IOSAppCounter

An automation for the IOS shortcut app to show how many times an application has been open and how long it's been used. Purpose the actively keep the user aware of their screen time, productivity tracking, and app usage awareness.

Features

• Tracks how many times selected apps are opened each day
• Creates and stores data persistently in /Shortcuts/AppCounter.txt
• Prompts the user the amount of time spent and opened for today
• If the selected app is opened and has an hour or more of screen time, a 5 min timer is set
• Reset the count every day
• Easy to extend for multiple apps
• Selectable days

Installation

Download intial startup here: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/da4a524e88f44b658201c7b3abe9acfb Download And move Shortcut to automation here: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/a5ed46197ccd4deba6972592cf4f0bce

1. Download the AppCounter.shortcut and AppCounterStartup.shortcut files from this repository.
2. Open it on your iPhone → it’ll open in the Shortcuts app.
3. Tap Add Shortcut.
4. Run AppCounterStartup to initialize the file
5. Go to Shortcuts → Automation → + → Create Personal Automation.
6. Choose App → [Select the app you want to track] → Is Opened → Next.
7. Add Run Shortcut → [Choose “App Open Counter”] → Next.
8. Turn off Ask Before Running → Done.

How It Works

Each time your chosen app opens:

1. The automation triggers.
2. The shortcut creates and writes to AppCounter.txt from Shortcuts folder.
3. It appends the current app and the date to the AppCounter.txt.
4. It looks for and counts the amount of time and displays the information when the selected apps are open.
5. When the screen time of the selected app is more than an hour, it sets a timer for X amount of time (Currently set for 5 minutes).
6. it sends an alert:
   EX: “Opened Instagram (1h 15mins) 10 time(s)”
7. when the dates in AppCounter.txt do not match, it resets the information to the current date

File Storage

All data is stored in: iCloud Drive → Shortcuts → AppCounter.txt