Hoot

Welcome to the Hoot homepage!

What is Hoot?

A browser extension aimed at helping anyone who wants to stop using symptom checkers.

Why did I build it?

Although I don't believe symptom checkers are entirely harmful, for me the negatives outweigh the positives.

The mix of misinformation, worst case scenario thinking, and self-medication risks often makes visiting these websites a rather unpleasant and distressing experience.

I thought I would try to make it more difficult for myself to research symptoms online, thereby reducing the chances that I'll end up worrying myself silly.

The outcome was a fun couple of evenings hacking together something that ended up becoming Hoot.

How does it work?

After Hoot is installed, if it detects that your current page is a symptom checker, you receive a (customizable) on-screen "hoot", prompting you to turn back.

Usage guide

1. Locate Hoot on the Google Chrome webstore, then install it once you've found it.
2. After installing the extension, consider pinning the extension to your toolbar for easy access.
3. If you click the extension's toolbar icon, you will be presented with a small popup providing a short description of the app, with options to visit either this page, or the extension's settings page.
4. Go to the Hoot settings page and personalise your custom hoot (this is optional!).
5. Visit one of the whitelisted websites, such as this one, and see Hoot in action!

Contribute to Hoot

There is a publicly visible list of symptom checker URLs used by Hoot to block certain webpages - you can view it here.

Although this list is actively maintained, I encourage you to request the addition of any missing pages by doing either of the following:

1. Follow the instructions on this Github repo to submit a pull request, or
2. Reach out to me directly via email

FAQs

How do I report an issue with the extension?

Like the 'Contribute to Hoot' section, please either open an issue on this Github repo or email me directly!

Which browsers does it work on?

Only Google Chrome currently (my plan is to release it on other browsers, I only have so much time though!)

Why the owl theme?

Well, owls are great! But for the most part I wanted the on-screen "hoot" to represent a voice of reason, and owls have long been associated with intelligence and wisdom.

Does it cost anything?

Nope.

But if you like my work and want to say thanks or encourage me to create more, you can buy me a coffee!