Emiel Janson

Forest - Put down your phone and stay focused. Or a tree will die. 🌳😵

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andrew
Would be really cool if a real life tree was actually planted somewhere in a deforestation prone zone
Wolf
@acondurache @amy_jeng If you'd like to add "planting a real tree as part of reforestation" through a well-renowned NGO via an API, let's talk (ping me at ph@wolf-xaver-merkt.eu; I've API-fied tree planting for said NGO).
Menachem Pritzker
@wxmerkt @acondurache @amy_jeng @wolf there are APIs for everything nowadays...
AmyJeng
@acondurache Hello, the real-tree-planting feature is already available in our iOS app. We have donated and helped Forest users plant over 28,000 real trees. And this feature will also be available soon in our Android app. :)
Emiel Janson
I could see this go viral if the app was available for free. @shaokanp, did you consider other revenue models?
Shaokan Pi
@emieljanson @PieterPaul Currently, we are working on more advanced features, like detailed statistics, graphic improvements and other cool things. We plan to release a free version months later with in-app purchases for those “pro features”. People who purchased our app before then will have all pro features (and incoming features) without extra charge.
Emiel Janson
@shaokanp don't make it too complicated. Your app makes me save time, keep it that way.
Mike Coutermarsh
ahh cool. Growing my 1st tree now. A better tag line might be "Stay focused, stop procrastinating." I didn't know what "phubbing" was either.
Shaokan Pi
@mscccc As non-native English speakers, we Googled "phone addiction" in our language and it showed a lot of results containing the word "phubbing" and "phubber". We thought it might be a common word in English... Thanks for your advice. Can you suggest us some other words meaning "phone addiction" ? Thanks :)
ethan
@shaokanp haha yeah "phubbing" sounds..... naughty. That said, wow you guys are DOMINATING the chart today. And well deserved. Congrats!
Mike Coutermarsh
@shaokanp :) Not sure there is really a good word. Maybe something like. "Spend time with your friends, not your phone." or "Focus on what matters, not your phone."
Mike Coutermarsh
@shaokanp I think your app encourages people to "be present" and in the moment rather than somewhere else. Which is something super important with both friends & @ work.
Shaokan Pi
@mscccc I like the phrase "Be Present" very much. It is exactly the value we want Forest to provide. Thanks !
ethan
What does phubbing mean? I searched on Google and the only result i get is Pornhub :(
@ChuckReynolds
@gliechtenstein lol. idk but... phubbing != fapping
Pieter Walraven
Love this! Have you considered a free version with in-app purchases? I would be happy to spend on different trees, surprise coupon reward eggs, ... grow cute animals or let them die... lots of interesting directions you could take this!
AmyJeng
@PieterPaul We are planning to add more kinds of trees and achievement system in the future. Thanks for your suggestion. :)
Wesley Magness
Just want to add to potentially making this free with in app purchases. nnI tried to download it (screenshots REALLY intrigued me), but my CC expired and I didn't want to deal with adding another, thus closing the App Store and probably forgetting about this entirely. BUT luckily I use product hunt and am going to see this again
Szymon Rączka
@wesmagness 3 years later... Did you manage to install it? :D
Wesley Magness
@simonhdma yup ^_^ — Forest WM ()
Helen Crozier
The android app is free? Will we be able to sync our forest across all devices?
Emiel Janson
@helencrozier is it? That's odd.
AmyJeng
@helencrozier @emieljanson Android version doesn't have the sync and some other features now. That's why it is free. It will catch up with iOS version soon. Users can sync their forest between iOS and Android devices then. Thanks for your comment. :)
Alex Riabtsev
@amy_jeng any ideas when android and iOS forests sync? ;)
Paisano
Clever... Forest is like the anti farmville game. The more you don't use it, the more trees you grow. Ha!
