Side Hustles - Pankaj Tanwar

Side Hustles.<br>A collection of my weird, fun, and fast-built side projects - shipped for laughs, learning, and the love of building.

AI Helmet : Traffic Police on a Bike 🪖<br>😤 I was tired of stupid people on the road, so I hacked my helmet into a traffic police device. While I ride, an AI agent runs in near real-time, flags traffic violations, captures proof with location + number plate, and sends it straight to the police. 🚨<br>5M+ viewsViral on X & LinkedInReached out by BLR City Police4 national TV interviewsCovered by multiple newspapersMom watching me on TV for the first time 😭

Zerodha stock portfolio controls my bedroom lights 💡<br>💸 My Zerodha portfolio now controls my bedroom lights. It turns red when I lose money. When markets recover, the lights calm down. I hijacked my smart-bulb’s protocol and wired it to my live P&L. Now my room roasts me in real-time. 🔻<br>2M+ views across Reddit & TwitterZerodha CEO resharedFeatured on Hindustan Times, NDTV, Times NowViral on Reddit & Twitter

The Real Dark Mode 🔦<br>🌑 I built the 'real' dark mode for this website. Your cursor becomes a flashlight and everything else stays pitch black. You have to move around to read anything. Is it useful? Absolutely not. Did I do it anyway? Obviously. Try it yourself by switching themes. 🤷‍♂️<br>Most useless feature ever500k+ views on Twitter & Reddit

Scream to Unlock 🗣️<br>🚨 A chrome extension that blocks social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) until you scream `I'm a loser` into your microphone. The louder you scream, the more time you get to browse 😭<br>Featured #1 on Hacker NewsTrending on Reddit100% Open Source2.5M+ Views Across PlatformsFeatured in Major Tech Blogs

Cric-Code : A Fake VS Code<br>👨‍💻 Cric-Code is a fake VS Code, so you can browse live cricket score in your office. It lets me browse Cricbuzz as a VS code editor & makes me look like I am doing actual work 😉<br>#1 on HackerNews55k+ views on Twitter38k+ views on LinkedIn6 Reddit AwardsFeatured on Product Hunt100k+ visits in a day

Cringe Guard : AI tool to filter cringe content<br>📵 An AI tool to filter out cringe content (engagement click-bait, promotional content, and low-value off-topic posts etc) on your LinkedIn feed. It uses AI to analyse LinkedIn posts in real time and hides cringe worthy content. 💀<br>150k+ views on RedditOpen SourceWeekend Project

Fake Phone Call Escape Button 📞<br>📱 I built a script that gives me a fake phone call to escape boring and awkward situations. I tap 'ESCAPE' on my phone, my server schedules a call, and after a minute my phone rings with pre-recorded audio. I just say 'sorry, I'm getting a call' and walk away 🚪<br>Viral on Reddit & Twitter300k+ views on social media

IMDBuddy : IMDB ratings on OTT platforms 🎬⭐<br>🍿 I built a browser extension that shows IMDB ratings directly on Netflix, Hotstar, and other OTT platforms. If you’re like me and *always* check IMDB before watching anything, this saves a few extra clicks and a lot of indecision.<br>Viral on RedditChrome Web Store releaseBuilt in a weekend

Desi Menu Translator 🍛<br>🥗 I was looking at a fancy restaurant menu and realized I couldn’t understand half the dishes. So I built a small AI tool. Just open the camera, point at the menu, and it turns all the fancy names into simple, desi-friendly versions. 🍽️<br>100k+ views redditFun AI side projectBuilt in a weekend

Red Alert Light 🔴<br>🏋️ I hacked my bedroom lights to talk to Google Fit. If I haven’t moved in 2 hours, it flashes angry red until I get up. The bulb’s app wouldn’t play nice, so I reverse-engineered it to listen for UDP JSON RGB commands. Now my script yells at me in red when I’ve been lazy. 🚨<br>270k+ views on social mediaViral on RedditWeekend Project

AI bot that likes my mom's Insta posts 👩‍👦<br>🤖 My mom recently joined Instagram and complained that I never like her posts. I don’t even have the app anymore. So, I built a Python bot that auto-likes her posts and leaves comments using AI trained on our WhatsApp messages. 🤷‍♂️<br>400k+ views on LinkedInViral across social mediaCovered by news websites100% Open SourceMom is finally happy

Aero-watch : Birdwatching for Planes 🛬<br>✈️ My desk at work is right next to a window, and I get a clear view of planes flying around HAL Airport. So I built a tool that sends me a little notification whenever one flies by - with flight details and a fun fact. 🤙<br>Loved by aviation nerdsViral on Twitter100k+ views on social mediaOpen SourceBuilt in a weekend

The Fake Calendar Events Script 🗓️🤦‍♂️<br>i made a script that added fake calendar events so i could avoid plans. someone asked ‘friday 7pm?’ → ctrl+shift+f+7 → fake event → ‘oh sorry’. Not recommended though :)<br>Mini viral on Twitter & RedditFun side projectOpen sourceBuilt in a weekend

Boeing Flight Detector 🛩️<br>✈️ Boeing's been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. So I built Boeing Flight Detector - a fun tool that flags Boeing flights while you're booking flight tickets. 🤙<br>1.3k+ upvotes on...