Show HN: I built an app to stop me doomscrolling by touching grass
touchgrass.nowi wanted to change the habit of reaching for my phone in the morning and doomscrolling away an hour so i built an app to help me. now i have to literally touch grass before accessing my most distracting apps
the app is built in swiftui, uses the screen time apis provided by apple and google vision to recognise grass or not
i'd love to get your thoughts on the concept.
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.
I love the irony here. Going outside into “real life” to find pictures to post on a site that keeps people inside.
"[...] 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
solid bit, but weird transition into pirate maps
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
TBH I don't think Instagram particularly keeps people inside given that >99.99% of its users use it exclusively on mobile.
Because people don’t use their phones at home?
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.
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?
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.
I'm a connoisseur of plants growing in cracks in the pavement, mind sharing a link?
https://www.instagram.com/ct_thelittlethings/ :)
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.
Nice pics, very heartwarming and solarpunk!
Thank you! <3
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...
I really love that, would you mind sharing the insta?
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.
Cute, but it might be time to ditch your smartphone if you really want to change.
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?
> - 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!
App not recommended for Canadians. Unless someone makes a 'touch snow' plugin.
Some for people who live in the Southwest US, unless someone makes a 'touch dirt' or 'touch cactus' plugin.
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
Can you please open-source it?
Nice idea. I feel like we don't see as many fun/whimsical apps these days as we did 10-15 years ago.
Geolocate the user to ensure that at least the touching of a picture of grass tookplace outside.
And then update that location on OSM as having grass
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Whimsical doesn’t make money and we are a society of sellouts.
But when we had fart app everyone said civilization was coming to an end
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Thank you! It's a silly idea but it does actually work for me
iBeer seems so quaint now
Check out this fake lighter app I have
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"
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?"
What about the app?
I have never installed it.
I prefer to access things through a web browser.
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.
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.
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
How is it blocking other apps? Is it creating apple shortcuts which go through this app as a launcher?
This is going to be rough up north where I am, too much snow.
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.
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.
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).
I plan on letting the user select what they have to touch, for launch it's just grass but customisation is on the way!
Its all ice and snow outside. I'd be locked out for a while
Then again maybe that would be a good thing.
I'm up in icy Canada, but a social media hibernation might do me well.
Hibernating? Touch Bear.
You'll never use social media again.
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.
Sounds like a good way for a temporary fix to become a permanent one.
Make an Instagram of tiny snowmen with different scarves
Grab a shovel!
From touch grass to shovel snow for a while and then touch grass.
Dark times...
Needs a mode where touching snow counts.
I was thinking the same. Grass is hard to come by in my neck of the woods right now. Maybe "touch bark?"
Just don't doomscroll until spring.
Google for “indoor grass”.
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.
This is on the order of the "descartes before the whores" joke on reddit years ago. Generational stuff
Maybe the best joke I've seen in ~10 years of regularly checking this site, 10/10
“Fresh Patch Indoor Potty Grass” is going to make a killing out of this.
Reviewing this app is a sod job, but someone's gotta do it
/r/angryupvote
:)
Why bother you when you dye your private turf green?
This gave me a good chortle. Thanks.
Brilliant!
Just google grass pics? The thing is if you are gonna cheat anyways you can just not use the app and you “win”
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.
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.
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
A/B testing. You got a high difficulty variant.
I live in the middle of Manhattan not near a park. There is zero grass near me that I would touch.
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!
In San Francisco, touching grass is a hazardous activity.
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
Thanks man! I plan on letting the user set what they have to touch, it's on the roadmap!
"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?
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
Why does the app need to collect location data?
1. Information Collection 1.1 Required Permissions
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?
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.
Yeah exactly, thanks!
Presumably you don't need to let the app have access for it to work?
to locate user location ofcourse
are you telling me it actually checks the GPS coordinates against satellite images? ....
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.
Is there an Android version coming soon?
Also it would be better if you kept Instagram uninstalled... I see it installing on the screenshot!
Soon...ish Android equivalent is hard but it is in the back of my mind!
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.
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
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.
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
You can probably expand your user base to Canadians by also adding a "touching snow" feature.
A white wall would qualify, so maybe you'd have to pee a letter into the snow to unlock.
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.
What the ....
fun idea
i'm not going to see any grass for another few months, unless i travel somewhere warmer, though
Can we change it to unblock only when I do 10 pushups? I would love to get that to my Nephew and Nieces phone
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".
Instructions unclear, all I see around me is snow...
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
I have a user issue: there is currently 3 feet of snow outside and no grass to be seen :P
Can I touch snow instead? There is no grass in sight in Canada this time of the year
Same thought... ("Instructions unclear, all I see around me is snow")
Never worry, it will melt when the scorched-earth tactics are used...
/s
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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...
Damn so jealous haha. Love the app happy to support in anyway!
DLC for a dust mode, for those of us in Southern Arizona?
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! :)
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.
Ya know what, searching for a picture, printing it out, and taking a pic in this app = not doomscrolling, so, mission accomplished?
This is great! A mode for snow would be awesome, haha. Up here in Canada there isn't always grass around in winter.
Very nice, but why does it require iOS 17 ? Jailbreakers are stuck on iOS 16 (and some are stuck even lower than that.. )
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.
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.
Spending many hours not touching grass to build an app that makes you touch grass. I like it.
If by many hours you mean probably 30 minutes in ChatGPT, then yes.
great concept! out of curiosity - what tool did you use to create the main UI app animation/video on the website?
It might be awhile before I can touch grass. There is quite a bit of snow on the ground!
Funny how even the demo on their website has the annoying "rate this app" popup.
pls r8 5*
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.
Works fine in Finland in winter!
That is fantastic. Should come preinstalled with every phone.
Reminds me of Pokémon go
Imagine going to a ski resort and being locked out of your apps in the evening because everything is covered in snow.
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?
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.
I think this is understood, and the app is partly satirical.
I bet you’re fun at parties.
Not a Hot Dog.
grass
Not hotdog.
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.
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)
Okay this might help!
See also: https://graas.easrng.net/ - "grass-touching verification service"
TGAAS
Wow what a great idea and all!
Mind if I ask what stack you used for this?
Sure! It's SwiftUI, Google vision and Screen time API
Are there any good anti-procrastination Safari extensions for desktop? Sometimes it can be hypnotic.
I like the idea but it will be hard to build a moat -- if that's something you care about. How about making it more general? "touch grass", "feel sand between your fingers", "hug a tree" ...
I'm not quite sure what you mean by build a moat, could you explain further?
Thank you for providing a perfect comment to reply "touch grass" to.
What do you do in the winter, eh?
I love it. And now I must make a “touching grass generator” to plug into the front of this.
I'm afraid to ask, but on the demo video... Is that dog poop next to the hand?
just mud haha
Nice idea. Would be great to have a winter mode for us that can’t literally touch grass for 3+ months a year ;)
3 months? Short winters ftw!
On a tangential note.. Best use of a "touch grass" reference goes to Noita devs:
https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1bt7aid/streamer_sp...
Dunk is a real gem to watch.
I hate this and I love it. Good work.
bro has grass touching IAPa
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I’m curious how long it takes on average to “tap and say” 100 times. In other words, how much time must you spend to get the extra 15 minutes?
Is Hacker News the new Product Hunt?