Focus Friend App Review: Turn Screen Time into Bean Time

Plant habits, sprout focus. Turn screen time into bean time with Focus Friend by Hank Green and start sprouting new habits today!

Sep 6, 2025

by Megan McFadden

Focus Friend App Review: Turn Screen Time into Bean Time

Why I Tried Focus Friend the App

Ever since my siblings and I started moving away from each other, I have felt a significant disconnection with them. I hardly know them anymore and feel like they're strangers sometimes, with how much I don't know about them. Since I have six siblings, it's hard to connect with everyone when they come back to town for the holidays because they are all there at once.

Last month, my siblings discussed Hank Green's Focus Friend app amongst themselves on our GroupMe sibling chat. I don't keep up with the Vlogbrothers (John and Hank Green). It's nothing against them. I don't like wasting time watching YouTube videos and listening to podcasts.

I would rather have some background Spotify music while I blog, watch a little Netflix during meals, and view DVDs that I borrow from the public library. I am currently watching the third season of Reba (2001-2007) on Netflix, and I watched Flight Risk (2025) last night. I am also excited to view Season 2 of La venganza de Analía (Her Mother's Killer), which is set to release next week.

Anyway, I gave Focus Friend a try because my siblings were doing it, and I wanted something to relate to them the next time I see them. Don't tell them that because they'll accuse me of being a softy.

Overall, I've had a lot of positive experiences using this app, and since screen time is becoming bean time, it would be a good excuse to incorporate the possible implications this app may have in the short and long term.

I'll spill the beans on my experiences of using the app, as well as my siblings' perspectives and John Green's thoughts.

My Siblings' Thoughts About Focus Friend

Here are some reviews from three of my siblings about Focus Friend on August 22, 2025.

Layout: "Meanwhile my guy is in a prison cell with only a window." Sibling 1
Cost: "I wish there were more lower cost introductory items. I would definitely get initial items for many of the decorations and still spend the time later to get their cooler counterparts." Sibling 2
Excited for New Rooms: "I’m saving up to get him a desk next. I’m excited that they will be adding more rooms! I want to have a recliner and a fireplace to knit from." Sibling 2
Technical Issues: "I have had a number of focus sessions that didn’t give me socks at the end, and I was more disappointed than what the situation called for, but they are working on bug fixes for those." Sibling 2
Productivity Produces Rewards: "I like that the incentive structure is compelling, but not to the addictive extent of trying to use it at times that it’s not assisting me in keeping off my phone (using focus time when playing volleyball or mowing lawn)." Sibling 2
Sleep Settings: "Need to start setting him to knit while I sleep." Sibling 3

Meet My Focus Friend, Lini

On August 26, 2025, I downloaded Focus Friend and started focusing more with Lini, which I shortened from cannellini (a type of white bean). As of today, I have finished purchasing everything for the room besides one hanging decoration from the ceiling. I decorated it in green because they didn't have orange as an option.

Here are some of my general comments about my experiences with the app.

Incoming Phone Calls and Texts: Even when I have my apps restricted when my focus friend is knitting, I like how I can receive incoming calls on my phone and texts on my Apple Watch and computers in case there is something important that I need to answer right away.
No Restrictions on Other Devices: I feel like I'm cheating when I'm allowed to use my iMac, MacBook Air, iPad, or Apple Watch, while this app restricts my phone privileges. I wish there were a setting that would restrict the use of all my connected devices, similar to how my apps have time limits after 10:00pm when my phone is in sleep mode.
Lack of Customization: The free version only comes with one skin, where you have a brown bean, but you have to pay money to upgrade your bean's look. I wish you could customize your focus friend to resemble different types of beans for free instead of just pinto, such as black, red, and navy bean options.
Needs a Wardrobe: I hope that in the next app update, they include ways to customize the bean's looks, like hats, hair styles, outfits, watches, and shoes.
Customize Productive Activity: Even better, I would like to choose what my bean is doing when they are being productive, instead of knitting all of the time.
- Perhaps some people would like their focus friend to paint and earn oil paints as freebies, while canvases would be available with a paid membership.
- Maybe others would prefer to build with toy blocks and receive wooden letter blocks for the free version, and minifigures would be on the premium version.
Only One Room: I feel like they should have waited to launch the app until they developed the five stereotypical rooms in a house: living room, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and garage. Then, the app updates should have included supplementary rooms, such as a dining room, an indoor pool, a game room, a library, seasonal rooms (like a Halloween graveyard during October or Santa's workshop in December), and more.
Knitting Clouds: I don't understand why my focus friend always looks like they are knitting clouds. Would it be possible to add animations for knitting different colored socks and scarves?

Focus Friend App Implications

Despite Hank Green posting the following video in 2016 about vegetarians, Focus Friend may have some positive impacts on the food industry, especially if you are plant-based, vegetarian, or vegan. Here are some of my predictions for the short and long term.

Augmented Bean Consumption: Switching screen time to bean time has millions of eyes watching beans daily. In turn, this will most likely result in a growth in bean consumption worldwide, as seeing this food may inspire some people to incorporate beans into their diets.
Decreased Meat Consumption: Many have the mindset that meat is the only source of protein. The truth is, beans are a popular and terrific source of protein. As more people eat beans, they may learn about the health benefits, such as how they are a great source of protein. As a result, some may replace meat with beans in some of their meals, which would lead to a reduction in meat in their diets.
More Participation in Meatless Monday: After more people are open to the idea of eating beans in place of meat for some meals, they may learn about the movement of Meatless Monday, which promotes not eating meat on Mondays to improve one's health and the planet. As a result, I predict more people will participate in Meatless Monday in the coming months and years as an indirect result of Focus Friend.
More Bean-Based Foods: Since beans are on many people's minds because of Focus Friend, I'm guessing that more food companies will create bean-based food creations because of the higher demand for them, like frozen dairy-free lasagna with cheese made out of mung beans and repurposing aquafaba from chickpea cans into egg-free mayo.
More Vegetarians and Vegans: There is a chance that in the long term, some people may start making the change to being wholly or partially plant-based over time because of being inspired to eat more beans with Focus Friend. In turn, a higher percentage of the population would be vegetarian and vegan as a result.

John Green's Issue with Focus Friend

John Green, Hank Green's older brother, recently released a video where he points out his major issue with Focus Friend. The John Bean skin looks super old (70 instead of his current age of 48) while the Hank Bean skin looks super young, instead of being 45.

I would be super upset if I was him, if my younger brother made me look like a grandma bean while his bean looks like a teenager. I agree that a salt and pepper look needs to be more of a regular thing. Many apps, including this one, go from completely brown, black, or blond hair to gray hair with no in between, which is not realistic because most people's hair gradually grays over time as they age.

Another suggestion I have going along with that is I think they should expand their bean skin options. Currently, you can purchase two bean packs (jelly and bean), four kitt-ney beans, John Bean, and Hank Bean.

A great way to promote their books is to include premium beans from characters from Hank's and John's books, like April May from An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) by Hank Green or Hazel Grace Lancaster from The Fault in Our Stars (2012) by John Green or having a Potato Bean in honor of John's dog. Plus, it would be nice to have some female and dog options in the bean skins.

Focus Friend Is Beanrific

Despite the criticism, I have enjoyed using Focus Friend to make my blog sessions more productive, and it lessens me looking at my phone notifications while I am at work. I am disappointed that I'm almost done decorating my office and that I'm only able to accumulate socks until more rooms come into the picture.

Download Focus Friend and see how it plants better phone habits by sprouting more focus on the task at hand and your human family and friends socially. Until we bean again!