Show HN: I built an app to stop me doomscrolling by touching grass

camtarn · 2025-02-24T13:16:39 1740402999

This is a hilarious concept and would probably genuinely help. Nicely done!

I used to have a similar issue with hiding inside all the time (during Covid times, of course) and to motivate myself to go outside, I started an Instagram of tiny little plants growing in cracks in the pavement. I tried to add a new tiny plant every day or two, which meant that I had to wander further and further afield to find a suitable specimen. It wasn't perfect, but was quite motivating.

CincinnatiMan · 2025-02-24T13:54:52 1740405292

I love the irony here. Going outside into “real life” to find pictures to post on a site that keeps people inside.

johnmaguire · 2025-02-24T15:46:48 1740412008

"[...] the outside world, the non-digital world, is merely a theatrical space in which one stages and records content for the much more real, much more vital digital space. One should only engage with the outside world as one engages with a coal mine. Suit up, gather what is needed, and return to the surface." -- bo burnham, Inside

https://youtu.be/PSClBFUe-o0?t=26

thatcat · 2025-02-24T15:55:42 1740412542

solid bit, but weird transition into pirate maps

johnmaguire · 2025-02-24T16:05:35 1740413135

Inside is a feature-length movie filmed during the pandemic, definitely worth watching in its entirety if you haven't. It's incredibly creative. I linked the video at the second of three "bits" performed in a single scene. In this scene, he's pretending to be a standup comedian in front of an audience, hence the multiple jokes. Bo actually previously used the pirate joke in The Big Sick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYZ5efCcK_s

Sharlin · 2025-02-24T14:26:53 1740407213

TBH I don't think Instagram particularly keeps people inside given that >99.99% of its users use it exclusively on mobile.

bentaber · 2025-02-24T14:29:52 1740407392

Because people don’t use their phones at home?

bdsa · 2025-02-25T09:25:25 1740475525

More people use their phones outside than use their desktop computers outside, though

Aurornis · 2025-02-24T16:28:51 1740414531

From what I’ve seen, Instagram is better at motivating young people to go outside and do things than video games were in the 90s or even today.

With Instagram they see their friends doing things and it’s a reminder that going outside and/or spending time with friends is fun. There’s a lot of pearl clutching about people getting jealous about other people’s vacation pictures, but on the whole the active Instagram users I know are much more social and likely to spend time outside the house than the gamers or Redditors. By a wide margin.

slyn · 2025-02-24T22:56:07 1740437767

May have been true when Instagram was a photos app with a chronological timeline of only the accounts you follow + a few ads. If you wanted to seek content outside of your personally curated feed it was in a different tab or you would need to search for it.

Now it’s a meme-shorts first platform that constantly suggests content outside of your follows and non-chronologically. You can’t opt out of “suggested content” pictures or videos in your feed for more than 30 days at a time and there is no option to permanently opt out. It’s not possible to opt out of shorts (reels) suggestions in your feed. It’s not possible to opt out of meta “threads” suggestions in your feed. I just opened the app and 5 of the first 11 items in my feed were sponsored ads, and 1 of the 11 was suggested “threads”.

awad · 2025-02-25T00:00:49 1740441649

Plenty of those memes and reels ARE focused on 'IRL' activities, though. Obviously the full experience depends on your feed, but a lot of content is created and shared around restaurants/activities/vacation etc and many millennials and Gen Z find inspiration there, whether from influencers or peers.

acyou · 2025-02-24T16:37:12 1740415032

Is this still true though? My gut feeling is that most Instagram users are now passive, meaning they doomscroll and never post while lying in bed in their parents basement while their 20s sail by.

Not so much a stereotype as a reflection of the real people I know.

I think we used to see much more content from friends, I think the feed is now mostly content creators/ads/tiktokified, no?

tredre3 · 2025-02-24T19:02:47 1740423767

> My gut feeling is that most Instagram users are now passive

That's just reflective of how the world has always worked. Most people are passive.

The point being made, I think, is that Instagram is a greater source of motivation to interact with the outside world than Reddit/Gaming is.

It sounds plausible enough to me but who knows?

lou1306 · 2025-02-24T17:00:00 1740416400

You do have power onto your own feed (well, limited power). I snooze suggestions every month and follow basically zero content creators: I'd say 90% of my followees are people I've met irl. If I want to doomscroll and feel awful, the Explore/Reels tabs are more than enough.

pigeons · 2025-02-25T05:34:13 1740461653

Too true sadly.

chasd00 · 2025-02-24T21:15:23 1740431723

pokemon-go got a lot of people outdoors too. I would see kids walking around the neighborhood with their phones out looking for pokemon, it wasn't perfect but at least they were outside getting some air.

BigGreenJorts · 2025-02-24T22:19:31 1740435571

I stand by the meme: that summer was closest we've gotten to world peace.

