HARNESS

HARNESS ties a habit to a place. You create a project for something you want to keep doing, such as studying, reading or going to the gym, then set the place, the days and a daily target time. When you start the timer, the app checks that you're at that place. You can pause and resume, or save the day's record, and if you leave the place, the measurement stops.

That rule is the whole idea. It's hard to log two hours at the library when the app knows you're at home. The trade-off is that HARNESS only fits activities with a fixed location. A daily walk or reading on the train won't fit the model.

The schedule can repeat on chosen weekdays or on specific dates, and you can change the target and time slot for upcoming days. A calendar and a graph show how much you practised, separating time inside your planned slot from time outside it.

You can create a challenge and invite people with a code, a link or a QR code. Friends who join and agree to share records can compare today's time and the running total for the challenge period. Leaving a challenge stops the sharing, and your own projects and records stay put.

HARNESS is on Android, with a Korean interface. HARNESS Plus costs 5,900 won a month and lets you run up to two projects at once, with one timer running at a time. Payment goes through Google Play.

Because the app is built on location, the privacy policy is worth a look. It names the operator, 열하나랩스, and a person responsible for personal data. It says the app stores each registered place's name, coordinates and check radius. If you turn on automatic recording and grant the permission, it also collects location while the app is closed, in order to record time spent at your registered places.