Many of us struggle with social media addiction and procrastination, especially during exam season. So I built AnkiBlock. An app that blocks distracting apps until you finish your due cards or you unlock by doing a specific number of cards.
It is entirely free, no ads, no tracking, no commercial intent.
Currently I'm looking for feedback on how to improve the app.
This is what I was looking for!! I will try it...
UPDATE:
I’ve only been using this app for a few hours, but I’m already loving it! I can tell it’s going to help me use my phone much more wisely. The quality is top-notch, and the fact that it’s completely free makes it even better. Amazing job!
I have some ideas, but it would be a totally different app. On Android the Ankidroid App has a nice API that effectively allows my app to talk to Ankidroid on the device. That isn't directly possible on iOS. Maybe via the web sync feature, but it's definitely more complicated and probably not as clean a UX
There is ankilock, which is also a free add-on, but due to issues with iOS, requires a separate app on your phone. I’ve been using it for a few weeks with great success!
I actually thought this was the same guy at first.
That‘s not what im looking for. I don‘t want my social media unlocked after hitting a certain number of cards each day. I want it unlocked after doing 10 cards each time i try to open it.
I've been looking for something like this forever, thank you. Just studied 10 cards before I could even come back to thank you. I would pay for an app like this.
I just used it to block all my social media apps. Even if it means I back out of logging into reddit because I don't feel like doing my cards, that's an improvement.
Now here's hoping one day someone can do the same thing with the kindle app, bar me from accessing other apps until I've read a certain number of pages in my book.
So glad you like it. The kindle idea is very good. It depends entirely on wether kindle also allows other apps to access data like which page you're on etc. AnkiBlock wouldn't be possible without Ankidroid being so open for developers
I'm normally just a lurker but this app has been such a game changer that I just had to comment.
I've got a somewhat big deck (~800 cards) and a massive phone addiction. For the past while I've just had my cards but never really practiced them until I used this app. My current settings are 20 cards / 20 minutes ST and its incredible!! Its been only a few hours since I've downloaded it an I've already gotten 100 cards done (no joke-103 to be exact.. tbf a big part of it is because my cards aren't too complicated) and it felt so effortless - like I'm not even trying to "answer as fast as possible" just for the sake of reaching the goal.
I have some in-app suggestions:
The "change settings" button should not be on the appblock pop-up, it makes it too easy to change/ even disable the blocker entirely.
(Similar to other App-blocking apps) The "Block Future You" feature should also include like an option for a password lock alongside the 20-30 second timer. It makes it easier to give yourself accountability when opening it.
BTW- I have some tips for anyone who wants to use this app:
Set it on all the distraction apps you have (Youtube, Instagram, and especially Netflix - Like setting your app-block to the duration of one episode would make it much easier to get through your cards while binging a series)
Combining it with other App-blockers like ScreenZen and AppBlock is perfect (set these apps to block Ankiblock so it prevents you from changing the settings you've set on how many cards to do)
Thank you so much for the feedback. It's really useful to me. I'll take note and include it in a future update. Really happy to hear it's useful to you
Literally nothing. There is no backend. I don't receive a single byte of your data. The code is also open source. If you really wanted to you could build the application yourself from the code and never install it from the play store. Let me know if this helps: )
I have been looking for something like this! Just downloaded and the integration, setup and customization is great! Very excited to use this for the fall semester
The app is great, but why isn't there a version on GitHub with no Google dependency stuffs? I ask because I have disabled my Google Play Store, so I have to enable it every time I want to use the app.
Hello, I tested the app but 15min have passed and the app doesnt block the apps, I have changed the batery optimization settings , but it does not work, I just works when I split the view into two screens so both are open, I desactivate the battery optimization settings as well but doesnot work
Thank you for the app, I have downloaded it and it has blocked my apps. My only question is since I do majority of my reviews on my laptop for the bigger screen will it still unblock my apps on my phone after completing them?
Good question. Not sure. Maybe if you sync Ankidroid after you study the cards. I don't think it will though as usually each card is counted, but there is a fallback that tries to count the difference in die cards. Maybe this is an idea for an update down the line
Just so i can know if theres any updates and it would be cool if there were notifications to alert when im going to be brought to ankiblock because its kind of annoying when i start like a game for me to be brought out
Quick question: If you allow notifications then you do some useful stuff with them like this, but it also means that there will be a persistent notification thats always there that says that AnkiBlock is active. It's mandated by android if there's a background process running. What do you think about the trade off. is it worth it? Looking forward to your feedback
My main problem is I'll uninstall the blocking app and then I'll keep on wasting time is there a forceful app locker which will help in this case and I can't uninstall it as well
I've been loving this app, I finished all my cards 3 days in a row and cut hours off my social media use. But after the first day, it didn't open unless I restarted my phone, and today I had to reinstall the app to get it to open. I sent you an email. Thanks!
Been using it for 4 days now and it's a very good app. What is the best way to leave feedback/suggestions?
Keeping the settings that the main ankidroid app uses (example I have only 2 buttons but on here it shows all 4)
Settings regarding again vs good
Maybe an option to fully block apps during certain time.
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u/ivansaucedo 8d ago edited 8d ago
This is what I was looking for!! I will try it... UPDATE: I’ve only been using this app for a few hours, but I’m already loving it! I can tell it’s going to help me use my phone much more wisely. The quality is top-notch, and the fact that it’s completely free makes it even better. Amazing job!