[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":580},["ShallowReactive",2],{"project-42782295":3},{"id":4,"name":5,"line":6,"line_source":7,"title":8,"url":9,"domain":10,"maker":11,"posted_at":12,"year":13,"points":14,"comments":15,"rank_in_year":16,"shown_in_year":17,"top":18,"tier":19,"category":20,"subcategory":21,"format":22,"keywords":23,"reception":29,"sentiment":30,"stance_mix":31,"scored_comments":36,"aspects":37,"strip":47,"post_text":50,"what":51,"said":92,"maker_in_thread":255,"shape":264,"grid":268,"attempts":542,"same_week":543,"maker_shows":40,"maker_hidden":572,"reader_version":573,"card":574},"42782295","Foqos","A app that uses NFC as a physical switch to block distractions","title","Show HN: I made a app that uses NFC as a physical switch to block distractions","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.foqos.app","foqos.app","awaseem",1737478362,2025,225,109,276,3837,8,"notable","productivity","focus and distraction blocking","mobile_app",[24,25,26,27,28],"nfc","app blocker","focus mode","digital wellbeing","iphone","mixed",0.123,{"positive":32,"neutral":33,"mixed":34,"critical":35},16,26,2,9,53,{"execution":38,"idea":41,"docs":44,"pricing":45,"performance":46},{"positive":39,"critical":40},0,1,{"positive":42,"critical":43},6,3,{"positive":39,"critical":40},{"positive":43,"critical":39},{"positive":39,"critical":34},[43,39,43,48,43,43,39,39,40,39,39,39,39,39,43,43,39,48,48,40,43,40,48,43,43,48,48,40,48,43,48,48,48,43,43,49,43,40,48,43],5,4,"Hi HN!\n\nSuper 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.\n\nIts completely open source and will always be free! There is an affiliate link in the app for nfc tags and donations are completely optional\n\nLink here: https:\u002F\u002Fapps.apple.com\u002Fca\u002Fapp\u002Ffoqos\u002Fid6736793117",{"problem":52,"audience":61,"pricing":69,"motivation":76,"time_to_build":76,"stack":77,"openness":89,"stage":90,"team_size":91},{"value":53,"source":54,"evidence":55},"Phone distractions are hard to resist; a physical NFC tag adds friction to switching focus profiles","maker",[56,58],{"id":57},"post",{"id":59,"by":11,"text":60},"42784008","yeah 100% you can totally just use whats built into your phone, there's actually no need for any of these apps. I found that having this physical deterrent keeps myself…",{"value":62,"source":63,"evidence":64},"People wanting to limit phone distractions, including those with ADHD","commenter",[65],{"id":66,"by":67,"text":68},"42783859","dingnuts","necessary for those of us who forget what they're doing whenever they open their phone. The ability to tell my phone \"shut up I'm at my desk\" without opening it and being…",{"value":70,"source":54,"evidence":71},"Free, with optional donations and an affiliate link for NFC tags",[72,73],{"id":57},{"id":74,"by":11,"text":75},"42782913","Yeah there is tags in the app you can buy that just links out to Amazon, just a disclaimer it is an affiliate link. Otherwise this is what I had around the house:…",null,[78],{"value":79,"source":80,"evidence":81},"Swift","inferred",[82,86],{"id":83,"by":84,"text":85},"42795358","compootr","afaik swift doesn't port well to android but I'm a dumbass in regards to mobile apps",{"id":87,"by":11,"text":88},"42783899","I haven't noticed this on my personal use. It does seem like they use the family picker activity built into iOS. So maybe the issue is here as well.","open_source","launched","solo",{"praise":93,"objections":113,"requests":154,"questions":203,"alternatives":218},[94,106],{"value":95,"source":63,"evidence":96},"Physical NFC commitment device is a useful idea",[97,98,102],{"id":66,"by":67,"text":68},{"id":99,"by":100,"text":101},"42784597","vednig","This is awesome, now I can switch between work and home with just a tap.",{"id":103,"by":104,"text":105},"42783217","Unearned5161","Neat implementation! Big fan of integrating more NFC into apps. There's something satisfying and reassuring about the physicality of it all. I'll add a vote to whoever has the…",{"value":107,"source":63,"evidence":108},"Useful