Hushlight: Indoor Voice

Hushlight turns an iPhone or iPad into a traffic light for voices, so the reminder to use an indoor voice comes from the screen, not from you. Set a target, tap Start, and the screen shows how loud the room is: green while it's quiet, yellow when it's getting close, red when it's over and flashing red when it's far over. If it stays red, a soft spoken “shh” plays too. CAN IT BE SEEN FROM ACROSS THE ROOM? Yes. The color fills the whole screen, and each color has its own big symbol and words (Nice and quiet, Getting loud, Too loud, Way too loud), so it reads without telling colors apart. Prop up an iPhone or iPad where it can be seen, on a dinner table or at the front of a classroom, in portrait or landscape. The screen stays awake while it runs. HOW LOUD IS TOO LOUD? You decide. Speak as loud as you want to allow, watch the room's level in dB, and set the target just above it. Shortcuts jump to a quiet room, talking or shouting. WHOSE VOICE DOES IT HEAR? Everyone's. It measures the whole room, not one voice, so in a classroom the whole class counts, and so does a TV or music. For one loud talker, put it near them. WON'T ONE LAUGH TURN IT RED? One short sound counts for less than a voice that stays loud, and the color waits a moment before stepping back down, so it doesn't flicker. CAN A TAP STOP IT? No. The stop button is the only control on the screen, and it takes a press and hold, so a curious finger can't end it. With VoiceOver on, a double-tap on the stop button ends it. Leaving the app stops it too, so turn on Guided Access (Settings > Accessibility) to keep it on screen. Guided Access can also turn off touch, so not even a hold stops it. HOW FAST DOES IT FLASH? Twice a second, and only far over the target: the whole screen goes between bright and dark red. That's under the limit of three flashes a second in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). With Reduce Motion turned on (Settings > Accessibility > Motion), it doesn't flash at all: the red fades gently darker and back, once every 2.4 seconds. HOW OFTEN DOES IT SAY “SHH”? After 2 seconds of red, if the room is still loud, then not again for at least 15 seconds. It only backs up the screen, which is already red by then. It plays in silent mode too, and the volume buttons set how loud. It's on until you turn off the Say “shh” when too loud switch on the Target Level screen. DOES IT RECORD ANYTHING? No. Sound is measured on the device and never recorded, saved or sent, and it keeps no score or history of how loud it got. There's no account, no ads and nothing to buy, and it works offline. It sends anonymous usage counts, never anything it hears, and you can turn them off under About. HOW ACCURATE IS THE NUMBER? It's a guide. Phone and tablet microphones aren't calibrated, so the dB number is approximate: good for “quieter” and “louder” in one room, not a certified sound level measurement. First release. Questions and ideas: info@lakebornelabs.com