0xEF · 2025-02-25T01:42:36 1740447756

It's still very popular in my area during the warmer weather. I don't play the game myself but it is quite nice to see, really and makes me feel a little better about my community, as silly as that sounds. When people get out and enjoy public spaces together, it nurtures a positive perspective.

satyarthms · 2025-02-24T13:44:35 1740404675

I'm a connoisseur of plants growing in cracks in the pavement, mind sharing a link?

camtarn · 2025-02-24T15:03:43 1740409423

https://www.instagram.com/ct_thelittlethings/ :)

mattcantstop · 2025-02-24T15:43:11 1740411791

I'd be cool to create a simple template that you could repeat for each post in video form:

- The plant - The location (sidewalk, park, etc) - Native vs non-native? - Seen as a weed or flower/desirable plant? - Who pollinates it.

I just subscribed.

satyarthms · 2025-02-24T15:36:13 1740411373

Nice pics, very heartwarming and solarpunk!

camtarn · 2025-02-24T15:52:53 1740412373

Thank you! <3

InDubioProRubio · 2025-02-24T14:24:27 1740407067

Bricky roads They trappers grass Stony walls They trappers wind Iron stove It trappers fire Trappers is we By the works of hands And forgets us We were ever free...

JadeNB · 2025-02-24T20:22:20 1740428540

I wonder how many of us picked up this habit from COVID? It definitely got me to appreciate my local flora way better, and the fact that I get weird looks for bending down to take pictures of tiny little insect and plant life is, well, let me be honest, I kind of enjoy being the neighborhood eccentric.

drivers99 · 2025-02-24T22:01:27 1740434487

During COVID I'd take a lot of walks, and in a similar way, it helped to have some kind of basically useless goal/destination in mind. For me it was checking out how construction in a nearby park was going, including what was happening in a temporary holding pond. I would send "pond updates" to my family in other states, which they found amusing. I got really interesting in all the different birds I was seeing and how the plants were growing. Now that I'm downtown, in a more "walkable" place, I don't really have the same variety of interesting natural things to see. Maybe I can think of something similar.

camtarn · 2025-02-24T22:35:55 1740436555

Aw, that's a really lovely goal! A growing pond sounds like an excellent walking target - during lockdown I headed to my local reservoir quite a few times and just wandered around the path by its edge.

I also enjoy watching construction - I feel like in a different country and different life, I would have been an 'Umarell' (an elderly Italian man who stands watching construction sites)

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:13:32 1740410012

I really love that, would you mind sharing the insta?

JadeNB · 2025-02-24T20:21:20 1740428480

They responded on another post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43160338): it's https://www.instagram.com/ct_thelittlethings .

racktash · 2025-02-24T14:45:26 1740408326

Fun idea!

I am always astounded how hard it can be to break doom scrolling as a habit DESPITE knowing how much better I feel when I can't / don't do it.

When I don't do it, I will often spend my time doing something personally productive, but even if I do nothing at all instead, it's still better – my head is clearer, I can think so much better; I feel more content and optimistic about life in general; time goes slower.

saganus · 2025-02-24T18:00:43 1740420043

Dopamine addiction is very nasty.

freetonik · 2025-02-24T14:45:29 1740408329

Very cool concept! I wanted to make a similar thing a few years ago, but for a slightly different purpose: force myself to walk more. I built an iOS app called Geostreaks [1] with a simple mechanic: pick an outdoor location (for example, a nearby park) and “check in” there every day.

I couldn’t justify the yearly developer fee though, so the app has been removed from the App Store a few years later :(

1. https://appadvice.com/app/geostreaks/1482655198

ColeShepherd · 2025-02-24T17:49:45 1740419385

Can you please open-source it?

freetonik · 2025-02-24T20:57:05 1740430625

Sure, why not, here it is: https://github.com/freetonik/geostreaks

basisword · 2025-02-24T13:18:09 1740403089

Nice idea. I feel like we don't see as many fun/whimsical apps these days as we did 10-15 years ago.

vitaflo · 2025-02-24T14:08:47 1740406127

Whimsical doesn’t make money and we are a society of sellouts.

Ginguin · 2025-02-24T14:16:30 1740406590

We are a social species living in a world where everything is commodified, and to survive means trying to find a way to exist in that space. It creates a mindset where even a simple hobby needs to somehow create profit, because everything around us requires we have and/or create money over all of the less tangible things that actually make humans happy.

Some people have the luxury of being able to step around that mindset, even if only for a little bit, but there is less and less space for just existing.

robocat · 2025-02-24T17:53:12 1740419592

Well said. I hear my arty/crafty friends get recommended to sell their "works". Thinking of art as an investment is a scourge.

Unfortunately money is useful, even if the game of chasing it is stupid and can be doomingly addictive. Looking after it for retirement is hell and trains one to be tight or a gambler.

The worst part is that we all know other things are more important than money: most people seem to choose jobs for their invisible benefits rather than financial outcomes. Our world runs because of our internal goals rather than money. The teacher that wants to help their students. The taxi driver that just likes to meet people. The engineer that strives for perfection. Does Matt Levine write for money?

