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Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#151

Post by immy »

Great app, been using it for months happily. Hope you don’t turn the screws on revenue following the venture scale playbook. You really do just have a simple app in the end. Would make a great open source nonprofit project like Signal, I can imagine foundations would fund it.

Edit: discovered ScreenZen thru comments and confirmation ClearSpace is running the venture playbook (with differentiating features I don’t think many care about). ScreenZen seems better aligned to go the nonprofit/OSS route.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#152

Post by [deleted] »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #101
csmeder wrote: post #54

Hi Royce and Oliver, I have a suggestion: look into dimming the screen slowly for the last 30-60 seconds before you pull a person out of the app. This will greatly decrease the annoyance of being pulled out. It gives you time to anticipate being done with your session. I do this with my toddler. We let him use our phone to look at family videos while we are changing him. If I turn the phone off abruptly, it can be fr…

It's this and a thousand other "hacks to handle human failings" that will allow us to have the promise of technology while minimising the downsides - just as we did for weavers looms, coal power and so on

[deleted]

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#153

Post by robertlagrant »

csmeder wrote: post #103
prionassembly wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have physical brightness buttons? Do you have any more gradual transition hacks? Our 2-yr old doesn't have access to phones at all -- except perhaps when he grabs one that's lying around; but then he expects it taken from him. But he's so taken with TV that we plan screen time in reverse: start at dinner time and subtract how much time we want him to be there. Our whole approach to tantrums is having something…

We don’t have a tv in the house. And we don’t use our phones/iPad in front of our son. So the only time he sees a screen is when we are changing his diaper. The only exception has been when we are all sick we watch a family movie on the iPad with him. And if I’m being honest a few Saturday mornings I’ll watch a show with him while we are waking up. I use control center to lower the brightness.

> So the only time he sees a screen is when we are changing his diaper.

"Mum! Why do I always need the loo when I'm doing homework on the computer?"

"Ah."

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#155

Post by prox »

anteloper wrote: post #83
akshithg wrote: post #39

I’ve been using onesec[1] for a year now it’s been working great for me. Additionally works great on the browser I use. Onesec uses the shortcut/automation on iOS to intercept app open and not the screen time api you mentioned. So it does take a little time for the initial setup, that’s the only friction I remember from a long time. Just putting it out there. I do like the additional social feature here. Would give i…

they've executed brilliantly, glad to see it's working well for you. along with the one-tap setup and social accountability features you point out, other noticeable differences between their solution and our are - we can pull you out of an app at the end of the time you intended to use it for - we support restricting websites - we let you accumulate your progress over time via a streak, which is quite motivating (at…

I just installed it on my iPad, but adding a number (I am on my iPad and I am in the 0.00001% who doesn’t use phones) is a no go. There is an Apple sign in, but I prefer e-mail if possible.

The Apple signup also cuts of at the bottom.

You mention phone use in the description of the app, but also address iPad users if possible.

I am big fan of allowing people to see what would be happen by choosing one over the other, usually with a (?) symbol.

So I am not going to use it right now. Hope you can work with this feedback.

Re: Launch HN: Clearspace (YC W23) – Cut back on screen time

#156

Post by ianstormtaylor »

Congrats on the launch! This is a great product idea.

I'd advise redesigning the way your website blocking works though. For myself—and I'd assume a lot of folks—the idea that a website has to be attached to an app doesn't make sense. I've already deleted the Twitter app for example, but would still like to block Twitter's website. Or there's Mastodon which has never been an app on my phone. The current flow around this is very confusing/broken. (Apple's built-in Screen Time app actually has a solution for this already, with "Websites…" as a category to block by, where you just enter the website of your choice.)

I'd also recommend working with a designer because the app feels sort of janky at the moment. It's not just the main flow, but the interface and copy everywhere feel haphazard and doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. The idea for the app is so simple, and I think the execution could be equally simple in a really satisfying way.

I signed up for the subscription, but had already cancelled by the next day because of these faults. With a few fixes I think this could be very successful.

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