for parental app lockdown",[109],{"id":110,"by":111,"text":112},"42796325","tzm","This is a fantastic way to lock down an app for kids.",[114,133,144],{"value":115,"source":63,"evidence":116},"Not available in many countries",[117,121,125,129],{"id":118,"by":119,"text":120},"42784710","whatsthatabout","Cool idea, wanted to try it out but it's not available in my country. Any reason for this? :)",{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},"42785733","Dansvidania","Is it not available in the EU?",{"id":126,"by":127,"text":128},"42784701","realityloop","App not available in my country (Australia)",{"id":130,"by":131,"text":132},"42786219","s_k_","cool, but can't use it : ( since it's not available in every country",{"value":134,"source":63,"evidence":135},"Apps can be unblocked easily in software and Apple Shortcuts\u002FFocus already does this",[136,140,141],{"id":137,"by":138,"text":139},"42783690","tigereyeTO","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…",{"id":59,"by":11,"text":60},{"id":142,"by":11,"text":143},"42785890","Yeah 100% I think I commented this somewhere else as well. Your phone already has this natively built in, you don't need any of these apps at all. Over the break I wanted to…",{"value":145,"source":63,"evidence":146},"NFC scanning is slow and produces ghost scans",[147,151],{"id":148,"by":149,"text":150},"42783219","amanda99","I'm finding that scanning NFC tags is pretty slow with iPhone. There's this automatic flow that's pretty cumbersome and slows me down. Then when it fails there's some annoying…",{"id":152,"by":11,"text":153},"42783970","Yeah I also find Ghost scans happen, it happens where I try to scan a tag and it says something has been scanned even though I'm no where close to the tag. I think its an issue…",[155,174,181,192],{"value":156,"source":63,"evidence":157},"Make available in more countries",[158,162,166,170],{"id":159,"by":160,"text":161},"42798751","uhlhosting","Add more regions for the app, maybe european countries too?",{"id":163,"by":164,"text":165},"42785271","parkersweb","Would be great if it was available in the UK too!",{"id":167,"by":168,"text":169},"42783587","1f60c","Why isn't the app available in the Netherlands?",{"id":171,"by":172,"text":173},"42790217","dperrin","Cool idea! Any chance you’ll make it available in New Zealand? I’d love to try this out.",{"value":175,"source":63,"evidence":176},"Android port",[177,180],{"id":178,"by":84,"text":179},"42782882","I was intrigued by brick, now this, and can't use either. is there seriously no android app like these? :(",{"id":103,"by":104,"text":105},{"value":182,"source":63,"evidence":183},"Demo showing blocked apps and real NFC use",[184,188],{"id":185,"by":186,"text":187},"42782899","GOATS-","It would've been nice to see what the apps looks like when they're blocked.",{"id":189,"by":190,"text":191},"42783363","fuddle","It would be nice to see a demo of the app working in the real world with an nfc tag, not just an app recording.",{"value":193,"source":63,"evidence":194},"QR code and Bluetooth beacon triggers",[195,199],{"id":196,"by":197,"text":198},"42784985","atVelocet","So this is just a wrapper for Automations and Profiles (or how Apple calls it: Focus). But i like the idea to make such features accessible to the everyone and not only people…",{"id":200,"by":201,"text":202},"42784963","chrisbrandow","would it be possible to trigger profiles with Bluetooth Beacons?",[204,214],{"value":205,"source":63,"evidence":206},"How to switch profiles without NFC tags",[207,211],{"id":208,"by":209,"text":210},"42792186","timisthief","Couldn’t figure out how to switch profiles without nfc tags even after installing the app. Could you please let me know?",{"id":212,"by":209,"text":213},"42789769","How do I do this?",{"value":215,"source":63,"evidence":216},"Why NFC tags are needed at all",[217],{"id":137,"by":138,"text":139},[219,230,241,248],{"value":220,"source":63,"evidence":221},"Apple Focus and