FINCH APP REVIEW

Hello Everyone!

To kick off the new term of PsychSoc blog posts, I’ll be starting with an app review of the self-care app “Finch”! With so many self-care / mental health apps out there, this one really stood out for me as being unique, fun and personalized. I’ve been using it for 3 weeks now and have found it really helpful so thought it was worth sharing my views on it!

“Finch” is a self-care app described by its makers as “your new self-care best friend”. Gen Z and Millennials will remember the beloved Tamagotchi. Finch is a very similar concept, in that you have a virtual pet (a Finch, which is type of a bird) that you have to look after by completing self-care tasks for yourself. When you first use the app, you create your little Finch. You get to choose their pronouns, and their name (or you can choose a random name suggestion). And as you complete tasks, you get to see them grow physically and in terms of personality. I love this app because of how many different self-care tools are available- the app has many features including a daily mood tracker, daily/weekly goals, quizzes, reflections, meditations and exercises. Sometimes you are in the mood for different things, and it can be hard to keep track of all the different activities you do so it is helpful having them all on one app. Here are some details and my favorite part about the key features:

-Focuses and goals

Finch allows you to set focuses, so that you can have daily goals for yourself. For example, one of my focuses is good sleep patterns, so some of the daily goals I have are “switch devices off at 11pm” and “listen to a meditation before bed”. You can also add extra goals- either from their suggestions or add your own. Once you complete each goal, you gain points and you are prompted to reflect on the goal

-Reflections

You get lots of prompts for what to reflect on, which can be really helpful for people or days when you struggle to get started. These also come up under the random suggestions if you can’t decide which to do, or you can do free form reflection. For example, you can reflect on how you slept, what you dreamt about or a childhood memory. All your reflections for the day are saved together so you can go back and re read them if you want and see if there are any patterns. Key words can also be highlighted allowing you to see if it is coming up a lot and what your mood is like on days that word is used.

-Quizzes

The app also has quizzes, including anxiety, depression, appreciation, pessimism, sleepy quiz. This can be helpful to better understand yourself and monitor how well you are doing

-Exercises

There are many breathing and movement exercises to do, as well as soundscapes, which can help you practice meditation and calming and grounding techniques. There are a few SOS exercises that can help you ground yourself when you are feeling especially stressed out. What I personally appreciate as well is that on days that I put my mood as lower, the app picks up on this and suggests SOS exercises in my shuffle suggestions. What I also think is incredible is how involved and receptive the creators of this app are. On the FB page (linked below), people have made suggestions on what they find helpful during their SOS moments, and the creators have added it in to app within a few weeks!

-Energy points and rainbow stones

Completing activities gains energy points which allow your pet to grow from baby to adult or return earlier from their adventures. You also gain “rainbow stones” which can be exchanged for clothing for your pet.

-Your pet

As your pet goes on adventures, and as you speak to your pet, your pet grows different characteristics and likes and dislikes. You can also dress your pet up by buying clothes. Unlike with tamagotchis where you have to worry about who will feed them whilst you’re at school, with Finch your pet goes on adventures for 7 hours at a time so you can get on with your day, and they come back with thoughts or new discoveries.

Overall, this is a one of the best apps I have seen for mental health. It keeps things light and fun, yet personal and meaningful and it is something I look forward to using each day. I highly recommend this app to everyone!

You can join Finch here with my invite code AYB4QWD28R and get 600 Rainbow Stones! https://app.befinch.com/share/84Ch