A new iPhone alarm app is taking aim at habitual snoozers by waking users with a crowing rooster and requiring them to complete a challenge before the alarm can be dismissed.
Clucky, founded by former Fanatics software engineer Adrian Angelo Abelarde, is designed to make switching off an alarm difficult enough to force users out of bed.
Users can choose from a series of wake-up missions, including solving maths problems, remembering and tapping tiles in sequence, typing words spoken by Clucky, shaking their phone, walking and completing push-ups.
Other challenges involve tilting a ball towards a goal or using the phone’s camera. The app also offers an “Extra Loud Mode”, which increases the volume when the alarm starts.
Those looking for a less confrontational start to the day can select gentle chimes, birdsong or a conventional digital beep instead of the rooster.
Clucky joins a growing group of alarm apps, including Alarmy and Awake, which use puzzles and physical tasks to stop people turning off their alarms and immediately returning to sleep.
The app records how long an alarm rings before its mission is completed, the number of challenges beaten and the user’s total wake-ups. A weekly feature called the “Rooster Report” gives users a score for their performance.
Friends and relatives can also create a private “Nest” or “Flock” to set alarms for the same time and encourage one another to get up.
Clucky is currently available through Apple’s App Store. A pro subscription costs 39.99 US dollars a year.
Abelarde did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
