Focus — Screen-Free Driving
| Category | Price | Seller | Device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle | Free | Kevin Holesh | iPhone, iPad |
Focus automatically starts up when you’re driving your car. If you pick up your phone and look at the screen, you’ll be gently reminded to put it down and focus on the road. If you’re stubborn and keep using your phone, Focus might get angry.
And you don’t want to make Focus angry…
What the app does
• Discourages you from using your phone whilst you’re driving.
• Sends an email report card for each trip to anyone you choose. Parents: are you listening? You get an email report summarizing exactly when your kids were using their phone while driving, and for how long, and how fast they were going. Keep them safe out there.
• Sends you a summary notification when you stop letting you know how you did on that trip.
• Remains completely invisible. Install it on your phone, set it up, and let it do its thing. It will run silently in the background.
• Automatically detects when you start driving. No “Start trip” and “End trip” buttons here.
• Engages passenger mode. If you’re not driving and you start to hear Focus remind you to put your phone down, give your phone a good shake. This will make Focus be quiet and mark it as “I wasn’t driving” for that trip.
• City folk: Stop yourself from using your phone while you’re walking too. Keep you eyes up crossing the street.
What the app doesn’t do
• Doesn’t block any phone functionality. There are always ways around that. The goal isn’t to make it harder to use your phone while you’re driving; it’s to make you want to not use your phone at all.
What about phone calls?
Focus is designed to discourage you from looking at your screen while driving. Talking on a phone call isn’t great either, but calls don’t count against you inside the app. The time you spend on phone calls while driving is tracked too, in case you’re curious.
Does using my GPS app count?
If you’re looking at your phone screen with the map displayed, yes. It doesn’t matter if you’re texting or trying to decipher a map of where you’re going; your eyes are still on your phone instead of the road.
The best thing to do is set up your directions before you pull out of your driveway and listen to Siri’s voice instructions. They’ll get you to your destination safely and your eyes can remain on the road.
What about using my phone at a red light?
Being stopped in traffic or at a red light is no excuse to be on your phone. You’re still behind the wheel of your car and should be paying attention to your surroundings. If you’re stopped at a light, Focus will keep reminding you to put down your phone.
Besides, how often does answering a text fit perfectly into the 27 seconds you’re stopped at a light? Never. You always start typing, the light turns green, and you hit the gas pedal and hurtle through the intersection while you keep typing away.
Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Focus has been designed to use GPS sparingly.
Stay safe,
~Kevin Holesh
[email protected]
Note to iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 owners: Focus might take a mile or so of driving to detect that you’ve actually started driving. Every other iPhone takes about 50 feet.
Reviews
It's time to focus
larh777
I never realized how much I actually check my iPhone while driving until I started using this app. What started as texting at stop lights turned into text a few seconds after the light turned green. I mean I am driving slow so what could happen? Actually, a lot could. I support screen free driving not only for my own safety but for the safety of all others on the road. This app is just what I needed to train myself to stay focused on the road.
I use GPS all the time.
Antiduplicity
So this app is pointless for me. Do not buy this if you use your GPS on your phone. Good idea though so I support this app.
Great app!
dcmiltown
Heard about this online and gave it a try. 5 stars in changing habits and minimal effort to use. I haven't looked at or played with the interface, but every time I drive it's working! Giving it 5 stars because I think everyone should use it (possibly add to OS!). I'd like an option for a tone or something instead of the voice. Some battery usage but not extreme.
It's about time
Ghblog
Rather than think twice about picking up my phone while driving I just don't pick it up. Using the phone while NOT driving is a great habit encouraged by this app. My children are older, but this would be a great tool for parents of young drivers. I wish the developer would come up with a way to push the app onto the phones of distracted drivers I see on the road every day.
This is such an incredible tool!
Mysundown
We all know that using our phones while driving is horrible, but we still text at traffic lights, etc. This tracks all your use and keeps you accountable. Also great for families and new drivers. You can send report card updates to a parent, keeping everyone on the same page and allowing you to have the important talks that can save lives. Yes, it's expensive, but an app like this is worth every penny!
This app changed my life.
skylarp
How often can you genuinely say that an app has changed your life? This one will. Overnight, I went from being a nonchalant user of my phone while driving, feeling guilty but not guilty enough to stop, to a complete abstainer. The power of shame is amazing, and I thank the developer for harnessing it for me!
In theory, an okay idea
Sam's 2014 Nano
But my teen driver streams music while driving, so the app thinks my teen is on the phone while driving. I just tried this app myself, using Spotify over Bluetooth, and the app did not much else but scold me for using my phone while driving, and I wasn't. I but sprint on before pulling out if garage. Also the voice scolding me sounds like Mr. Garrison from South Park and how can you expect a teen to take that seriously.
Great app. Hard on battery.
mapleheist
Love the scolding. It's three whole point. Helps to remind on self control. Even makes me chuckle.
Works as described, but hogs battery
6stringdave
This app works as described and is great at encouraging you not to use your phone while driving. My biggest complaint is that it is a major battery hog whether you spend time driving or not. It burns up my battery too fast for me to be able to keep it installed and running...my phone is unusable. (iPhone 6 iOS 9)
Needs a whitelist
Mind Game
I really like the idea of the app, and would also like to have a whitelist added where certain apps can be on like Navigation or phone calls. This may not be possible due to sandboxing, but there may be some possibilities.
