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Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

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Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#301

Post by jarko27 »

mrkramer wrote: post #233

Even more cooler idea would be that the app restricts you to only communication apps when you choose "communication" intent or when you choose "boredom" it prompts you to enjoy IRL activities and tells you to leave your device aside. That would make it even more interactive and fun.

Well, that would be ideal.

But as soon as I think about implementation I realize how complicated it is to make such an intelligent system that would understand intent and based on intent adapt the action. In theory, it all can be manually connected, but then it would require a complicated setup.

Of course, it's only from an implementation perspective. From the UX it can be trivial.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#302

Post by autoexec »

cglong wrote: post #273
autoexec wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that keeping Microsoft from accessing your GPS, sensor data, wifi, camera/microphone etc? Sure, they can't get at SMS or your other apps and your work won't have access to your entire device but it means MS can still access your location (using GPS and nearby bluetooth/wifi), record audio/video, read/control sensors (accelerometer, proximity, gravity, temperature, pressure, magnetic field etc), have full netwo…

That's true with a separate work phone too right? And once I turn off the AWP for the day, all of that stops.

A work phone I could leave in a lead lined box until I needed to log into the company network. My personal device is often carried with me and in use at other times. If your IT people let you pause your work profile indefinitely that could help protect you though.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#303

Post by jarko27 »

namuorg wrote: post #197

For anyone looking for something similar for their desktop browser, try out Intention: https://getintention.com Show HN post from 2020: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22936742

The fun fact. I've been using that extension while I was making Intenty back in 2020. Great extension, I'm glad to see it up and running till now!

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#304

Post by sn9 »

jarko27 wrote: post #279
TeMPOraL wrote: post #213

I installed this in the morning to give it a test drive, and after several hours, I learned the following: it's great when I reach for the phone as a distraction; it's a big annoyance otherwise. E.g. each time I want to change the currently playing song, what was muscle memory gets scrambled by the interruption. Or, when I'm taking a lot of photos (like on my daughter's kindergarten event today), I tend to keep the s…

Thanks for giving it a test drive! I'm thinking also about adding an option to have like 50% chance of a popup or a 75% chance, so it's less predictable. I first made it as every 2nd, 3d and so on, but maybe adding a randomness to it will be better? WDYT?

Just add a whitelist for apps that aren't for distraction so users can decide what they need.

Maybe make suggestions based on screentime if possible.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#305

Post by jarko27 »

fma wrote: post #204
jatins wrote: post #62

I like the idea, congrats on the launch! One feature request: instead of giving me a freeform field to enter "why", give me a few of common uses cases as options like: - Picking up the phone for real use (order, cab, call etc) - For social connection - For mindless scrolling overtime you can plot why the phone was picked

Is this really a launch? I see reviews from 4 years ago.

The original app was released ~ 4 years ago, but it survived several rounds of overhauls from scratch while keeping the original idea - "showing nudges after phone unlock". It can be considered a launch because it's almost a remade app.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#306

Post by wheels »

jarko27 wrote: post #279
TeMPOraL wrote: post #213

I installed this in the morning to give it a test drive, and after several hours, I learned the following: it's great when I reach for the phone as a distraction; it's a big annoyance otherwise. E.g. each time I want to change the currently playing song, what was muscle memory gets scrambled by the interruption. Or, when I'm taking a lot of photos (like on my daughter's kindergarten event today), I tend to keep the s…

Thanks for giving it a test drive! I'm thinking also about adding an option to have like 50% chance of a popup or a 75% chance, so it's less predictable. I first made it as every 2nd, 3d and so on, but maybe adding a randomness to it will be better? WDYT?

I wonder if being location based would be helpful? I'm not actually a heavy phone user, but I would guess that people are mainly using it as a distraction when they're at home or work, and less likely if they're out and about? (Though honestly, for me, the main thing I use my phone for at home / work is two-factor-authentication, and there it'd probably be annoying.)

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#307

Post by paulcole »

retSava wrote: post #106

Great! Apps like these are sorely needed. My feedback would be, apart from what others are saying about sub vs one-time purchase, to look at what Leechblock firefox extension is doing. The key point is to make it harder (but not impossible) for me to use the phone. A "Do you need this?" is a great start, but since I can easily sneak by, I will soon do that. Even if I click "1 minute" to get a reminder, that should no…

> Apps like these are sorely needed

Why exactly?

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#308

Post by jarko27 »

Havoc wrote: post #236

A counter in a corner or similar might be less disruptive and still keep you mindful. Bit like a step counter

I remember a very cool similar thing from Google Digital Wellbeing Experiments called unlock clock https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digitalwel...

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#309

Post by bcoughlan »

throwaway519 wrote: post #152
bcoughlan wrote: post #151

My approach for iPhone: - Set time limits on apps. - Block App Store. - Set a Screen Time pin, then forget it. Downside: if you need to install a new app, you need to do a iTunes backup, factory reset and restore the backup,. Also apps won't continue to update with this approach. Worth it though. I don't miss wasting 10-20 hours a week on brain rot apps.

Why have the brain rot apps installed at all?

Can't uninstall the browser, and occasionally it's needed for legit reasons. I quite literally can't resist drifting towards mindless scrolling apps, though I know that's hard to fathom for some people.

Re: Show HN: App that asks ‘why?’ every time you unlock your phone

#310

Post by TeMPOraL »

jarko27 wrote: post #115
retSava wrote: post #106

Great! Apps like these are sorely needed. My feedback would be, apart from what others are saying about sub vs one-time purchase, to look at what Leechblock firefox extension is doing. The key point is to make it harder (but not impossible) for me to use the phone. A "Do you need this?" is a great start, but since I can easily sneak by, I will soon do that. Even if I click "1 minute" to get a reminder, that should no…

Advanced reminders are going to be a thing for the next big release. I agree that one problem is to pass the unlock, but staying on track with your intention is a different story. One periodical notification with static text can in theory fix that, but the chances are low in comparison to the full-screen pop-up. I intentionally focused on the unlock procedure first. For now, you can combine it with other apps like mi…

One thing to consider, maybe open the app up for interaction with Tasker (being able to send events and provide actions to execute) - this will allow people to implement advanced logic on their own. If you expose user answering or skipping the screen as event, and ability to bring the screen back up as action, users[0] would be able to easily add features like "bring up Intenty screen when user attempts to open specific app or apps during work hours", or "make skipping require solving an ordinary differential equation shown rot13-encoded, and write down the answer in Klingon", or whatnot. That could be a good testbed for ideas to later incorporate into the app itself.

--

[0] - Those that also use Tasker. I'd wager that for your target audience, the proportion of such users is much higher than in average case.

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