Shortcuts",[222,226],{"id":223,"by":224,"text":225},"42786452","runjake","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\u002Ftime, GPS…",{"id":227,"by":228,"text":229},"42783265","filoleg","I might be misreading what you are asking, but I just went into Shortcuts app and tried creating a new one, and there are both “Get Current Focus” and “Set Focus” actions. Is…",{"value":231,"source":63,"evidence":232},"Brick",[233,237],{"id":234,"by":235,"text":236},"42782840","mikodin","This is awesome, yay for an open source https:\u002F\u002Fgetbrick.app\u002F I'm curious if you have an NFC tag that you'd recommend or that you like to use?",{"id":238,"by":239,"text":240},"42783695","ajoseps","I use the brick app: https:\u002F\u002Fgetbrick.app\u002F, and it works pretty well, but they have this weird bug where selecting certain apps on a block list crashes the app. They have a…",{"value":242,"source":63,"evidence":243},"ScreenZen",[244],{"id":245,"by":246,"text":247},"42783062","high_priest","ScreenZen works great. One would have to convince the dev to include NFC support.",{"value":249,"source":63,"evidence":250},"Tasker",[251],{"id":252,"by":253,"text":254},"42783799","netsharc","Tasker has NFC reading capabilities and is programmable to do stuff when it detects an NFC ID, I don't know if it can lock the phone though (there's an app called Lock My Phone,…",{"comments":256,"answered":257,"key":258},25,13,[259,260,263],{"id":142,"text":143},{"id":261,"text":262},"42783981","Yeah lot of feedback on better demos, learning moment for sure!",{"id":59,"text":60},{"commenters":265,"max_depth":266,"maker_replies":256,"first_comment_mins":48,"lifespan_hours":267},72,7,308,[269,273,277,280,282,285,287,290,293,296,298,301,305,309,311,312,313,314,318,319,322,325,328,331,332,334,337,340,343,345,348,350,352,355,358,361,363,365,368,369,372,375,376,377,378,381,384,386,389,393,395,398,400,404,406,408,410,412,414,417,419,422,424,427,431,434,435,437,439,441,446,448,451,453,456,459,461,464,466,468,472,474,478,483,486,488,490,492,494,495,497,500,501,503,505,508,510,513,514,516,517,520,522,524,526,529,533,535,538],[270,39,43,271,272,39],"42917684","project\u002Fmixed\u002Fexecution","oblo_mov",[274,40,39,275,276,39],"42783394","other\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone","layer8",[278,40,39,275,279,39],"42784706","_tariky",[142,40,39,281,11,40],"project\u002Fcritical\u002Fidea",[283,40,39,275,284,39],"42786946","whycome",[137,34,43,286,138,39],"project\u002Fneutral\u002Fidea",[288,34,43,286,289,39],"42783801","kojeovo",[291,34,43,286,292,39],"42783805","enoch_r",[294,34,43,286,295,39],"42783825","wduquette",[66,34,48,297,67,39],"project\u002Fpositive\u002Fidea",[299,34,43,286,300,39],"42783835","hecanjog",[302,34,39,303,304,39],"42784425","other\u002Fneutral\u002Fidea","yieldcrv",[306,34,43,307,308,39],"42783922","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fdocs","riso",[261,34,39,310,11,40],"maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fdocs",[208,34,43,307,209,39],[212,34,43,307,209,39],[59,34,39,286,11,40],[315,34,39,316,317,39],"42784793","other\u002Fneutral\u002Fdesign","PaulHoule",[223,34,39,275,224,39],[320,34,39,275,321,39],"42790064","miki123211",[323,34,39,275,324,39],"42791468","Aerbil313",[326,34,40,281,327,39],"42786798","barnabee",[329,34,43,286,330,39],"42791446","vijucat",[234,43,39,275,235,39],[74,43,39,333,11,40],"project\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone",[335,49,39,303,336,39],"42784860","insane_dreamer",[338,49,39,275,339,39],"42785188","puttycat",[341,49,39,275,342,39],"42785368","linkregister",[344,49,39,275,336,39],"42785518",[346,49,39,275,347,39],"42786414","baxtr",[349,49,39,275,342,39],"42787034",[351,49,39,275,336,39],"42787771",[353,49,39,275,354,39],"42786453","r0fl",[356,49,39,275,357,39],"42786624","Terr_",[359,49,39,275,360,39],"42787065","HeatrayEnjoyer",[362,49,39,275,357,39],"42787997",[364,49,39,275,360,39],"42869064",[366,49,39,303,367,39],"42785943","_DeadFred_",[178,48,43,333,84,39],[370,48,39,371,11,40],"42782937","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone",[373,48,43,333,374,39],"42783135","yard2010",[83,48,43,333,84,39],[245,48,39,275,246,39],[252,48,39,275,253,39],[379,42,39,303,380,39],"42784085","jwineinger",[382,42,39,275,383,39],"42786433","dylan604",[385,42,39,275,357,39],"42786666",[387,42,39,275,388,39],"42788835","inerte",[390,266,48,391,392,39],"42784971","project\u002Fpositive\u002Fpricing","brianmaurer",[394,266,48,391,392,39],"42785170",[396,266,39,397,11,40],"42785718","maker\u002Fpositive\u002Fnone",[399,266,39,275,392,39],"42785816",[401,18,40,402,403,39],"42881006","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fperformance","grjj",[185,35,40,405,186,39],"project\u002Fcritical\u002Fdocs",[407,35,39,310,11,40],"42782924",[103,409,48,297,104,39],10,[148,411,40,402,149,39],11,[152,411,39,413,11,40],"maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fperformance",[118,415,40,416,119,39],12,"project\u002Fcritical\u002Fnone",[418,415,39,371,11,40],"42785740",[420,415,48,397,421,39],"42789855","Tepix",[196,257,43,423,197,39],"project\u002Fmixed\u002Fidea",[425,257,39,426,11,40],"42785735","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fdesign",[428,429,43,286,430,39],"42783134",14,"nozzlegear",[432,429,39,433,11,40],"42783184","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fexecution",[227,429,43,433,228,39],[436,429,39,433,11,40],"42784017",[438,429,43,433,228,39],"42784190",[440,429,39,275,11,40],"42785973",[442,443,48,444,445,39],"42785860",15,"project\u002Fpositive\u002Fnone","cmauniada",[447,443,39,275,11,40],"42785897",[449,32,48,444,450,39],"42790613","smartis2812",[189,452,43,307,190,39],17,[454,452,40,281,455,39],"42783429","amelius",[457,452,43,286,458,39],"42783906","hailruda",[460,452,40,281,455,39],"42783984",[462,452,48,297,463,39],"42786380","phist_mcgee",[465,452,39,307,11,40],"42783949",[171,467,48,444,172,39],18,[469,470,43,307,471,39],"42782381",19,"pvg",[473,470,39,310,11,40],"42782576",[475,476,48,297,477,39],"42790331",20,"aucisson_masque",[479,480,48,481,482,39],"42784907",21,"maker\u002Fpositive\u002Fpricing","arjvik",[484,480,39,485,11,40],"42785742","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fpricing",[99,487,48,297,100,39],22,[489,487,39,444,11,40],"42785745",[159,491,43,333,160,39],23,[110,493,48,297,111,39],24,[122,256,43,333,123,39],[496,256,39,333,11,40],"42785762",[498,256,48,444,499,39],"42785843","dmje",[130,33,40,416,131,39],[502,33,39,333,11,40],"42786235",[200,504,43,286,201,39],27,[506,504,39,507,11,40],"42785748","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fidea",[167,509,43,333,168,39],28,[511,509,43,333,512,39],"42784020","phindmarsh",[163,509,48,444,164,39],[238,515,43,433,239,39],29,[87,515,39,433,11,40],[518,515,40,519,239,39],"42783929","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fexecution",[521,515,39,433,11,40],"42784055",[126,523,43,333,127,39],30,[525,523,39,371,11,40],"42785750",[527,523,48,444,528,39],"42792457","lucasacosta_",[530,531,39,275,532,39],"42783821",31,"dsp_person",[534,531,39,275,11,40],"42783916",[536,531,39,275,537,39],"42783989","franky47",[539,540,43,333,541,39],"42785664",32,"n0t3ths81",[],[544,549,554,558,563,567],{"id":545,"name":546,"points":547,"category":548},"42797260","Byran's open-source laptop",3237,"hardware",{"id":550,"name":551,"points":552,"category":553},"42749402","Interactive systemd",546,"dev_tools",{"id":555,"name":556,"points":557,"category":553},"42793777","Stratoshark",321,{"id":559,"name":560,"points":561,"category":562},"42796496","sms_llm",318,"creative",{"id":564,"name":565,"points":566,"category":553},"42738656","Mermaid Chart",230,{"id":568,"name":569,"points":570,"category":571},"42779330","TripOffice",222,"consumer_social",false,"v2",{"id":575,"name":5,"line":6,"ai":572,"cat":20,"year":13,"points":14,"comments":15,"rec":29,"s":576,"top":18,"kw":577,"maker":11,"domain":10,"tier":19,"attempts":39,"strip":578,"url":9,"mix":579,"praise":95,"objection":115,"sub":21},42782295,0.12,[24,25,26,27,28],"3035330010000033055131533551535553343153",[32,33,34,35],1794036668260]