The most important 3 seconds of your day.

Why would an app ask you to smile? Because you can't smile and stay on autopilot. That tiny pause changes everything.

Download for iOS
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Rated 4.7 on the App Store
User User User User User
The Experience

What Happens When You Smile

It takes less than 10 seconds. But those seconds change the entire trajectory of your next hour.

1
Autopilot
You reach for Instagram.
It's automatic. You didn't decide to open it. Your thumb moved before your brain caught up. You've done this 50 times today without realizing it.
Instagram TikTok X YouTube
2
Interruption
EvilEye steps in.
Instead of the app loading instantly, you see your amulet. A gentle guardian standing between you and the endless scroll. Not blocking you. Just asking you to be present.
3
Activation
You see your face. You smile.
The TrueDepth camera activates. You look at yourself and smile. In that moment, something shifts. You can't smile and remain in a mindless trance. The smile pulls you out of autopilot and into awareness.
4
Conscious Choice
You choose your time.
5 minutes? 15? An hour? You decide. Not a timer deciding for you, not an algorithm, not a blocker. You. This is the moment where mindless consumption becomes intentional use.
5 min 15 min 30 min 1 hr
5
Mindful Use
You scroll with intention.
The app opens. But something is different now. You're not in a zombie state. You're actually present for what you're seeing. And when your time is up, you put the phone down easily — because you chose this.
The Truth

Not Happiness. Presence.

The smile isn't about forcing positivity. It's about breaking the trance. Here's what people get wrong — and what's actually going on.

What people think
What it actually is
"It's forced positivity."
Some people think EvilEye is trying to make them happy. Like it's a toxic positivity app that forces you to grin before you can use your phone.
It's an awareness trigger.
The smile activates 43 facial muscles connected to your emotional centers. It's physically impossible to remain in a mindless state while smiling. That's the mechanism — not happiness.
"It's a gimmick."
It sounds too simple to actually work. Smile at your phone? How is that going to fix a scrolling addiction that billion-dollar algorithms created?
It's a pattern interrupt.
Behavioral psychology calls it a "pattern interrupt" — breaking an automatic behavioral loop with a deliberate physical action. Simple doesn't mean ineffective. It means elegant.
"It'll wear off."
Sure, maybe the smile works for a week. But won't you just get used to it and start smiling on autopilot too, like every other habit?
It's a consciousness checkpoint.
The smile becomes easier, yes. But the choice that follows — "how long do I want this?" — keeps you conscious every single time. The mechanic evolves from awkward pause to mindful ritual.
The Difference

A Smile is a Choice. A Timer is Not.

Timers, blockers, and screen time limits are things that happen to you. A smile is something you do. That distinction changes everything.

Passive
Timer
You stare at a countdown, annoyed and waiting. The moment it ends, you lunge back in. Zero reflection. Zero growth. Just delayed gratification.
Result: You use apps the same way, just less often.
Restrictive
Blocker
You're locked out. You feel restricted and frustrated. You find workarounds, or you just white-knuckle through it until you can finally get back in.
Result: You crave apps more. Willpower depletes.
Active
Smile
You engage physically. You activate your own awareness. Then you choose how long you want to be on. You're not fighting yourself — you're directing yourself.
Result: You build real self-regulation. Screen time drops naturally.
Privacy First

Your Data Stays on Your Face.

The TrueDepth camera processes everything on-device. We never see you smile. Literally never.

No Photos
No images are captured. Ever.
No Uploads
Nothing leaves your device.
No Storage
Data is immediately discarded.
On-Device Only
Apple ARKit runs locally.
From Skeptics to Believers

They Thought It Was Weird Too.

Every one of these people thought smiling at their phone was strange. Until they tried it.

Paul K.
Paul K. Verified User

"I thought it was goofy at first. Now it's the healthiest habit I have. I smile, I pick my time, and I actually put my phone down when it's up. That never happened with timers."

Sarah M.
Sarah M. Verified User

"The smile catches me off guard every time. That's the point. I'll be reaching for TikTok in a bad mood and it forces me to stop and check in with myself. Half the time I don't even open the app."

Alex M.
Alex M. Verified User

"My screen time dropped 2 hours a day. I barely think about it now. The weirdest part? I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I'm just... choosing better."

Mia L.
Mia L. Verified User

"I told my friends about it and they all laughed. Then three of them downloaded it. Now we have a group chat where we share our screen time drops. It actually works."

Omar A.
Omar A. Verified User

"Week one felt awkward. Week two felt natural. Week three I started looking forward to it. It's like a tiny mindfulness ritual that replaced the autopilot grab. My screen time is down 40%."

Priya S.
Priya S. Verified User

"Deleted Opal after 3 weeks. EvilEye has been on my phone for 4 months and I genuinely look forward to the smile. It went from weird to essential. I can't imagine going back."

Got Questions?

FAQ

Straight answers. No fluff.

Yes. EvilEye uses your iPhone's TrueDepth camera — the same technology behind Face ID — to detect a genuine smile. It reads facial muscle movements in real-time, specifically the zygomatic major muscle that pulls the corners of your mouth upward. A half-hearted smirk won't cut it. You need to actually smile.
That's actually the point. If you can't bring yourself to smile, it's a signal that you're reaching for your phone out of compulsion, not desire. Many users report that the moments they least want to smile are the moments they most need the pause. But if you genuinely need access — you can always smile. Nothing is blocked.
You can try. But here's the thing — research shows that even a forced smile activates some of the same neural pathways as a genuine one. So even if you're "faking it," you're still creating the interruption, still engaging your facial muscles, still breaking out of autopilot. The act of smiling — genuine or not — is the pattern interrupt.
Completely. EvilEye uses Apple's ARKit framework, which processes everything on-device using the TrueDepth camera. No photos are taken. No images are stored. No data is transmitted anywhere. The smile detection happens in real-time and is immediately discarded. We never see your face.
Most users report it feels a bit awkward for the first 2-3 days. By the end of the first week, it starts feeling like a natural check-in. By week three, most people say they don't even think about it — it's just part of how they use their phone. The smile becomes automatic, but the awareness it creates never does.
You can set EvilEye as a guardian for any app on your iPhone — social media, games, news, dating apps, whatever triggers your mindless scrolling. Most people start with Instagram, TikTok, and X, then add more apps as they discover other autopilot triggers.
EvilEye Amulet

One smile.
That's all it takes.

You've read this far. You're clearly thinking about it. So try it. One smile. See what happens when you give yourself the choice.

Download for iOS
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Rated 4.7 on the App Store