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I'm a little surprised that this uses a long-press instead of having the user draw a checkbox with their finger. It seems like the natural way to handle a simple shape like this one that came into popularity because of how easy it is to draw.

Was this idea considered? If so, why wasn't it done this way?

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I'm guessing they went for the long-pressing because it's an incredibly easy action to take. The hit region is massive, so you just place your thumb on the screen and hold.

Having to draw a checkbox with your finger requires you to hold the phone and then flick a checkmark shape with your thumb (a difficult task), or else use your other hand to draw. If you're right-handed, you're probably holding the phone in your right hand to begin with, so now you have to switch hands to hold it in your left and draw with your dominant, right hand.

They explicitly call out that the hit box is actually the entire screen - which explains the need for anti-accidental-press guards

This is a perfect HN Poe's law. Well done.

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