OpenAI 2026 hackathon

72H Fasting Contest

Track a 72-hour challenge, celebrate milestones, and join safety-conscious contests with friends.

Solo project by Powerusa Palka · 0 likes · 0 comments

Archive position — measured, not model output

0 likes on Devpost

2,264 of the 7,856 archived projects have more likes, and 5,592 share exactly 0 — so this project's #2,290 place in the like-ranked listing is a tie-break inside that group, not a ranking.

Projects (log scale)

1
10
100
1k
10k
05,592
11,758
2285
3–4132
5–975
10+14

Likes on Devpost. ▲ marks this project's group.

Show the figures
LikesProjectsShare of archive
05,59271.2%
11,75822.4%
22853.6%
3–41321.7%
5–9751.0%
10+140.2%
Devpost like counts for all 7,856 archived projects, captured when this archive was built.

Executive Summary

The description states that 72H Fasting Contest is a native iPhone app for tracking 72-hour fasting challenges. The author describes it as a motivation and tracking tool, not a medical device. It includes features like live timer, milestone notifications, leaderboards, private contests, and anonymous sign-in. The app uses SwiftUI, Firebase, and AI tools (Codex + GPT-5.6) in its development but does not call OpenAI APIs at runtime.

Key commercial signals:

  • No evidence of revenue or customers.
  • The app is self-contained and built by one person.
  • It targets individuals participating in 72-hour fasts, potentially with social accountability elements.
  • Pricing and business model are not described.
  • Technical implementation involves Firebase and offline fallbacks.
  • No traction or user growth data provided.

The single most important open question

Is there any evidence of actual usage or adoption beyond the author’s development?

Back to contents

What The Product Actually Is

The description states that 72H Fasting Contest is a native iPhone app designed for tracking 72-hour fasting challenges. It includes:

  • A live timer and progress view
  • Milestones at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 hours
  • Local reminders and milestone notifications
  • History, statistics, streaks, rankings, and achievement badges
  • Global and weekly leaderboards
  • Private contests with invite codes
  • Anonymous sign-in without email, phone, or password

The app asks users to accept a safety agreement before uploading data. It is described as a motivation and tracking tool, not a medical device.

Inference The app appears to be a personal wellness or challenge-tracking application focused on intermittent fasting.

Back to contents

Positioning & Claim Evolution

The description states that the app was inspired by the desire to turn an abstract 72-hour goal into a sequence of milestones, add optional social accountability, and keep safety information visible throughout the experience. The author positions it as a way to track fasts with motivation and community elements.

Inference The positioning evolved from a simple timer to a structured challenge with social features and safety considerations, suggesting an intent to make fasting more approachable and accountable.

Back to contents

Target Customer & ICP

The description states that the app is for individuals participating in 72-hour fasts. It includes features like leaderboards and private contests, implying a community or competitive element.

Inference The target customer likely includes people interested in intermittent fasting who want structured tracking, social motivation, and accountability. The anonymous sign-in suggests a low-friction onboarding approach for casual users.

Back to contents

Business Model & Pricing Evidence

The description does not state anything about pricing, monetization, or business model. It only describes the app's functionality and technical implementation.

Not evidenced.

Back to contents

Technical & Delivery Signals

The description states that:

  • The app is built using SwiftUI and a shared AppViewModel.
  • Codable models are used for profiles, fasting sessions, contests, badges, and preferences.
  • Firebase Authentication and Cloud Firestore are used for backend services.
  • A ContestBackend protocol separates UI from domain workflow with offline/local fallbacks.
  • Realtime listeners power leaderboards.
  • Firestore security rules validate ownership, permitted fields, contest membership changes, elapsed-time limits, and session state transitions.
  • Server timestamps prevent early completion by changing local clock.
  • Codex and GPT-5.6 were used during development but not in runtime.

Inference The app has a modern iOS architecture with backend integration and offline capabilities. AI was used for development assistance, not for product delivery or runtime functionality.

Back to contents

Traction & Maturity Signals

The description does not provide any evidence of traction, revenue, or user adoption beyond the author’s own development efforts. It mentions:

  • A public GitHub repository
  • A demo video
  • Manual acceptance checklist and build instructions

Not evidenced.

Back to contents

Competitive Context

The description does not mention competitors or market positioning relative to other fasting or wellness apps.

Not evidenced.

Back to contents

Key Risks & Red Flags

  • The app is built by a single developer, with no evidence of team or institutional support.
  • No revenue, customer base, or user metrics are provided.
  • The app is described as a hackathon project (submitted to OpenAI 2026 hackathon), suggesting early-stage development.
  • It does not collect medical data but still requires safety consent — this may raise regulatory questions if scaled.
  • Use of AI tools for development raises concerns about reproducibility or dependency on proprietary tools.

Inference The lack of traction, team size, and business model makes it difficult to assess commercial viability. The app is likely in a very early stage.

Back to contents

Diligence Questions To Ask The Founders

  1. What is the intended path from prototype to product?
  2. Are there any plans for monetization or revenue generation?
  3. How does the team plan to scale beyond one developer?
  4. Has the app been tested with real users, and what feedback has been received?
  5. Is there a roadmap for future features or platform expansion (e.g., Android)?
  6. What are the legal or regulatory considerations around safety agreements in this context?

Back to contents

Investment/Partnership Verdict

The description states that 72H Fasting Contest is an iPhone app built by one developer as part of a hackathon submission. There is no evidence of revenue, customers, or traction.

Not evidenced.

This project appears to be an early-stage prototype with no commercial validation. It lacks any indication of product-market fit, scalability, or business model. The author’s own account does not suggest any intention to commercialize beyond personal use or hackathon submission.

Confidence: Low.

Back to contents

Source

Submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon on Devpost. Project home on DevPost.

The analysis above was generated by a language model from the project's own one-line description. It is not independent research and contains no verified traction, revenue or customer data.