Smartphones could soon get a drunk mode.

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

  • A little-known Chinese brand has patented a drunk mode for its smartphones.
  • This would block certain apps and restrict specific functions.
  • The mode would require sobriety verification to disable it.

Using a smartphone while drunk isn’t necessarily the wisest decision, as it could result in you contacting an ex, posting an embarrassing video, and more.

We’ve seen some developers try to combat this situation with apps that prevent drunk texting and other intoxicated escapades, but it looks like a little-known Chinese manufacturer is working on a drunk mode for its smartphones.

Gree Electronics announced a patent for a so-called drinking mode earlier this month, MyDrivers reported, with the patent being filed at China’s national patent office. According to the patent and news outlet, the drunk mode restricts certain “commonly used apps” from running to avoid embarrassing situations.

The drunk mode works as follows, according to machine-translation of the article:

  1. Set the rules for drunk mode, such as which apps are barred or restricted. You’ll also need to set “sober verification rules” that will be used to disable drunk mode.
  2. The user then enables the mode on their phone, with selected apps locked down or restricted accordingly.
  3. The user passes “sober verification” as per the rules set before and the mode is disabled.

MyDrivers adds that the drunk mode also simplifies interactions, presumably by enabling something akin to the Simple/Easy Mode UI seen on phones from Huawei, Samsung. and Xiaomi.

Of course, Gree is an obscure Chinese brand that isn’t even popular in its home market, so we wouldn’t count on this particular drunk mode being available on a smartphone near you. But we’d definitely love to see other manufacturers try their hand at this mode, blocking your ex’s number or WhatsApp contact or showing your contact info on the lockscreen in case you lose your device.

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