The social incentives are whacko, and the government incentives are often insane. I have some admiration for those that find a way to get the benefits of society at the lowest time costs to themselves.

We fear we live in a purely capitalist world - yet the invisible incentives (economic surplus) are what makes everything work. The danger of seeing everyone else as a money grubber, while knowing that we ourselves are driven by better motivations.

Cthulhu_ · 2025-02-24T15:33:46 1740411226

The other factor is that there were too many "whimsical" apps, which were mostly variations of drinking beer, iphone guns, or fart apps. Apple cracked down hard on those by adding rules about similar / copycat apps or low value apps.

basisword · 2025-02-24T15:48:23 1740412103

There were lots of those. Back when you could easily sell rubbish for 99¢ making copying popular apps possibly worthwhile. But there's still latitude for creativity. I came across this[1] Mac app at the end of last year which decorates your desktop with Christmas lights. Completely useless, but very fun and whimsical. I feel like there used to be more of this. There also used to be more creativity in functional apps too when development was less focussed on metrics/engagement. I feel like even the more fun indie apps started copying the 'big guys' with complex onboarding tutorials, gamification, and upselling. Maybe it was just because the platforms were newer and simpler back then. Maybe it's rose tinted glasses :)

[1] https://simonbs.gumroad.com/l/festivitas

thecosas · 2025-02-24T18:00:25 1740420025

Perhaps not all whimsy, but definitely take a look at https://www.creativeapplications.net/blog/ for some interesting stuff people are doing out there in the world.

thruway516 · 2025-02-24T17:59:40 1740419980

But when we had fart app everyone said civilization was coming to an end

basisword · 2025-02-24T20:11:52 1740427912

I don't think that reaction was to the existence of them - merely the fact people were parting with money for them to the extent that developers were making significant money (short-term anyway). "Drinking" a pint, or blowing out the flame on a "lighter" were both quite cool moments for people when smartphones first arrived.

bigbuppo · 2025-02-24T22:05:38 1740434738

It was that brief window of time that ended, partly because of the iphone, that technology could be or do anything. The world of infinite possibility.

Now that costs $14.99/mo, but if you upgrade to the Pro Plus package for $23.95/mo, you get not only the fart feature, and the flame feature, but you get the flaming fart feature. Requires annual prepayment, otherwise price is $39.64/mo, excluding taxes and cost recovery fees.

hathawsh · 2025-02-24T18:49:52 1740422992

I thought for a moment you were talking about https://whimsical.com/, which is productivity suite that people depend on for work. I wouldn't want to hear it's shutting down! Then I realized you're talking about the concept of whimsical things, not a company. Whew!

SketchySeaBeast · 2025-02-24T14:12:17 1740406337

Is it possible that we're not as comfortable as we were a decade ago? I'll admit to having no aspirations to make that next killer app, but that's because I'm fairly financially secure, not wealthy by any means, but a decent paying job with a pension, and I know that's a privileged position the days.

vitaflo · 2025-02-24T14:48:14 1740408494

People always say this but it tends to be the poor broke art kids who create some crazy cool shit for the hell of it that eventually becomes commodified.

hakube · 2025-02-25T09:12:14 1740474734

and subscriptions

beAbU · 2025-02-24T13:42:15 1740404535

Geolocate the user to ensure that at least the touching of a picture of grass tookplace outside.

aembleton · 2025-02-24T15:52:30 1740412350

And then update that location on OSM as having grass

oever · 2025-02-24T20:59:57 1740430797

Here's a whimsical site I made a few years ago. You can look up grasses and other lifeforms and see how they are related.

https://sol.vandenoever.info/?lang=en,nl&uids=119845,135774,...

sureIy · 2025-02-25T05:32:53 1740461573

I've been wanting something like this for a very long time. I always imagined seeing the "scientific classification" metro-style path where at some point it splits showing how far apart are two species.

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:14:41 1740410081

Thank you! It's a silly idea but it does actually work for me

mhh__ · 2025-02-24T14:00:21 1740405621

iBeer seems so quaint now

y-curious · 2025-02-24T14:26:39 1740407199

Check out this fake lighter app I have

bloopernova · 2025-02-24T14:37:51 1740407871

I added reddit.com to uBlock Origin's filters list. I can still visit it, but there's now a screen asking me if I'm sure I want to go there. It's stopped me a few times, and it's breaking that muscle memory of "pick up phone & check reddit/etc"

cryptopian · 2025-02-24T15:44:56 1740411896

A few years back, I realised how bad the addiction was when I deleted a couple of apps. While doing other things on my phone, I'd autopilot going to the apps list and tapping the empty space where Reddit/Twitter used to be. You're right, that little bit of friction is enough to make you stop and ask "what am I really getting out of this?"

redox99 · 2025-02-24T18:33:10 1740421990

Reddit has gotten so bad over the last decade that I've stopped browsing it altogether, except for one or two niche subreddits every now and then.

