Face Touching Detection: Why Real-Time Alerts Matter
The practical differences between real-time alerts and retrospective logs, including detection limits and evidence gaps.
An end-of-day log and an immediate alert answer different questions. A log can help review patterns; an alert can prompt a response near a detected movement. Calling the alert an "intervention," however, implies a demonstrated health or treatment effect that has not been established for Untouched.
The Practical Timing Difference
When a cue occurs near a hand-to-face movement, you can check whether the movement was intentional, change hand position, or note the context. A retrospective total cannot create that same moment. This is a design distinction, not proof that real-time feedback is one of the strongest predictors of behavior change or that alerts produce lasting results.
What Computer-Vision Detection Measures
Untouched estimates hand-to-face proximity from a Mac camera view. It does not observe contact directly in every case or understand whether a movement is scratching, skin picking, grooming, eating, applying medicine, or resting the chin.
Performance can be affected by:
- Camera angle and framing
- Lighting
- Hands or face being obscured
- Distance from the camera
- Intentional face-touching activities
The app can therefore miss movements and produce unwanted alerts. Counts should be called detected events, not exact face-touching frequency.
Privacy and Product Claims
According to Untouched's Privacy Policy and Data Transparency page, live webcam processing occurs locally and screenshots remain on the user's device. They say webcam-related data leaves only when a user explicitly submits false-positive footage. These are owner claims about the current product, not independently verified privacy or clinical evidence.
How to Evaluate Whether Alerts Help You
Define a specific target and a limited context. Review whether alerts are understandable, timely enough to use, and tolerable. Also record missed or unwanted alerts. Do not infer a skin, infection, anxiety, or neural outcome from a lower event count.
Untouched has not been clinically tested as a treatment for skin picking disorder or as a method for preventing acne or illness. It should be used, if useful, as an optional awareness aid alongside appropriate self-care or professional support.