Unpic
Ch. 01 — Introduction
p. 1 of 12

Field Guide № 2  ·  The Field Day Edition  ·  iOS

Notice one small thing. Win your phone back.

Unpic blocks your distracting apps when you've had enough — and unlocks them only when you photograph one real, ordinary thing. Your pic unlocks your phone.

In press now · first editions ship first · one letter, no spam.

Plate № 052

Flat illustration of a snail with a white sticker edge
specimenSnail habitatthird flowerpot, eventually rarityworth the wait

fig. 1 — the snail, in no particular hurry

Ch. 02 · Field Method

How the game works

Three movements, performed daily, anywhere ordinary. No equipment beyond the phone you were already holding.

  1. Set your limits

    Pick the apps that eat your evenings and decide how much is enough. You write the rules; Unpic just keeps the ledger. Not parental control — you're the parent, the child, and the kid who wants to go outside.

  2. Hit the limit, draw a quest

    When time's up there's no shame screen, no countdown to glare at. Just a small card: “Find a wooden spoon.” Somewhere nearby, an ordinary object is waiting to be famous.

  3. Snap it. Unlocked.

    Point your camera at the thing. Verified on the spot; apps unlock. You stood up, crossed a room, maybe even went outside. The guide counts that as a win.

Plates II–IV · Engravings

Selected plates, freshly stickered

Plate № 047

Flat illustration of a wooden spoon with a white sticker edge
specimenWooden Spoon habitatsecond drawer down raritycommon

fig. 2 — kept for stirring, famous for unlocking

Plate № 148

Flat illustration of a watering can with a white sticker edge
specimenWatering Can habitatbehind the shed door raritycommon, in daylight

fig. 3 — waters the plants, restores the feeds

Plate № 008

Flat illustration of a toothbrush with a white sticker edge
specimenToothbrush habitatthird cup from the left raritycommon

fig. 4 — twice daily, now thrice useful

Phone time is the side quest.
Real life is the main quest.

— foreword, field day edition

Ch. 03 · The Collection

Pull open the specimen drawer

548 ordinary objects catalogued to date — every one a possible quest. These are the loose ones. Go on, rummage.

Drawer 03 — Specimens, Assorted

fig. 5 — contents settle during shipping · rummaging encouraged · tap a specimen for its plate

Ch. 04 · Field Ethics

On the ethics of observation

  1. §1

    You hold the pencil.

    Unpic is for adults who'd like their evenings back — not parental control. You choose the apps, the limits, and how silly the quests get. Nobody is grounding you.

  2. §2

    The guide stays in your pocket.

    Your screen-time data never leaves your device. Nothing is uploaded, aggregated, graphed in a boardroom, or whispered to an advertiser.

  3. §3

    We can't see your apps. Truly.

    Blocking happens inside Apple's own FamilyControls framework — Unpic never even learns which apps you use, let alone how long.1

  4. §4

    No ads. No data selling. No feed.

    The business model is older than the smartphone: you buy the guide, the guide serves you. That's the whole arrangement.

1 App names and usage live behind Apple's privacy boundary, readable by the system alone — not by Unpic, and certainly not by us.

Ch. 05 · Subscription Slip

Reserve your first edition

Unpic is in press for iOS. Leave your address below and we'll write — once — when it ships. Early reservations get first-day access.

collector's note · confetti included at no extra charge — rarity: uncommon

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