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Show HN: I built an app that forces me to drink water before I can open TikTok
I wasn’t trying to reduce screen time but trying to drink more water.
So I built an iPhone app (SwiftUI) that locks selected apps using Apple’s Screen Time APIs.
To unlock them, ThirstTrapp activates the front camera and watches for ~15 seconds while I drink.
On-device vision checks for:
- a face
- a drinking container (glass/bottle)
- and a plausible drinking gesture (container overlapping mouth region over time)
If that sequence is detected for ~15 seconds, the apps unlock for a configurable window (e.g. 2 hours). Then they lock again until the next drink.
It doesn’t try to stop me from scrolling. It just makes hydration the entry fee. And since I'm addicted to scrolling I will actually drink. It’s slightly absurd, but it’s been more effective for me than reminder apps ever were.
All processing happens on-device. No images or video leave the phone or are stored. No account registration or login.
Curious what you think - especially from a technical perspective.
- boxed 8mo agoI think you shouldn't over hydrate. The fad of drinking more than your thirst tells you to is pseudoscience at best and harmful at worst.
- danndecl 8mo agoof course the user decides how much he wants to drink and for how long his apps are locked. so it's customizable, the user basically "forces" himself