65 · 2025-02-25T00:51:51 1740444711

Every god damn subreddit gets infested with political content it's hard to browse. And even if you want to get more niche in depth content, most of the time subreddits will be filled with extremely beginner, basic questions.

darknavi · 2025-02-24T20:00:57 1740427257

I am really hoping they kill old.reddit.com so I can finally cut it off completely.

sureIy · 2025-02-25T05:36:18 1740461778

Something simpler that has helped me break off some websites is to just log out. Twitter and Facebook have no feed if you log out. Reddit on the opposite will show you an empty feed if you're logged in but follow no subreddit. YouTube does neither, but I like long videos so it's unlikely I mindlessly open one.

bigbuppo · 2025-02-24T22:00:03 1740434403

Google+ is still part of my muscle memory. It was such a pleasant place when they stopped mandating people use it.

Acrobatic_Road · 2025-02-24T23:30:36 1740439836

I'm not familiar with how those filter lists work. What do I have to enter to get a screen like this?

hartator · 2025-02-24T14:40:43 1740408043

What about the app?

nostromo · 2025-02-24T20:02:48 1740427368

The reddit app is so bad, it may actually have been designed to end addiction to reddit.

sureIy · 2025-02-25T05:39:06 1740461946

It literally cannot be worse than the website. Reddit has always sucked except for that brief period between the creation of the new UI and the enshittification of the new UI. I never used the old UI before because it was so bland and there were so many better alternative UIs.

bloopernova · 2025-02-24T15:11:25 1740409885

I have never installed it.

I prefer to access things through a web browser.

cryptopian · 2025-02-24T15:42:40 1740411760

I actually found that certain browser equivalents of attention sucking apps were poor quality enough that using them only through the browser was enough friction to wean myself off them. old.reddit.com is especially badly optimised for anything other than a desktop screen.

kjkjadksj · 2025-02-24T16:34:27 1740414867

Old.reddit.com is the only way reddit loads on my se2. The actual mobile website just times out with half the comments loaded every time. A lot of noticeable lag. It is a super heavy site in comparison with old.reddit.com.

whamlastxmas · 2025-02-24T16:26:49 1740414409

For me, it’s that I have a million keyword and subreddit filters on my desktop computer and Reddit is unreadable for me without those filters, so I never read it on my phone

scosman · 2025-02-24T21:51:39 1740433899

Canadian here: I look forward to using my apps again in April.

sexy_seedbox · 2025-02-25T01:08:08 1740445688

HongKonger here, no grass to be found in concrete jungle.

zdc1 · 2025-02-25T06:08:10 1740463690

I remember seeing a small patch at the top of The Peak that should do the trick

sureIy · 2025-02-25T05:27:59 1740461279

Surely you can find some green plastic herbs somewhere.

duxup · 2025-02-24T13:09:20 1740402560

This is going to be rough up north where I am, too much snow.

adverbly · 2025-02-24T14:00:20 1740405620

Same problem here... Trying to think of some substitutions:

1. Touch snow

2. See the sun while outdoors.

3. Say hi to someone in person.

4. Text a friend or family member.

5. Touch a tree.

I think touch a tree would be the most direct substitution. Something to be said for a social substitution too though, but it probably doesn't match the initial intent of touching grass.

madmountaingoat · 2025-02-24T14:24:33 1740407073

Of course no one needs an app to do any of this, but the general idea of getting out and touching a tree, climbing a snowbank, going out without a coat or hat for a few minutes when it's freezing are all the sorts of things that keep me happy during in the winter.

rob74 · 2025-02-24T14:49:23 1740408563

Besides, depending on your location, touching a tree might also be more hygienic than touching grass (e.g. if you happen to be in an area used for dog-walking).

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:15:16 1740410116

I plan on letting the user select what they have to touch, for launch it's just grass but customisation is on the way!

hmmm-i-wonder · 2025-02-24T13:28:07 1740403687

Its all ice and snow outside. I'd be locked out for a while

Then again maybe that would be a good thing.

moolcool · 2025-02-24T13:45:25 1740404725

I'm up in icy Canada, but a social media hibernation might do me well.

duxup · 2025-02-24T13:53:20 1740405200

As fast as some social media circles move I imagine come spring it's possible to not understand the context of most of what is being posted.

cjbgkagh · 2025-02-24T14:05:44 1740405944

Sounds like a good way for a temporary fix to become a permanent one.

alaithea · 2025-02-24T17:41:06 1740418866

Hibernating? Touch Bear.

