Scream to Unlock
Productivity
focus and distraction blocker
SHOW HN2025
How HN took it
10 positive, 30 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 23 critical, out of 63 comments about the project. Thread score -0.11.
Idea: 7 for, 22 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Funny and clever idea
From 4 comments
You should run with this idea! Now make a "Dungeon Crawler Carl" -branded one that requires a webcam, bare feet, and nail polish!
CoastalCoder on HNLOl hilarious!
titusblair on HNThat volume bar could be labeled "Humiliation:"
akoboldfrying on HNGreat work
Tech_005 on HN
Objections
Making users call themselves a loser could harm mental health
From 4 comments
It should be “I’m addicted” instead of “I’m a loser”. Forcing someone to call themselves a loser over and over eventually weighs heavy on the soul, how would you feel if a user…
deadbabe on HNThis is hilarious. I can already imagine the real outcome though: I repeat "I'm a loser" 20-30 times a day, internalise it, and destroy my mental health even further :)
basisword on HNSo you think screaming 'im a loser' 10 times an hour is going to be good for mental health?
wordpad on HNThis is cute, but in all seriousness it would be much more effective to shout "I'm a winner" Research: - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3354773/ – Low self-esteem +…
GavCo on HN
Speech recognition may send audio to Google servers
From 1 comment
The relevant code: https://github.com/Pankajtanwarbanna/scream-to-unlock/blob/main/content.js#L731 Are you sure Chrome doesn't talk to Google's server to convert the speech to…
netsharc on HN
Requests
Support for Firefox
From 1 comment
That's brilliant! Please make a Firefox extension too!
spajus on HN
Customizable unlock phrase
From 2 comments
Could customize the user call out Maybe something like “I know this is the opposite of socializing but I want to give in the the mindless algorithmic manipulation for a little…
coip on HNFor a subset of the population, this will have an inverse incentive. To support those people, perhaps have a toggle that requires them to say “I’m a good person”?
escapecharacter on HN
Questions
Does audio get sent to Google to convert speech to text?
From 1 comment
The relevant code: https://github.com/Pankajtanwarbanna/scream-to-unlock/blob/main/content.js#L731 Are you sure Chrome doesn't talk to Google's server to convert the speech to…
netsharc on HN
Does it work with LinkedIn?
From 1 comment
Does it work with LinkedIn
aaroninsf on HN
Alternatives named
Other focus-enforcing extensions like the Twice Chrome extension
From 1 comment
I had similar efforts. so I made a Chrome extension that helps you be more mindful of your social media usage by prompting you to think twice before visiting social media sites.…
chaosprint on HN
Regular site blockers
From 1 comment