If creating boundaries between you and your smartphone is on the list of New Year’s resolutions, a Calgary software developer might be able to offer support.

In late 2024, Ali Waseem felt stuck with the endless options and distractions social media presents. Now, one year later, his idea has helped more than 50,000 people kick the same bad habits.

Foqos, a Calgary-developed app designed to help build healthy phone habits, uses inconvenience to deter users from social media or any other apps of their choosing.

Through the app, users can create profiles, selecting which apps they’d like to block when. They can then unblock said apps by scanning a preset barcode, NFC tag or a manual unblock, depending on the profile.

“I put my NFC tags at the bottom of my sock drawer, and I would start a focus session, essentially to get away from these (social media and distracting) apps,” Waseem told LWC.

“Having to go down to the bottom of my sock drawer to find this plastic thing, to get access to those apps, really helped and made me create a really healthy relationship with my phone instead of opening my phone every time I’m bored to get a hit of dopamine.”

Though the app needs access to a phone’s screen time, it is completely unpaid and open source. Waseem said that users do not need to set up an account, he does not care about personal information, and the only data he sees are download numbers.

“I want people to have that healthy relationship, and I think the only way to do that is to make that barrier to entry as low as possible. I don’t think it’s right to charge (money),” he said.

Currently, Foqos’s only true cost is the annual developer fee, which keeps the app on the Apple App store. Waseem said that as a solo developer, the app is essentially free to maintain.

“This is something that I made for myself and maintain myself, the fees I’m paying are totally sustainable for me right now. I had never inclination to make it bigger. I never spent any money on marketing, and I don’t pay for any server costs,” he said.

Similar screentime awareness apps and products often charge upfront or for an ongoing subscription, something that Foqos will never incorporate.

“All the stuff that these apps use are built into your iPhone, which is the crazier part; these other companies are using the same (software) that’s built into your iPhone to build these features, but charging you 100 times the margins,” Waseem said.

“That just did not stick right to me personally.”

Calgary to its core

Waseem’s 11-year software development career is rooted in his electrical engineering degree from the University of Calgary. Aside from the apps’ numerous callouts designating it as Calgary-made, Waseem, who moved to Alberta from Pakistan in Grade 3, relied on the city’s entrepreneurial culture through places like House 831.

“When I started releasing Foqos, I wanted to get feedback from these individuals, and they thought it was such a good idea and there were so many really good tips from the entrepreneurship community in Calgary to grow,” he said.

Now, some 700 downloads a day later, Waseem has seen the reality of phone addiction.

“It’s extremely daunting to see how many people are actually addicted to their phones. I see it all the time, I see it in grocery stores where people are waiting to check out, and people are watching TikToks in the checkout line, where 10 years ago, you would chat with a clerk. You’d be looking at the snacks,” he said.

“Maybe it’s better for your calories, but you’d be doing other things than just opening up your phone.”

Aside from Foqos and its first-year success, Waseem works full-time in software development. As it stands now, that won’t change in the foreseeable future.

“The rails to monetize Foqos are long dead, and I just want to keep it as a passion project. Obviously, I’ll fix bugs as people see them, but to me, it’s costing me, essentially, maybe a few hours a week to maintain and some small fees, that’s it,” he said.

“It’s gonna stay that way until I die. But for now, as long as I’m healthy and able-bodied, Foqos will always stay free.”