You'll never use social media again.

ge96 · 2025-02-24T14:35:24 1740407724

Make an Instagram of tiny snowmen with different scarves

Etheryte · 2025-02-24T13:27:56 1740403676

From touch grass to shovel snow for a while and then touch grass.

thruway516 · 2025-02-24T18:06:32 1740420392

Build startup and exit for +$20m before you can unlock your apps for the extra motivated

baranul · 2025-02-25T06:38:32 1740465512

Valid point. Should not only be to touch grass. At least snow, sand from the beach, and trees could at least be on the list.

johnmaguire · 2025-02-24T15:54:33 1740412473

Grab a shovel!

paulddraper · 2025-02-24T19:52:13 1740426733

Me too.

Touch snow.

Gys · 2025-02-24T13:24:23 1740403463

Dark times...

pcthrowaway · 2025-02-24T14:34:22 1740407662

People are just going to carry a patch of fake grass around with them to bypass the checks. So I suspect the reviews will be astroturfed.

asystole · 2025-02-24T16:23:08 1740414188

This is on the order of the "descartes before the whores" joke on reddit years ago. Generational stuff

jakelazaroff · 2025-02-24T15:30:59 1740411059

Maybe the best joke I've seen in ~10 years of regularly checking this site, 10/10

vladdrak · 2025-02-24T17:21:29 1740417689

“Fresh Patch Indoor Potty Grass” is going to make a killing out of this.

myvoiceismypass · 2025-02-24T17:28:50 1740418130

Reviewing this app is a sod job, but someone's gotta do it

oniony · 2025-02-24T15:43:48 1740411828

Why bother you when you dye your private turf green?

dkenyser · 2025-02-24T15:09:24 1740409764

This gave me a good chortle. Thanks.

m3kw9 · 2025-02-24T16:20:41 1740414041

Just google grass pics? The thing is if you are gonna cheat anyways you can just not use the app and you “win”

jnsie · 2025-02-24T16:10:52 1740413452

Brilliant!

not_wyoming · 2025-02-24T15:45:05 1740411905

/r/angryupvote

:)

benfarahmand · 2025-02-24T20:43:59 1740429839

three's 2 feet of snow on the ground. there's no grass. what do i do? can we get an update to touch snow?

silisili · 2025-02-24T21:26:15 1740432375

Keep a little patch of turf on the table next to your armchair, and you can touch grass without ever even getting up.

Baggie · 2025-02-24T13:17:14 1740403034

my neighborhood is very low on grass will tree support be added? I like them better and we have a lot more of them

sincerely, Lorax

szszrk · 2025-02-24T13:35:36 1740404136

A/B testing. You got a high difficulty variant.

BobAliceInATree · 2025-02-24T13:58:22 1740405502

I live in the middle of Manhattan not near a park. There is zero grass near me that I would touch.

yssrnjm · 2025-02-24T17:44:31 1740419071

App not recommended for Canadians. Unless someone makes a 'touch snow' plugin.

redeux · 2025-02-24T17:50:04 1740419404

Same for people who live in the Southwest US, unless someone makes a 'touch dirt' or 'touch cactus' plugin.

simondanerd · 2025-02-24T13:17:12 1740403032

Is there an Android version coming soon?

Also it would be better if you kept Instagram uninstalled... I see it installing on the screenshot!

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:17:11 1740410231

Soon...ish Android equivalent is hard but it is in the back of my mind!

aeve890 · 2025-02-24T18:42:09 1740422529

Wdym is hard? Hard like is harder to make apps for Android than iOS? Genuinely curious

feznyng · 2025-02-24T19:54:57 1740426897

iOS has a system level API for this sort of thing. Android does not.

tcoff91 · 2025-02-25T12:16:51 1740485811

In general yes iOS dev is easier than android and especially for screen time apps

waonderer · 2025-02-25T12:36:55 1740487015

Why don't devs use React Native like tech stack that allows development across platforms at the same time, especially for simple apps like this when they probably don't have to use all native capabilities different platforms provide.

int_19h · 2025-02-27T22:07:05 1740694025

Because in this case a native capability is exactly what made the app so easy?

risquer · 2025-02-24T21:21:38 1740432098

Yeah you basically need to write your own screen time api for android and use the draw over permission - it's going to be an interesting build for sure!

mikragor · 2025-02-24T13:40:40 1740404440

Technically, the icon displays the app as paused from the time limit. Once you surpass the time limit using the app, you can stop using it or allow you temporarily (1 minute to 15 minutes or stop limiting the usage for today) to continue to use it. It's a neat option to have this on your phone, but I usually keep expanding my time limit more than just quitting the app. I think that's what this app is aiming for, allowing you to use the app more time requires more effort than 2 taps.

askl · 2025-02-25T12:19:34 1740485974

It's less fun and not exactly the same but focus mode is already included in Android.

https://blog.google/products/android/android-focus-mode/

johnthescott · 2025-03-01T16:24:06 1740846246

brilliant. you have created a genre.

