Life & fun · February 24, 2025
I built an app to stop me doomscrolling by touching grass
i 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.
I built an app to stop me doomscrolling by touching grass launched on February 24, 2025 with 1,203 votes, #6 of 5,999 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 1 year on.
In plain words
This app blocks access to distracting social media and news apps until the user physically goes outside and shows the camera grass. It uses Apple's screen time controls and Google Vision to verify plants are present. The app is designed for people struggling with morning doomscrolling habits who want to be forced to take breaks outdoors before checking their phones.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
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touch grass2025 · touchgrass.now · ▲525I wanted old school social media back. Actual connections with friends. Not pity likes and performances and highlight reels. All my friends have stopped posting. Everyone's a lurker now. I'm a lurker. The only time I see what anyone's doing is when it's a humblebrag. I have no idea what's actually going on in my friends' lives besides the ones I see every week or so. So I built touch grass. You post once a week: 3 easy questions, max 3 photos. Sunday 6pm mountain time (yeah its my time zone) everyone's posts unlock at the same time. You catch up on what your people have been doing, then…
TouchGrassJul 2026 · touchgrass.land · ▲335Context-aware break reminders without invasive permissions
Habit DoomApr 2026 · habitdoom.com · ▲32Habit Doom helps you stop doomscrolling by turning screen time into a reward for real habits. Choose the apps that waste your time, set daily habits like exercise or reading, and earn minutes by checking them off. The app auto-locks selected apps at midnight and unlocks them with
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