The app designed to help you find happiness by contemplating your mortality will send you invitations to stop and think about death. The WeCroak app is inspired by a Bhutanese folk saying: to be a happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily.

To assist you in enjoying life more, this mindfulness tool will offer up quotes about death from a poet, philosopher, or notable thinker at unpredictable times in your day, just like how death arrives.

Diligently opening the notification at random times reveals a contemplative message that might make you nod in agreement, have a chuckle, or even receive a small dose of perspective to help you focus on the important stuff. It’s surprising to find that five messages seems a lot. WeCroak could become yet another thing giving you that feeling you’re missing out for lack of time, because if you don’t take the opportunity to open the message before the next one arrives, you can’t backtrack. I guess there’s something symbolic about how ephemeral the quotes are, but over time it made me feel like my phone was demanding I capture the fleeting wisdom it had to share or miss out. Who am I to question ancient wisdom, but I feel like two quotes would be a little less oppressive!

Many quotes don’t actually relate to mortality at all, but simply aim to inspire reflection. Beware that amidst the loftier quotes are some rather grim statements of facts from places like hospices that may not be for everyone, particularly the recently bereaved.

You can support the cause by submitting a favourite quote of your own, becoming a patron and supporting their podcast series of expert authors talking about life. Otherwise it’s a trade of AU$1.49 for your five daily reminders of your death.