Oras · 2025-02-24T15:19:14 1740410354

I had an idea to lock my phone until I burn x calories. So, I cannot see notifications or open any app unless I achieve the goal. When I checked, it was impossible to do that with Apple, It's great to know that you can lock apps, though! I love the concept.

dudefeliciano · 2025-02-24T13:13:49 1740402829

I love this, the internet needs more of these weird concept apps. As another commenter mentioned, perhaps this could be extended for people that don't have grass around them due to season/location? Touch snow, touch sand, etc

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:19:27 1740410367

Thanks man! I plan on letting the user set what they have to touch, it's on the roadmap!

FollowingTheDao · 2025-02-24T13:44:29 1740404669

"I love this app that gets me off of my phone!"

"We need more apps!"

Can we just sit and mediate and listen to ourselves grasping?

dudefeliciano · 2025-02-24T13:55:42 1740405342

Uhm I think you misunderstood me. What I meant is that I love these trivial, fun, silly apps that make the internet more interesting. You can certainly sit and meditate whenever you want

etothepii · 2025-02-24T14:28:25 1740407305

One sec was great for breaking my YouTube shorts habit but the safari plugin only works 90% of the time and in some way the "gambling nature" of hitting reload and getting in sometimes has made it worse.

wcfrobert · 2025-02-24T16:24:13 1740414253

This is so bizarre! We live in a world where companies invest billions and hire the best researchers all to capture our attention and serve ads. And now, to claw back any sort of agency, we resort to this.

moontear · 2025-02-24T17:41:33 1740418893

How is it blocking other apps? Is it creating apple shortcuts which go through this app as a launcher?

queueueue · 2025-02-24T23:30:09 1740439809

Apple has a screentime API which allows the app/dev to block an app after the user chooses it

woadwarrior01 · 2025-02-24T14:04:43 1740405883

Why does the app need to collect location data?

SSLy · 2025-02-24T14:41:19 1740408079

1. Information Collection 1.1 Required Permissions

    Location: Used solely to determine local sunset times; location data is not stored or transmitted

Cthulhu_ · 2025-02-24T15:34:34 1740411274

Wouldn't checking the time (which should include TZ data) and comparing it with a database be adequate or can you not get local timezone data without permissions?

SSLy · 2025-02-24T18:03:34 1740420214

no, the timezones can be very very long north to south

busymom0 · 2025-02-24T16:21:46 1740414106

You can get local timezone data without permissions in iOS.

But I think the OP's app is using the location data to ensure you walked a few meters to touch grass and not just have a patch of grass at your desk.

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:15:37 1740410137

Yeah exactly, thanks!

tonyhart7 · 2025-02-24T14:12:02 1740406322

to locate user location ofcourse

andy_ppp · 2025-02-24T15:40:33 1740411633

Presumably you don't need to let the app have access for it to work?

m_mueller · 2025-02-24T14:07:35 1740406055

are you telling me it actually checks the GPS coordinates against satellite images? ....

jsnelgro · 2025-02-25T01:07:04 1740445624

I wrote an apple shortcut last year that notifies me with a random item from my todo list after five minutes of having an "addicting" app open. It sort of helps to jog me out of mindless scrolling, but I still ignore it a lot of the time. At the very least, it helps repeatedly remind me of things I aspire to do someday (I keep big picture ideas and projects in certain lists)

tibbetts · 2025-02-24T17:01:00 1740416460

Needs a mode where touching snow counts.

KMnO4 · 2025-02-24T17:02:21 1740416541

Just don't doomscroll until spring.

alaithea · 2025-02-24T17:39:54 1740418794

I was thinking the same. Grass is hard to come by in my neck of the woods right now. Maybe "touch bark?"

layer8 · 2025-02-24T17:06:52 1740416812

Google for “indoor grass”.

pbhjpbhj · 2025-02-25T08:26:33 1740471993

Walk 500 steps?

indycliff · 2025-02-28T23:30:03 1740785403

I like it. I signed up for when it's available. Good luck!

NalNezumi · 2025-02-24T14:03:58 1740405838

Awesome idea.

But knowing myself, I'll probably just end up buying a plant and put it next to my table and end up using it

mateusfreira · 2025-02-24T13:17:07 1740403027

Can we change it to unblock only when I do 10 pushups? I would love to get that to my Nephew and Nieces phone

lee · 2025-02-24T15:48:21 1740412101

You can probably expand your user base to Canadians by also adding a "touching snow" feature.

bbarnett · 2025-02-24T17:47:08 1740419228

A white wall would qualify, so maybe you'd have to pee a letter into the snow to unlock.

aeve890 · 2025-02-24T18:40:24 1740422424

Nah too easy. Pee a QR code, then scan the QR to validate.

FollowingTheDao · 2025-02-24T13:26:29 1740403589

Fun idea, but not the right way to end an addiction. Making it more difficult to get the dopamine (really epinephrine) hit will only lead to more frustration and reinforce the relief when you get your reward. In other words, it only makes the reward more pleasurable.

