App to Fight Screen Addiction Stuck Competing With Gmail and ChatGPT
KEY POINTS
- •Bria Sullivan created Focus Friend last summer with Hank Green to help users manage screen time.
- •She hoped to reach 100,000 downloads and crack the productivity app top 10 despite stiff competition from Gmail and ChatGPT.
- •The app quietly launched on the iOS App Store in August before receiving modest promotion.
Last summer, Bria Sullivan quietly unleashed 'Focus Friend,' an app designed by her and Hank Green to help people tame their phone obsession. Aiming modestly for 100,000 downloads, Bria hoped her app might sneak into productivity’s top 10—ironically against giants like Gmail and ChatGPT. She admitted her category meant competing against Google, an eight-headed corporate hydra, which made her dream feel like trying to win a potato sack race on a jet ski. Despite the digital David vs. Goliath scenario, Bria’s unpronounceably named app was ready to 'make a difference' one distracted cat video at a time.
Share the Story
(1 of 3)In a world where Gmail and ChatGPT rule productivity, a baby app named Focus Friend wishes you’d notice it too. Spoiler: They probably won’t, but hope is cute.
Bria Sullivan vs. Google’s inbox and AI overlords: the ultimate digital fairy tale where only one gets to kill the monster.
Launching an app that battles Gmail? That’s a toddler showing up to a heavyweight fight with a foam noodle and hope.
Source: Theverge | Published: 2/19/2026 | Author: David Pierce
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