Shaokan Pi
Hi, @Amy_Jeng and I are the developers of Forest. Thanks for hunting. We are glad to provide any information. Please feel free to give us suggestions and feedback :)
Helen Crozier
Have it running on both iPhone and Android right now. Can't wait for sync across everything. Have persevered with Moment (on PH a month or so ago) but there are issues for me with accuracy and battery life so I will wait for improvements there. Just some thoughts.... I'm concerned about the use of the word 'phubbing'. I did actually know what it was as I had featured the phubbing website on my blog last year. However... I don't love the word at all - it's strange... AND... for me I've actually become way less of a phubber these days. I'm pleased to say I rarely use the mobile in a social scene and am definitely over recording every meal I've ever eaten on instagram :-) It feels like a lovely and conscious thing to be connecting with friends in person or family and I keep reminding myself.. eye contact, listen... and I'm all good with this now. I even do my best to restrain if I am by myself on a walk or in a cafe! My problem is when I'm at home and seeing as I work from home 3-4 days a week. The habit I need to break is spending far too long catching up on overnight information/communication and not getting on with the day grrrrr.... It also is far too easy for me to go lay down on the couch or bed and take a phone with me to scan the networks/blogs/producthunt. (Must have been spending too much time with my gen-y kids and forgetting I am a 50 something entrepreneur lol) A developer from Israel produced something similar without the trees but it died due to lack of use so I'm very happy to persue this and report back on any behaviour change that I notice as a result of using it. Others are mentioning that it's like pomodoro and it is kind of... I see it a huge productivity tool so would rather it was marketed as such as well! Good luck... and thanks for listening.
Shaokan Pi
@helencrozier As I mentioned in another comment, we just Googled "phone addiction" in our language and chose the most frequent result. It seems to be a mistake now lol. We are considering changing the name to be more accurate and easy to understand. Any suggestions ? We built this app because we have the exactly same problem. I usually get up in the morning and start to browse the latest information from social media and news feed. Before I know It, 2 hours have passed XD. I hope our app can help you. And we are glad to hear any feedback from you :)
Helen Crozier
@shaokanp i'm not a creative but i hope other product hunters can come up with an appropriate tag line. :-) (sent from my laptop btw)
Tiffany Zhong
I'd recommend making it free in the next few days/weeks or else an experienced programmer can come along and ship the exact same app. More suggestions: -gamify it (people can compete against their friends to see who has more trees) -have a visual calendar (sort of like the Yahoo News Digest colored calendar) but instead of colored in circles, you can have the # of trees so people can keep track
Shaokan Pi
@tzhongg Actually, this feature (people can connect to facebook and compete with their friends) was done but we are still considering whether to add it into our App. We are afraid that adding it will distract our users. But in the other hand, it might encourage users to plant more trees. It's a hard decision to make XD Thanks for your advice :)
Justin Mitchell
Within the walled garden of iOS I think Forest has found the best way to encourage a distraction free environment and promote focus. I love the concept.
Helen Crozier
@itsthisjustin i agree... because i have the luxury? of two platforms due to having to train two audiences I'm also testing the android version which has a whitelist for up to 3 apps which is kind of cool. It means that if I want to use my 30 minutes off for learning italian on duolingo I can do it and still grow a tree!
James Pember
Haha! This is a really clever way to visualise your progress. I'm a big Pomodoro user/advocate, so this is right up my alley. Not sure whether I would continue to use it - but let's see. Kudos on a well executed app too!
Shaokan Pi
@jamesepember Ya, the idea is inspired by Pomodoro technique. I hope our app can help you. Any feedback is welcome :)
Zack Fisch
This is wonderful. Fastest ph download in a while.
Calvin Liu
Love this concept and sent it as a gift to someone (first time I've ever gifted an app to someone). Simple gamification of productivity and I think it's done very well, awesome!
Ty Martin
Nice app. I'm digging it so far. Gamify the hardest things in life.
Darren J Smith
@memrise used to have something similar for 'growing memories'. It's a cute metaphor and people liked it. Not sure if we ever proved it ever worked past the novelty stage.
Ross Rojek
Nicely done anti-distraction measure.
Shlomo Fellig
@amy_jeng is there any way to change from 30 minutes a tree to an hour or two? Some tasks take far longer than 30 minutes, especially studying.
Helen Crozier
@ShloimeFlg I have 4 trees happening on my ios right now ... it seems you can add more trees before starting.... I liked that as 30 minutes is a bit short sometimes... hope that comes to the android too!
AmyJeng
@ShloimeFlg Each tree takes 30 mins to grow. So far, android version only support one tree at a time, while ios version can plant 1 - 4 trees in a row. Android version will catch up ios version soon. Thanks :)