Hank Green’s ‘Focus Friend’ App Is the Cutest Way to Reclaim Your Time

Summary:

• Focus Friend, the productivity app by Hank Green, is trending due to its charming digital knitting bean.

• Users earn rewards for focused sessions with the app, which aims to reduce screen time guilt-free.

• Hank Green’s free, ad-free app blends Pomodoro technique with Tamagotchi nostalgia, helping users regain control of their attention.

If you’ve ever felt like your phone is sabotaging your productivity, Hank Green’s got a bean for that.

Focus Friend, a new app from longtime YouTube creator Hank Green and developer Bria Sullivan of Honey B Games, is topping the App Store charts this week—and it’s not just because it’s adorable. The productivity timer, which blocks distractions while encouraging users to “focus” through the eyes of a digital knitting bean, is being hailed as a soft rebellion against mindless screen time.

Launched quietly in July, the app exploded after Green and his brother, novelist John Green, began posting about it. As of this week, it’s sitting at No. 1 among free iOS apps, outpacing ChatGPT, Gmail, and Threads.

Focus Friend, by Hank Green broke into the top 100 and is now #4 in Productivity on the App Store 🧵 pic.twitter.com/NT4DidWb80

— App Store Tracker (@appstoretracker) August 17, 2025

So, what’s the catch? There isn’t one—unless you count disappointing a tiny anthropomorphic bean.

Here’s how it works: set a timer, stay off distracting apps, and let your bean knit. Every successful session earns you socks, which can be traded for cute room decor. Fail to focus? The bean drops its needles, hangs its head, and leaves you with a twinge of guilt.z

“It’s an app that installs a bean in your phone,” Green joked in a TikTok. “And the bean really wants to spend more time knitting.”

@hankgreen1Your Deserve a Focus Friend

♬ original sound – Hank Green

The app blends the Pomodoro method with Tamagotchi nostalgia, echoing the vibe of other gamified mental health tools like Finch, which pairs users with a customizable bird. But Focus Friend stands out for its absurd charm (you can name your bean Susan Bean Anthony) and its mission: give people their time back.

Unlike most apps, it’s free, ad-free, and designed to reduce screen time, not monetize it. A $0.99–$30 subscription model offers premium perks—scarves, decor, and even special bean skins like “Kitt-ney Bean.” But it’s not about upselling.

“Most apps use Jedi mind tricks to get you to watch ads,” Sullivan told Inc.. “We didn’t want to do that. That’s the antithesis of our goal.”

Who Is Hank Green?

If you’re new to digital culture, Green isn’t just another creator-turned-app-maker. He’s one half of the Vlogbrothers, the duo who pioneered YouTube education in 2007. With over 16 million subscribers on Crash Course, co-founder status at VidCon, and a track record of creative entrepreneurship, Green is practically internet royalty.

But his relationship with digital life is complicated. In a 2024 interview, Green admitted he’s “been trained by the algorithms to be extraordinarily good at grabbing attention.” Now, he wants to use that skill differently.

“It’s about letting people be in control of their attention,” Green said in a recent TikTok. “Not selling their attention to someone else.”

The app’s charm lies in its emotional design. “It’s easier to do the ‘right thing’ when it’s for someone—or something—you care about,” said TikTok user @hannahsendlessbookshelf, who credits the app with curing her reading slump.

Others are using it to write, plan lessons, or even help kids stay on track. The design is subtle but smart: you choose how strict the focus settings are. Deep Focus Mode integrates with iOS Screen Time, blocking your usual scroll traps and penalizing you if you bail early.

While Focus Friend’s future may include more customization and maybe even creator collaborations, Sullivan is cautious about expansion.