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Show HN: I made a app that uses NFC as a physical switch to block distractions

(www.foqos.app)
225 points awaseem | 5 comments | 21 Jan 25 16:52 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

Hi HN!

Super proud to showcase Foqos! I wanted to create a way to physically block apps on my phone, always had a bunch of NFC tags, combined the 2 together over the holiday break and Foqos was born. You can create profiles, write them to NFC tags and track your weekly focus.

Its completely open source and will always be free! There is an affiliate link in the app for nfc tags and donations are completely optional

Link here: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/foqos/id6736793117

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insane_dreamer ◴[21 Jan 25 20:30 UTC] No.42784860[source]▶
Very cool; wondering if this could work as a parental control. "screen time" on iOS is fundamentally broken, and something like this would require the child to come to the parent for screen time extensions (if the parent has the NFC chip).
replies(2): >>42785188 #>>42785943 #
puttycat ◴[21 Jan 25 21:05 UTC] No.42785188[source]▶
How is that different from the parent holding the code?
replies(3): >>42785368 #>>42786453 #>>42786624 #
1. linkregister ◴[21 Jan 25 21:24 UTC] No.42785368[source]▶
Apple Screen Time will occasionally stop blocking applications, allowing the child account to use them without restrictions.

Other drawbacks include only a single period of "down time" per day. There is also an inability to totally block applications; the closest analogue is to set a maximum of one minute for the website or application.

replies(1): >>42785518 #
2. insane_dreamer ◴[21 Jan 25 21:43 UTC] No.42785518[source]▶
not just occasionally but often, in our experience with multiple phones and iPads. I have 2 kids with devices and have found Screen Time completely useless. It is the right idea in theory but in practice it's broken (I'm guessing no Apple higher ups have young kids that they've tried to use this with.)

Also, besides the resets (and by reset I mean not just time restrictions but content restrictions too), my kid can just bypass it by entering his AppleID password.

replies(1): >>42786414 #
3. baxtr ◴[21 Jan 25 23:13 UTC] No.42786414[source]▶
There are many YouTube videos for teens on how to bypass ScreenTime. It’s a mess that Apple needs to clean up quickly
replies(1): >>42787034 #
4. linkregister ◴[22 Jan 25 00:20 UTC] No.42787034{3}[source]▶
For this reason a configuration profile [1] is the only fool proof method. However, I have only used them to deploy permanent content restrictions. I don't know of a way to enable or disable restrictions based on the time of day or a certain duration.

1. https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-mac/creat...

replies(1): >>42787771 #
5. insane_dreamer ◴[22 Jan 25 01:45 UTC] No.42787771{4}[source]▶
> enable or disable restrictions based on the time of day or a certain duration

this is what I need