This iOS App Blocks Distractions Until You Literally Touch Grass
Touch Grass locks apps until you step outside and snap a real grass photo, using AI to verify it.
Matilda
This iOS App Blocks Distractions Until You Literally Touch Grass
If you’ve ever spent way too long scrolling through endless feeds about nothing, you may have been advised to touch grass. It’s a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, basically telling you to log off and go outside. But one developer took the concept to the next level. Image:Sara Monika / Getty Images Rhys Kentish launched an iOS app last week called Touch Grass, which locks distracting apps until you literally walk outside and take a photo of grass. “I struggled with my screen time and worked out that I’d spend seven years of my life looking down at my phone if I didn’t change something,” Kentish said. “I wanted more friction than other solutions out there, something to get me out of the house in the morning. I wanted to break the habit of reaching for my phone in the morning and doomscrolling for an hour or two before starting my day.” Don’t even try cheating; using a computer vision AI, the app can distinguish between house plants and actual outdoor grass. So, after the app rejected a photo of …
