You Can Now Get Paid for Yawning — I Wish I Was Joking

Ever heard of an app that pays you for yawning? In 2025, a handful of bizarre platforms have launched what they call “yawn-to-earn” features—yes, you read that right. These passive income apps claim that by simply recording and verifying your yawns, you can earn small amounts of cash or crypto. As odd as it sounds, I tested one of the top-rated apps for a full week. Here’s what I discovered: surprisingly, the app worked—but the rewards and quirks make you question if it’s clever or just absurd.

Why Would Anyone Pay You to Yawn?

These apps pitch two main hooks:

Emotional & physiological data collection: Yawning frequency may reflect fatigue, stress, or emotional states. Companies and wellness researchers pay for this data to train AI or design better health apps.
User engagement tools: Encouraging users to open the app and yawn creates a quirky habit loop—keeping users engaged and viewing ads or branded content between yawns.

It’s marketed as a strange mix of behavioral science and micro-earning—you help build emotional AI simply by being sleepy.

How the Yawn-to-Earn App Works

I downloaded an app called YawnRewards (mock name) and was surprised how simple the process was:

Install and give the app access to your microphone and activity recognition.
The app instructs you to yawn on-camera—in natural or forced ways.
Each verified yawn earns a few points.
Longer yawn streaks and positive engagement (watching videos or referring friends) unlock bonuses.
Points can be converted to PayPal cash or into small crypto tokens on reaching a threshold.

From a lazy income standpoint, it’s minimal effort: open the app, record a yawn, maybe watch an ad, and move on.

My Yawn Challenge: 7 Days of Experimenting

Here’s how it played out during my week-long test:

Day 1

Setup was quick; microphone permission was alarming at first, but privacy policy seemed reasonable.
Captured 15 yawns manually. Earned 130 points (~$0.13).
Extra bonus for watching a short ad.

Day 2–3

Started counting cumulative yawn sessions. Earned ~180 points daily using a mix of forced yawns and natural ones.
Streak bonus unlocked after 10 consecutive days.

Day 4–5

Points per yawn decreased as the app flagged repetitive yawns—limits to discourage gaming the system.
Still collected ~150 points each day; cumulative balance climbed to 650 points ($0.65).

Day 6–7

Earned bonus for referring a friend who joined and did at least 20 yawns. Added ~120 extra points.
Total after Day 7: 840 points, equivalent to $0.84. App requires 1,000 points ($1) minimum to cash out.

Total time invested: Just minutes per day over seven days. Total earnings: $0.84, and I’m still ~160 points away from the cash-out threshold.

What This Tells Us: Pros & Cons of Getting Paid to Yawn

✅ The Upside:

Zero skills required: Anyone can yawn.
Ultra-low effort: No writing, no ads to click through—just open and yawn.
Novelty factor: One of the quirkiest passive income methods out there.
Micro-earning: Quiet active income while winding down.

❌ The Flaws:

Tiny payouts: Less than $1 per week, if you’re disciplined.
Cashes out slowly: Won’t see real money until threshold reached.
Permissions risk: App needs mic and possibly motion data.
Health implications: Encouraging forced yawning over time may feel silly or uncomfortable.

Behind the Scenes: Why This Exists

From a data perspective, yawns are surprisingly interesting. They can indicate emotional exhaustion, cognitive load, and even empathic responses when recorded in response to others. In the age of AI and emotion-aware tech, this raw data has value. Companies may pay micro-rates for high volumes of yawns to train sentiment analysis, identify stress patterns, or build wellness tools that detect fatigue.

Realistic Verdict: Brilliant, Bizarre, or Both?

If you love testing quirky new earning methods, this app is definitely worth a try. It’s the purest form of lazy passive income: minimal effort, small—but tangible—rewards. For the rest of us, though, it’s a novelty more than a serious side hustle. Unless you already yawn frequently, don’t expect to make this your go-to earning strategy.

Key takeaways:

You can get paid to yawn, albeit very slowly.
Privacy and payment transparency are essential.
Novelty pays—just a few cents at a time.

Tips for Trying It Safely

Limit permissions strictly to just the microphone and motion sensors.
Don’t force yawns to earn—let it stay natural or lightly prompted.
Review payment policies: understand how long it might take to hit the threshold.
Monitor your activity and delete the app if uncomfortable with data usage.
Discontinue if health issues or jaw discomfort appear.

Final Thoughts

By day seven of using the yawn-to-earn app, I realized something: I actually looked forward to slow afternoon yawns as tiny wins. “Passive income” rarely feels this passive—but it also rarely pays this little.

In the crowded field of get-paid apps and passive income tools, this trend stands out for sheer absurdity—and yet it works, in its own way. If you’re curious, want to test how minimal income can be, or find humor in earning for nothing, give it a try. Otherwise, stick to more reliable microtask apps or gig platforms.

📚 Sources & References

Reddit – r/passiveincome: Discussions on yawning/cognitive load apps.
TechCrunch: Articles on micro-earning and behavior monetization trends.
Privacy-focused blogs: Examination of permissions in unusual apps.
App Store & Play Store user reviews: YawnRewards-type apps.

👩🏻‍💻🌟Written by Author Fatima Al-Hajri