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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 | 3 comments | 21 Jan 25 16:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.65s | 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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tigereyeTO ◴[21 Jan 25 18:38 UTC] No.42783690[source]▶
I'm curious why the NFC tags are required at all?

Can't you switch profiles on your phone without scanning an NFC tag already? Couldn't your app allow profile switching without requiring any NFC tags?

It's not clear to me what the NFC tags add to this experience.

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1. runjake ◴[21 Jan 25 23:17 UTC] No.42786452[source]▶
For those curious, this is called Focus and is pretty highly configurable after a little learning curve. You can use automations to switch modes by calendar, date/time, GPS location, connected Wi-Fi network, etc. No programming required. Programmable via Shortcuts, too!

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-a-focus-iphd62...

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2. miki123211 ◴[22 Jan 25 07:26 UTC] No.42790064[source]▶
Ever since focuses got introduced, I really soured on the idea of a physical mute/ring switch.

Having my phone ring at home and vibrate when away is the most obvious use case for this feature, and yet it can't be implemented because you can't toggle a physical switch in hardware.

I know the latest generation iPhones don't have those, and I think that's the right decision, but it's still disappointing for older-gen users.

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3. Aerbil313 ◴[22 Jan 25 11:08 UTC] No.42791468[source]▶
You can associate a location schedule with Focuses, which can include Silent mode as a filter. Also you can set shortcuts to automatically run when you enter a physical location.