YouTuber<\/a> Hank Green\u2019s new app<\/a> Focus Friend has surged to No. 1 on Apple\u2019s free app chart this week, surpassing AI titan ChatGPT<\/a>, as well as Google and Threads. <\/p>\n \u201cThis doesn\u2019t seem possible,\u201d the 45-year-old longtime content creator<\/a>, famous for his educational videos and Vlogbrothers channel, captioned a TikTok<\/a> featuring a screenshot of the accomplishment on Wednesday. <\/p>\n With over 100,000 downloads on Google Play, the ADHD-friendly focus timer app is designed to help users reclaim their attention in a playful, guilt-free way. The app blocks distractions and gamifies productivity through a customizable, smiley \u201cbean\u201d character that knits rewards when tasks are completed.<\/p>\n When users stay focused for the full timer, their bean, which can have personalized monikers, completes its knitting project. But if users check their phone midway, the bean loses focus and drops its needles. The longer users concentrate, the more socks or scarves their bean produces, which can then be traded for decorations to customize the bean\u2019s room.<\/p>\n Amid a surge of AI-generated content and endless doomscrolling, Green\u2019s app encourages healthier screen time with a Tamagotchi-style bean companion. The project began as a passion idea and was developed with Bria Sullivan, creator of Boba Story, a shop simulation game where players make strawberry bubble tea and help a forest spirit named Joji rebuild their shop.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Hank Green’s app Focus Friend topped app stores this week after its July launch (TikTok\/@ hankgreen1\/Focus Friend)<\/p>\n Focus Friend launched in July, but exploded in popularity this week when Green and his brother, popular young adult author John Green<\/a>, ramped up social media posts about it to their millions of followers. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about letting people be in control of their attention, not selling their attention to someone else,\u201d Hank Green said in a TikTok on Monday, while John Green appeared in a Vlogbrothers video<\/a> titled \u201cThe Problem with My Brother’s Hit New App\u201d on Tuesday.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The app features a bean character that knits socks and scarves, but halts its progress if users get back on their phones (TikTok\/@hankgreen1)<\/p>\n![\"Hank](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/5050-Templete.png\")
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