Cthulhu_ · 2025-02-24T15:40:46 1740411646

What if the author adds some gamification strategies and awards the users points depending on how often, long, and diverse their grass-touching is, and add an infinite scroll feed of other users touching grass, which you can then upvote and engage with!

(please sign up to my onlygrass page)

gradientsrneat · 2025-02-24T19:34:34 1740425674

Many digital addictions only work due to the fast feedback loop. If you break the feedback loop, you can break the addiction.

Anonboxis · 2025-02-24T23:27:07 1740439627

The European Union is about to introduce a regulation on infinite scrolling called the Digital Fairness Act. They are currently looking for ideas, so, thanks for sharing.

Seriously this is really cool!

ColeShepherd · 2025-02-24T17:48:33 1740419313

I would love an app with a configurable "unlock" task. Ex:

- Do a quick mindfulness/breathing exercise.

- Answer a quick quiz question related to something you're learning.

- Remind you of pending to-dos

Anyone know of an app like this?

rvb · 2025-02-24T17:51:40 1740419500

> - Do a quick mindfulness/breathing exercise.

Clearspace does exactly this:

https://www.getclearspace.com/#how-it-works

I've been using it for a month or two, with good results. Good luck!

hexatin · 2025-02-24T18:28:47 1740421727

For iOS, Screenzen is an app that does this: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/screenzen-screen-time-control/...

tcoff91 · 2025-02-25T12:21:29 1740486089

It’s not exactly like this but the Superhappy app makes you chat with a bot and ask it to unlock for a period of time.

djyde · 2025-02-24T18:20:10 1740421210

I wrote a chrome extension for this a year ago https://dengtab.com/

hyperific · 2025-02-24T19:14:21 1740424461

Kudos on getting your project from conception to the finish line!

The concept of having to interact with the natural world before being allowed to interact with the social media world is interesting and this is perhaps the most interesting implementation of that.

Personally I find it's rewarding to flex the "self restraint muscle" by stopping myself from doomscrolling rather than relying on technology to do that for me.

nofunphil · 2025-02-24T15:29:38 1740410978

Love this. But wonder if it would work better if there was an incentive tied to using your phone less, ie. Rewards points for staying off socials.

mclau156 · 2025-02-24T14:38:10 1740407890

I have had an idea like this but instead it is a few minutes of breathing exercises with a calm nature background, then it unlocks your other apps

bloomingkales · 2025-02-24T13:39:37 1740404377

What if someone tries to cheat and just touch a picture of grass? You need to understand that the no-touch-grass people are Machiavellian.

seafoamteal · 2025-02-24T13:49:25 1740404965

The only person they're cheating is themselves. Any systems designed to help you curb phone addictions only work if you do the legwork and are in the mindset of wanting to improve. The systems are only guardrails to lean on when you're tired. If you decide to vault the rails, that's not sustainable in any way.

loloquwowndueo · 2025-02-24T13:49:21 1740404961

You’re cheating yourself in that case. Or to put it another way, if you really don’t want to comply you can just delete the app.

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:18:13 1740410293

Yeah, just echoing what people have replied but I did try put some safeguards in such as screens - if it detects a screen it won't unblock your apps

wkirby · 2025-02-24T15:32:12 1740411132

This is fun, but there's an amusing oxymoron embedded in needing an app on my phone to verify that I'm... not using my phone

allears · 2025-02-24T16:43:37 1740415417

Obviously for urbanites only. Here in Northern California, grass is a conspicuous waste of water, and is slowly going out of favor and being replaced by native xerophilic plants. Our neighbor has a lawn, but we've got wood chips and native shrubs instead.

If we all acknowledge that nature is an antidote to anxiety, why not consider moving out of the city?

yobananaboy · 2025-02-24T19:01:52 1740423712

This is sick! Is it using an LLM's photo detection to determine if it is a picture of touching grass?

I recently added all of my most distracting apps to the Hidden section on iPhone. It requires a FaceID check to even see the apps, and blocks all notifications from them. It has helped me cut down on the scroll-time significantly.

risquer · 2025-02-24T19:34:42 1740425682

It's using Google's vision api - so Machine Learning but not LLM

NotAnOtter · 2025-02-24T15:18:16 1740410296

I bit of UX tweaking and this could see a lot of traction as a snarky reply, a la "Let me google that for you".

popol12 · 2025-02-24T14:33:08 1740407588

Very nice, but why does it require iOS 17 ? Jailbreakers are stuck on iOS 16 (and some are stuck even lower than that.. )

hombre_fatal · 2025-02-24T14:46:17 1740408377

I can't speak for this app, but every time I use SwiftUI, it turns out some basic thing I want, like the component or API method that is perfect for my app, was introduced in the latest iOS/macOS release. Every single dang time.

