Quitting nail biting is hard. If youโve ever tried bitter nail polish, gloves, fidget toys, or habit trackers, you know the problem: they only work when you remember to use them or aren't convenient at all. Nail biting doesnโt happen when youโre paying attention, it happens when youโre stressed, focused, or bored, and your hands move to your mouth almost automatically.
Hands Off is a desktop app that helps you stop nail biting and other Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) like skin picking or hair pulling. It works by using your webcam to monitor you while you work or study. The moment you start biting your nails, Hands Off notices and interrupts you with a popup on your screen. That instant feedback is what makes the difference: it pulls you out of the unconscious loop and gives you the chance to stop before the damage is done.
Instead of relying on willpower, Hands Off builds awareness. Every time youโre about to bite your nails, the app reminds you in real time. Over time, this repeated interruption rewires your consciousness about the habit. You begin to notice the urge earlier, resist it more easily, and eventually break free from nail biting altogether.
Hands Off was created by someone who struggled with nail biting for years. After countless failed attempts with traditional methods, the realization was simple: the habit happens unconsciously, so the solution has to be automatic too. Thatโs exactly what Hands Off provides, a quiet companion that steps in when you need it.
And while itโs powerful, itโs also private. All video processing happens locally on your computer. Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and your personal data never leaves your device.
If youโve been asking yourself โHow do I stop biting my nails?โ or โWhy canโt I quit skin picking?โ, Hands Off is the answer. It is more than a habit tracking app, it actively helps you change your behavior in the moment.
A startup from Retie, Belgium that is founded by Lennert Soffers.
Realtime detection
Detects hands near your face in real time using on-device AI
Direct feedback
Interrupts habits instantly with on-screen popups and overlays
Private
All camera analysis runs locally; nothing is uploaded to the cloud
Supports multiple BFRBs
Supports multiple BFRBs like nail biting, skin picking, nose picking and eyelash pulling
Hands Off uses real-time AI webcam monitoring to automatically detect and interrupt BFRBs the moment they happen. Unlike other solutions that rely on willpower or manual intervention, it catches unconscious habits in real-time and forcefully interrupts your workflow with screen-blocking popups. It requires zero active thought, no need to remember anything, it just works in the background until you need intervention.
Most BFRB solutions fail because they require conscious effort during unconscious moments. Bitter nail polish gets bitten through, fidget toys sit unused, and habit trackers only work if you remember to log your behavior, but tracking a habit does not stop it. Hands Off solves the core problem: it catches you when you don't even realize you're doing it. The screen-blocking interruption is deliberately impossible to ignore, which is exactly what's needed for behaviors that happen during stress or focus. Plus, complete local processing means your privacy stays protected.
Anyone suffering from BFRBs: nail biting, skin picking, hair pulling, face-touching. Typically office workers, students, or remote professionals who've tried multiple solutions without lasting success. They're tech-comfortable, privacy-conscious, and frustrated enough with traditional methods to try an unconventional solution that addresses the unconscious nature of their behavior.
I (Lennert Soffers) was a chronic nail biter who tried everything, bitter polish, fidget toys, habit trackers, without lasting success. I could stay bite-free for weeks when hyper-focused, but stress would hit and I'd unconsciously bite my nails down again. I needed intervention exactly when I wasn't thinking about it. Since I couldn't have someone watch me all day at work, I built software to do it, something that would forcefully interrupt me without requiring memory or willpower. It worked for me, so I'm sharing it with others stuck in the same cycle.
Electron for cross-platform desktop app, React for the UI, Firebase for authentication, and AI for real-time webcam analysis (all processing done locally on-device for privacy).
Hands Off is a lightweight macOS utility that blocks specific apps or processes from accessing the internet or files, offering a good lightweight privacy/firewall-style solution for users who want simple, granular control without a full security suite.
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