes complex apps from Airtable and Google Sheets, and Cloakist, which I exited in March 2022.

🖱️ As a marketer, I’ve consulted for the CEOs of startups like Eve Sleep, City Pantry, Steward and YPlan.

🏦 Before working in tech, I worked as an M&A analyst at Goldman Sachs.