Popular YouTuber Jimmy ‘Mr Beast’ Donaldson has launched an app where anyone can compete to win $25,000. The catch? You have to keep your finger on your phone for the longest time.
Mr Beast is known for hosting extreme competitions among his friends for huge amounts of prize money. Often millions of dollars are involved. In the past, Mr Beast has lured his friends into competitions such as ‘Last to leave the circle wins $10,000’, ‘Last to leave revolving door wins $50,000’ and ‘Last to remove hand gets Lamborghini challenge.’ This time, the viewers themselves can take part in a similarly grueling process.
“Finger on the App” was launched by Mr Beast on Monday, June 22, but don’t worry, the competition hasn’t started yet. Right now the app is counting down until the competition actually starts on Tuesday, June 30 at 3 pm EST.
The app currently includes ‘practice mode’, so if you’re deadly serious, you can start training right away. If you succeed in keeping your finger on the app for the longest time, you could win “up to $25,000”.
But of course, this wouldn’t be a stunt pulled by Mr Beast if it didn’t have a few other complications. According to the app’s website, the final amount of money will be voted on by all the other players. So, if you lose and you’re really bitter about it, you can vote for the prize money to be reduced to $0.
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It has strict rules: if you leave the app at all, for example, if you have an alarm set, or you get a phone call, you lose. But if you activate your Bluetooth, and you’re within 10 feet (but no closer than 6 feet) of a friend, you both could get up to 3 extra lives. This means that if you lose your streak, you have 10 seconds to put your finger back on the app.
The website’s manifesto suitably makes a mockery of the 21st century ‘glued to your phone’ mindset: “Your phone can provide utterly no utility so long as you play. Finger On The App ties you to your device by the soft pressure of your dominant digit as inexorably as a steel ball and chain, while sealing it beyond your grasp.”
The app is a collaboration between Mr Beast and MSCHF, a company that creates viral internet stunts, and ‘Finger on the App’ will be the company’s 24th project to date. Previous projects include ‘This Foot Does Not Exist’ where the company trained a computer to generate fake foot pictures, and ‘Jesus Shoes’, a pair of trainers with soles filled with ‘holy water.’
The app is only available for Apple users and is not available in all regions.