Cthulhu_ · 2025-02-24T15:37:18 1740411438

iOS 17 is from Sept 2023, it is considered obsolete. Current -1 is a very normal and decent support window, and supporting that covers >90% of active installations.

yieldcrv · 2025-02-24T17:52:27 1740419547

What I would love is social unlock, where your friends have to approve or deny your requests

I didn't realize there was a screen time api! I was waiting on Apple to do it, now I'll have to do it and wait for Apple to commit an antitrust violation and do it after it gains traction!

0x3331 · 2025-02-27T10:28:25 1740652105

Incredible concept, love it. I have many friends who literally ask for apps like this

luxuryballs · 2025-02-24T17:46:25 1740419185

I was thinking about this recently and was trying to determine if I could take advantage of some kind of accessibility settings or otherwise to contextually/periodically disable the gestures that doom scrolling depends on entirely, on fly.

Yhippa · 2025-02-24T21:01:32 1740430892

This is great, OP. For someone like me who is addicted to my phone in the house, it would be nice if there was some arbitrary object at the opposite side of the house I could touch to trigger this.

Anybody here know an Android equivalent of this?

weebao · 2025-02-25T04:24:00 1740457440

Please add a "touch snow" feature for those living in the north ;)

freeone3000 · 2025-02-24T15:16:56 1740410216

I have a user issue: there is currently 3 feet of snow outside and no grass to be seen :P

zawaideh · 2025-02-24T15:17:07 1740410227

Can I touch snow instead? There is no grass in sight in Canada this time of the year

jjkaczor · 2025-02-24T16:23:07 1740414187

Same thought... ("Instructions unclear, all I see around me is snow")

Never worry, it will melt when the scorched-earth tactics are used...

/s

izhak · 2025-02-24T18:09:27 1740420567

I live in Finland. Any chance I can get a "touch snow" option? Thanks.

_xtrimsky · 2025-02-25T13:22:56 1740489776

Very cool idea! I would have actually installed it if I had any grass outside, unfortunately I've been buried under snow for the past month xD.

spicy-punk-fog · 2025-02-25T15:53:30 1740498810

Nice idea! When you have finished building a biometric database of users' dorsal palm aspects, will you require scanning their palmar?

tsylba · 2025-02-24T13:36:47 1740404207

I understand it's a meme, but you're not "touching grass" if you need the mediation of an app to do so.

It's engineer logic 101, when technically true does not mean ontologically true.

Chris2048 · 2025-02-24T13:42:37 1740404557

I think this is understood, and the app is partly satirical.

crsv · 2025-02-24T13:41:06 1740404466

I bet you’re fun at parties.

awaseem · 2025-02-24T14:50:29 1740408629

Damn I love this! how was the process of getting approval from the app store? Wondering if you had to send videos instead of having reviewers touch grass. I launched Foqos earlier this month: https://github.com/awaseem/foqos and the review was brutal plus the form you need to submit to get permissions for Family activity

risquer · 2025-02-24T15:16:34 1740410194

Review was surprisingly simple, no videos or anything needed. I submitted at 11PM by 11:30PM it was approved, I've never experienced that for a new app...

awaseem · 2025-02-24T15:18:53 1740410333

Damn so jealous haha. Love the app happy to support in anyway!

baxtr · 2025-02-24T13:54:36 1740405276

Great concept! However my mind started already coming up with ideas how to circumvent this like printing out a color picture of grass! Hope you can detect these fake attempts! :)

Cthulhu_ · 2025-02-24T15:39:06 1740411546

If you have no intent of using the app, why install it in the first place?

But then, the purpose is less about going out and touching grass physically, and more about being aware of what you're spending your time on. A moment of self-reflection, if you will, and whether that's you going outside to find some grass or finding where you put your colour picture of grass and turning the lights on to get a good picture of it is by the by.

DisruptiveDave · 2025-02-24T14:04:28 1740405868

Ya know what, searching for a picture, printing it out, and taking a pic in this app = not doomscrolling, so, mission accomplished?

keyle · 2025-02-24T23:07:26 1740438446

Back in the day we used to just make a fart button on a web UI. The level of dedication at this stage is beyond me!

Well done.

Please detect dog droppings near hand, for a wash hand notification.

stego-tech · 2025-02-24T22:09:09 1740434949

Great concept, solid privacy policy and terms of service, and an excellent use of premium purchases to support rewilding projects. Absolutely love it!

linklater12 · 2025-02-24T15:25:28 1740410728

This is very cool. Congrats! I love it when apps force you to step outside. Pokemon Go was such a brilliant game in this regard! Wish we had more apps like this.

awslattery · 2025-02-24T16:35:38 1740414938

DLC for a dust mode, for those of us in Southern Arizona?

kayson · 2025-02-24T20:41:15 1740429675

How is it that an app can block access to other apps?

n2d4 · 2025-02-24T20:44:51 1740429891

It uses an API that lets developers customize the "shield" screen that is shown by Screen Time https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ManagedSettingsUI/...

jjkaczor · 2025-02-24T16:21:40 1740414100

Instructions unclear, all I see around me is snow...